grubb1937: The Sperrins Area as a Cycle Touring Destination

With the advent of the television programme ‘Game of Thrones’ being filmed in large part within Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland has appeared on the international tourist map. Cruise ships now regularly stop in Belfast Harbour and coaches busily shuttle tourists and their cameras on a whirlwind visit to the Dark Hedges, Giant’s Causeway and other places, now on the tourist ‘must see’ bucket list. The Antrim Glens and coast road, favourite quiet cycling routes of my youth, have been ‘discovered’ and now see heavy traffic.

I much prefer to do my cycling on quiet roads, where I can enjoy the experience of being outdoors without a constant stream of cars and breathing in vehicle fumes. I am fortunate to live in an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is relatively unknown to the wider, impatient, hum-drum world. There are lots of quiet back roads on which to cycle, with only local folk going about their everyday business. A traffic hold-up is likely to be a farmer moving his livestock between fields, or taking his cows for milking. The drawback, is the terrain isn’t flat and will involve quite a few meters of climbing in and out of hollows as the roads cross water courses. The tranquillity means you should see something of the local wildlife in your unhurried journey.

There has been efforts made by the local councils to promote tourism in the area, but there aren’t many hotels beloved by international tourists. There is self catering accommodation and bed and breakfast accommodation, a lot based on local family farms. That is not to say that I haven’t seen any cycle tourists in the area over the years. I have. However, they are usually riding their bikes on the main A5, a very dangerous, heavily trafficked road, with an unenviable reputation for traffic collision fatalities. A sure sign they are not using decent maps. Not my idea of fun, or the most relaxing way to see something of the area.

The Sperrins is the upland area of a large part of County Tyrone and part of County Derry/Londonderry. It is a mainly agricultural area, with scenic river valleys, loughs and mountains. There are 12 dedicated cycle routes within the Sperrins area plus parts of other Sustrans National Cycle Routes, including the North West Trail. Some of the images included in the post refers to Sperrins Tourism Ltd and their website, which no longer exist. All the local councils in the area have Tourist Information Offices which used to hold leaflets on some of the cycle routes. Most are now also marked on the Ordnance Survey for Northern Ireland 1;50,000 Discover Series maps. I will add hyperlinks at the end to some of the information. I recently became aware of a local farm now offering self catering accommodation which is located on NCN92 a short distance outside the village of Newtownstewart (see above).

The Sperrins as a cycle touring destination is quiet. It offers a lot of road cycling routes, but also offers Mountain Biking Trails at Gortin Glen Forest Park outside Omagh. It is an undiscovered gem, which will not last, as I suspect that it will become a lot more expensive to visit, as it becomes more popular. You can never turn the clock back. I have included some images of information, on some of the cycle routes in the area. The relevant OSNI Maps are sheet 12 Strabane, Sheet 13 Sperrins, Sheet 14 Lough Neagh, Sheet 7 Londonderry and Sheet 8 Ballymoney.