At present there is little known about Rough-Stuff possibilities in Ireland. This is possibly due to the earlier lack of good maps.

As in other mountainous areas of the British Isles, late spring and early summer give the best chances of good weather

Maps

The 1:50,000 Discovery Series of Ireland are superb maps. They have contours at 10m intervals, layer coloured with tint changes every 100m.

OS produce 1:250,000 'Holiday' maps of Ireland. These are good for general planning but become vague when detail is required.

Route

OS Half Inch

OS
Discovery

(GR) Start

Start

Finish

(GR) Finish

Length of
RS in miles

Time (hrs)

VAD

Lough Beagh side

1

6

B971158

C042227

6

Maumeen Recess

10,11

44,37,38

L892494

Maumeen

Maum

925523

3

2

M

Table Mountain

16

56

S986984

Glen of Imail

Glenmalur

T061945

M

Caher Roe's Den

19

68

S821395

Rathnure

Ballymurphy

778460

4

2.5

E/M

Priests Leap

24

85

974633

Kenmare

Bantry

985611

2

Cummeenduff Glen

20,21

78

V823816

Cummeenduff Glen

Caragh Valley

788817

2.5

D

Windy Gap

20,21

78

V917752

Kenmare

Galway's Bridge

914803

4

M

Gap of Dunlow

20,21

78

V879886

860829

E

The routes are marked with a rating system called V.A.D. = Very Approximate Difficulty.

E = Easy, anything from a short rideable rough section between metalled roads to fairly long paths needing some wheeling. (sometimes hard work)
M = Moderate, often hard work, possibly occasional lifting
D = Difficult, usually hard work, sometimes involving short carries
S = Severe, much carrying, sometimes double carrying (bike, then luggage)
VS = Very severe, like severe but more so, scrambling may be involved

Times given in these guides do not allow for stops. They are often based on very little experience, so we will be glad to hear from you if you have used any of these routes.

Abbreviations:

m = height in metres
km = distance in kilometres (approximate)
path/r.r. = path or rough road
hrs = time taken to complete the route in hours (see above)
V.A.D. = Very Approximate Difficulty (see above)

The following are publishers of maps:

F&B = Freytag & Berndt
Mair = Mairs Geographischer Verlag (Austria/Germany mainly)
LDS = Landeskarte der Schweiz (Swiss 1:100,000, 1:50,000, 1:25,000)
Michelin = France/Switzerland at 1:200,000, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany at 1:400,000
IGN = Institut Geographique National