Greenways [greenway map of Ireland in post 1]

A good letter in today’s IT about the Royal Canal greenway, winner of a European award but missing a vital link

Not strictly Greenways but some included in the National Cycle Network Plan published by TII today for public consultation

The National Cycle Network (NCN) (consultation.ai)

much like the largely unbuilt Dublin Cycle Network this just gives councils a license to do nothing for the next 10 years.

Yes and yes...

In reality there's a mixture of surfaces, grass mainly but also some tarmac roads and gravel track. From the tunnel at the Rathangan road you can go either side as far as Ticknevin but after that you're better off on the North side. From Hamilton bridge you can cross onto tarmac road towards Skew bridge

It's in regular if somewhat unofficial use between Ross and Glenmore. I thought it was only dog walkers, but saw a cyclist on it last week.

Ah let's give these guys a breather - I have no doubt they are genuine in their overall support. They are just stressed right now, as there are lots of unknowns. It sounds like there is minimal useful engagement from the council on progressing this high level plan to a detailed route. Without heavy engagement with these farmers, there is a risk the council will land a detailed route in their letterbox without their input.

Communication is key here. If you engage everyone properly, you'll come to a better outcome.

I'm a bit flumoxxed trying to find out exactly how many greenway trails there are in Ireland, where they are, their accessibility and length/ease or difficulty etc. I know there is a Greenway site and the OSI, but I recently discovered that there is a Greenway in Blessington that I had never heard of and does not appear on either of the above websites. There are probably lots of other greenways/walking routes etc. around the country that are as yet undiscovered other than by those living close by.

Admittedly I haven't done any in depth research county by county, but I think all greenways/walkways should be more visible on a search, not just for me but for everyone, native and tourist alike. Seems like there is no central website for this.

But maybe I am missing some very good site that shows it all. Anyone any ideas?

Well I tried typing greenways Ireland into Google and would you believe that the first thing came up was (shock horror) GreenwaysIreland.org

Yes I know about Greenways Ireland, but it doesn't include Blessington Greenway for example, just mentions it as a "future" project, even though it is open and being used, which was the point of my post thanks.

I had to separately search for it and found it via Wicklow Tourism. Just saying that there may be many other (smaller maybe) greenways out there that are not mentioned on the main site and therefore not being used much if people don't know they exist.

https://visitwicklow.ie/listing/blessington-greenway-walk/

I accept that smaller infrastructural projects like Blessington are probably not sexy enough for the Greenway website, but I would like to see a central portal for all greenways somewhere anyway. Would be easier than checking out each county individually for what they have to offer greenway wise.

Good to hear some agreement at last! And there are Blueways, and Pilgrim ways, and all sorts of trails and walks all over the shop, but it seems to be very hard to find them centrally.

Could you link to "RR"s map please? If you have time, I don't have much faith in the search function here, and not sure what to look for re RR anyway. Cheers and thanks.

Thanks for pointing me to the map in post no.1. It is an amazing piece of work and all credit to RR.

The point I was making is that a central portal like RR's is badly needed on the Failte Ireland/Greenway/OS sites. I intend to ask the relevant departments to comment, we shall see what their response is.

As a moderator could you tell me if I am allowed to link RR's map in correspondence? I won't link anything until I find out.