Tullamore to Killarney

Starting in Tullamore in the middle of Ireland the route follows an easterly route along the lovely Grand Canal as far as Roberstown, Co. Kildare. Then the route joins a nice trail along the Barrow Way south to Carlow and onto the the beautiful little town on Graiguenamanagh in Co. Kilkenny which is a great place to stop. From there the route gets much steeper initially before it flattens out at the River Blackwater along the beautiful Suir Blueway between Carrick on Suir and Clonmel moving through Co. Waterford. Watch out for locals walking on the route here, children and fishermen. From there the route heads west into Co. Tipperary and through the lovely forests below the famous Vee before moving across the Boggeragh and Nagle mountains of North Cork. There are more fabulous tracks and trails and some quiet country roads offering a break from the rougher ground. There are enough towns either on the route or closeby offering numerous options for accomodation and food, nice cafes and pubs, and equally there are many opportunites for camping along the route. Be sure to stop at the small pub in Nad which will appear before taking a left turn cycling towards Millstreet, Co. Cork. The route can be split up into sizeable chunks depending on the aims of the rider and could be done in anything between 3-10 days. There are plenty of options to leave out some trail sections which handrail roads so as to arrive at planned locations if behind schedule. A gravel bike at the least is required to do this route and while it is possible to it on little as 35mm tires, the route will be much more comfortable using 40mm tires or bigger especially so when the weather is more wet and slippy. There are some small single track sections and singletrack which may require getting off the bike and walking depending on the conditions and skill ability of the rider.