Gravel Alliance rider Saoirse Pottie’s obsession with gravel cycling began in a similar vein to her other adventures, what she lacked in knowledge, she made up for in enthusiasm. Here, the Irish-born adventurer who’s currently visiting the highest point in each county, recounts which parts of Ireland are best discovered by gravel bike.

"Gravel cycling in Ireland is still pretty fresh and information on gravel routes is more challenging to find."

While routes in mainland Britain are increasingly being developed by organisations, individuals and route planning apps like komoot, gravel cycling in Ireland is still pretty fresh and information on gravel routes is more challenging to find. This dearth of details is what sparked the idea to complete a bikepacking trip back home in Ireland, a place that in one way felt so familiar, yet also held so much opportunity for discovery.

My goal for the trip was to cycle through all 32 counties of Ireland, 26 in the south and 6 in the North, using the highest point in each county as the checkpoint. So far, I have completed 28 out the 32 counties and cycled over 2500 km. I never set out to ride it all in one hit. Up until March this year, I was busy finishing a PhD, and since May I’ve been fitting these micro-adventures to new countries in around a packed work schedule.  

Here are some of my favourite places I’ve taken my gravel bike so far this year:

1. Slieve Blooms Mountains

Overlooked by most visiting cycling tourists, the midlands contain some of the most cycle-friendly parts of Ireland I have visited. The combination of pristine cycleways, like the Grand Canal, Eurovelo 2 and the Royal Canal Greenway, quiet country roads and lush green forests meant I crisscrossed through the country with hardly a car in sight!

"It's one of the few places in Ireland where you can legally wild camp."

My highlight was the Slieve Bloom Mountains – I didn't want to leave. The Slieve Bloom Mountains are located in the heart of the midlands, encompassing both County Laois and Offaly. Claiming to be Europe's oldest mountain range, they once soared to Alpine heights. Although not reaching the great heights that they once had (400 million years of erosion has had its effect), the scenery is still awe-inspiring. There are 35 km of flowy MTB trails (tried, tested and approved on my fully loaded gravel bike), many forest gravel roads and a lot of potential to discover singletrack. It's one of the few places in Ireland where you can legally wild camp.

2. Wild Nephin National Park, Mayo

The Nephin Park was one of the reasons that Mayo stole so much of my heart! The Wild Nephin Park is Ireland's third largest national park and one of the last intact active blanket bog systems in Western Europe. There are many, many trails to explore, from banging fire roads, fun flowy singletrack to hike-a-bike. It's also pretty cool if you like wildlife (otters being a personal favourite), stargazing (it's a dark sky reserve), or sleeping in the wild (it has two shelters that hikers/cyclists are allowed to sleep in).

If you want to explore the area there are two bikepacking routes in the area on Bikepacking.com and Gravel Grind West (an annual gravel event) has some fantastic routes mapped out.

3. The Mournes 

C.S. Lewis accredits the Mournes as his inspiration for the Chronicles of Narnia and cycling through this landscape made it so obvious why - the rolling mountains, forests and ocean views are magical. I travelled west to east from Newry to Newcastle and spent the entirety of the day along forest gravel tracks, hardly passing a soul. 

"You’ll likely be rewarded with beautiful views staring out at the crystal blue ocean."

If you dare to take on some of the spicy climbs in Rostrevor or Tollymore Forests, you’ll likely be rewarded with beautiful views staring out at the crystal blue ocean. I only had a short time here but I’m already planning a trip back

4. Donegal

If Donegal didn’t have my heart before this trip, then it certainly did afterwards. Hugging the Northwest of Northern Ireland, Donegal has it all – the wild Atlantic ocean, small cosy pubs with live music, fresh seafood, mountain views… Despite its charm and beauty, its remoteness (and perhaps lack of public transport) mean that Donegal is often overlooked by international tourists. 

This means you will likely come across long stretches of beautiful empty beaches, boreen* roads with no cars and a low population density that makes wild camping fairly easy. I travelled from Cashel along a network of boreens that sprawled throughout the county, cycle paths and stunning gravel tracks in Glenveagh National Park. If you like snacks as much as me, then make sure to plan a stop in Ardara (voted Ireland’s best village to live in) and if you want to experience an Irish bothy then Glenveagh is also a must visit – it has not one but two bothies that you can stay in!

*Boreens are old rural roads that were used to transport and move animals, normally used by a small number of locals, which are characterised by a ridge of grass growing in the middle. These “roads” have poor surfaces which limits the amounts of car drivers who want to use them, so they make for great cycling if you are looking for something other than tarmac.

5. County Tipperary

This route starts with the Suir Blueway, which I joined for 20 km between Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel. The Suir Blueway is a beautiful scenic canal path that was created in 2019 for cyclists, walkers and kayakers. It’s a quiet, peaceful stretch, where you appreciate the picturesque scenery and wildlife. My personal highlight was spotting a kingfisher, dipping in and out of the trees as I was cycling along.

"Stunning scenery and hands down the MOST incredible gravel descent of my life!"

From Clonmel, I joined the East Munster Way. The East Munster Way is a 70 km trail of considerable variety, from riverside paths to woodland and open mountain moorland to quiet country roads. I cycled along it for 40 km, but in those 40 km, it packed in 1440 metres of climbing which translated as me pushing my bike a LOT. It also meant lifting my bike over the occasional stile (I’ve learnt that this is an unavoidable consequence of going exploring in Ireland). But it also meant stunning scenery and hands down the MOST incredible gravel descent of my life! Cow traffic jams, flowing singletrack, vibrant green avenues of trees and secret swim spots, I was buzzing from head to toe.

Find something that brings you joy and share it with others. 

My cycle through Ireland has left me with an enormous appreciation for both the landscapes and the people that live there. So often we look afar for adventure, but gravel riding has shown me that it can also exist on your own backdoor. I am so proud of the little island I come from and I want other people to experience the joy of cycling through some of its wild, remote and charming places.

"So often we look afar for adventure, but gravel riding has shown me that it can also exist on your own backdoor."

Personally, one of the biggest barriers to starting gravel cycling was not knowing where to go. When that barrier was removed it opened a whole new world for me. My motivation began by being inspired by a route and a curiosity to try it. Now, I’d love to pass that on to somebody else. 

My plan is to return to Ireland and spend more time exploring the areas I’ve loved the most, with the idea to share and create routes for other cyclists. I can’t wait to share the joy of spending time riding your bike surrounded by nature, shredding down gravel roads and exploring new places.