Cycle touring routes in Ireland - Cycling in Ireland

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Reviews
• Further Reading

The directions in the book will get you around, but having maps is sensible for impromptu changes of route, getting ‘unlost’, exploring further, and generally improving your knowledge of the area you are in.

The best cycling maps for Ireland are 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey maps. In Northern Ireland these are produced by the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) as the Discoverer Series. In the Republic the same scale maps are published as the Discovery Series by the Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI). There are minor style differences between the two series, and some small overlaps along the border, but together they are a comprehensive mapping of the island. The series use the same grid, and there is a 10m contour interval throughout.

The only problem with maps at this scale is that you are likely to need a few, and keeping the current section in view will mean plenty of folding and unfolding. A more compact alternative is the four-map Holiday Series, jointly produced by OSI and OSNI at 1:250 000 scale, which covers the whole of Ireland in four sheets (North, South, East and West). They show all roads except the very tiny, and include colour-coded topography above 120m. Some of the tourist information is a little out of date (hostels, campsites and so on) and there are a few new roads not yet included, but on the whole they are comprehensive and accurate.

If cycling in Northern Ireland there is a growing network of signed cycle routes. The Northern Ireland Pack from cycling charity Sustrans (http://www.sustransshop.co.uk) includes maps of these as well as other cycling information for the province.