Table of contents:
Route Route Page
No.
1 Longford - Carrickboy - Edgeworthstown - Longford
2 Longford - Lanesborough - Keenagh - Longford
Route 1: Longford - Carrickboy - Edgeworthstown - Longford
Total Distance 36.7km
Climbing Quite a lot of ups and downs but only one or two sharp climbs
Traffic: Very busy on the Edgeworthstown to Longford Road
Road Conditions Good
Maps O.S. 1:50 Discovery series No. 41 (Longford, Meath & Westmeath)
Approx. time 1 hour 50 minutes
Nearest Train Longford/Edgeworthstown
Map ( loaded separately to save download time)
Note: As this route involves main roads, it is easier and safer to attempt it in an anti-clockwise direction to take advantage of the left turns
Route:
Leaving from the car park beside the church, cycle out the Edgeworthstown road. This road goes uphill out of town. You will pass under a railway bridge and cycle past Longford hospital. 2km from the car park there is a large brown sign saying "Oliver Goldsmith country". Cycle further along this road until the signpost for Carrickboy appears. There is a "Y" junction here and care should be taken as the traffic coming over the railway bridge may not see cyclists in time. After cycling along this road for 3km, a hill can be seen to the right. The road surface gets very good at this point. After 2km, there is an old forge with a weather vane its roof (Belton's Garage), the road starts its long ascent here. Cycle through a cross roads with signposts for Goldsmith country and Ardagh
(It is possible to take this turn as a shortcut. It brings you to a "T" junction. At this "T" junction there is a convent gate. Taking the road to the left will lead onto the Edgeworthstown-Longford road. The right turn at this junction leads through the scenic village of Ardagh and straight onto the Ballymahon to Edgeworthstown road)
Continue uphill past the GAA pitch. The road swings to the left on the first and only really steep part of this climb and a minor road continues straight over the hill through the forest. Just after this point, the road starts to descend and continues to descend for 2.5km passing a church on the left had side. The road levels out after the church until it comes to a sharp uphill just before the main Ballymahon to Edgeworthstown road. This road is quite busy so care should be taken turning onto it.
Take a left here for Edgeworthstown. Another hill can be seen ahead and the road starts to descend for 1.7km. This road has a series of slow up and down hills. 3km after the turn onto the main road, there are smaller turns to the left. The shortcut through Ardagh joins the route here. Continue cycling straight towards Edgeworthstown over a level crossing just before the town. The road passes the school and then comes to a "T" junction. The route follows the left turn here onto the busier Edgeworthstown to Longford road. Again there are quite a lot of gradual up as and downs along this road. It has a hard shoulder, which goes all the way to the roundabout in Longford. 6km along this road there is a left turn (signpost saying: "Ardagh 4 miles") where the other shortcut comes out
(There is a turn for Carrigglass Manor shortly after this point and this is a possible connection to the Ballinalee route)
Continue straight to the roundabout. Take the turn for the town centre passing the Ardagh and Carrickboy turn, when off the roundabout. Continue straight under the railway bridge back to the car park
Points of interest:
Ardagh is a pretty village and winner of the Tidy Towns competition. There is a heritage centre in the village.
There is a museum and genealogy centre in Longford town.
There is also a good view where the route meets the Ballymahon to Edgeworthstown road at Carrickboy
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Route 2: Longford - Lanesborough - Ballymahon
road - Longford
Total distance: 49km
Climbing: Quite a lot of ups and downs but a couple of shorter climbs near the turn from Ballymahon to Longford. (these climbs can be avoided by taking the Corlea road.)
Traffic: Busy on the Longford to Lanesborough road and Ballymahon to Longford road, lighter on the Lanesborough to Ballymahon road.
Road conditions: Generally good. Good stretches on the Longford to Lanesborough road and again after the turn for Corlea on the Lanesborough to Ballymahon road
Maps: O.S. 1:50 Discovery series No. 40 (Galway, Longford, Roscommon & Westmeath) + 41 (Longford, Meath & Westmeath)
Approx. time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Nearest train: Longford
Note: As with Route no 1, this route involves main roads, it is easier and safer to attempt it in an anti-clockwise direction to take advantage of the left turns
Map
Route:
Cycling out of Longford, take the Lanesborough/Roscommon road. The first 2 km are a gradual uphill. Cracks in this road make it quite bumpy but after 1.5 km from the town, a hard shoulder appears, unfortunately this hard shoulder has quite a lot of gravel so care must be taken.
Cycling past the turn for Ballymahon, a bridge over the Royal Canal is on the left. The road is still rising slowly at this point and continues to do so for 0.7km to the first definite climb. Once at the top of this climb, the road becomes very smooth and fast. It narrows a good deal and after 1km the good surface reappears. From this point on, the road surface is variable with good stretches as well as some potholes and uneven surfaces. There are dangerous bends ahead and then the road rises to go over the canal. It then descends into Killashee, where there is a sharp bend just as this road starts to climb again. The road has more bad bends here and goes up and down until bog land comes into view (1km).
(It is possible to take a left turn 5km after Killashee to avoid Lanesborough completely. This shortens the trip by 6km.)
The next 2km are relatively flat after which the road rises. Lanesborough, with its peat burning power station now comes into view. Keep cycling to the "Lanesborough" and "Caution prepare to stop" signs. Take the minor road to the left at this "Y" junction. This road soon ends at a "T" junction with a church on the right.
Take a left here, passing the primary school on the right. This road is noticeably quieter and the surface is good, if slightly uphill to start with. The first crossroads along this road is the point where the above short cut re-joins the route. Continue on passing over a Bord Na Mona level crossing. 1km past this crossing there is a left turn for Corlea Bog.
(Taking this turn cuts off the two stiffer climbs further along this route and shortens the journey by 7km. Cycle for 4 km, through the worked bog and over the Grand Canal. The surface can be quite rough in parts but improves as it nears Keenagh. Once at the "T" junction in Keenagh, take a left along the Ballymahon - Longford road.)
Continue straight towards Ballymahon and 3km further along this road the first of two stiffer climbs starts. It is approx. 500 metres long and is followed by a fast downhill. At the end of the downhill, there is a crossroads with a shop (Leavy's) and petrol station. After this crossroads the road rises again and the turn for Longford is 1.2km after this petrol station. The hill continues around this turn for another 500m. Continue cycling along this road but beware of potholes immediately before and after a dangerous bend. The village of Keenagh is 1km further along this road. (The Corlea short cut meets the route again here). There are a few uphills and downhills along here as well as two long straight stretches. This road meets up with the main Longford-Lanesborough road. Take a right turn for Longford and continue along this road back to the starting point.
Points of Interest:
There is a visitor centre in Corlea (off the Lanesborough-Ballymahon road) It houses a trackway discovered when Bord Na Mona were cutting turf in the bog in this area. It was a road through the bog dating back to 148 BC. This is the largest timber trackway of this kind to be uncovered in Europe.
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