Network of trails proposed for local bogs
Bord na Móna has unveiled ambitious plans to create a network of cycle and walking trails across the Midlands by repurposing the former narrow gauge rail track beds on their bog lands across five counties, including Offaly.
While the company has submitted a planning application for just one of the five planned projects so far – in Westmeath – it is understood that planning will be sought for similar projects in Offaly, Longford, Roscommon and Tipperary in the coming months.
The overall project, to be known as the Midlands Trail Network, is designed to link in with the existing and emerging arterial Greenway network. Funding for the novel tourist offering will be provided by Fáilte Ireland under EU Just Transition Funding, as part of the Regenerative Tourism & Placemaking Scheme for the Midlands.
The aim of the Midlands Trail Network is to create “a sense of connectivity” across the towns, villages, bogs and walkways within the EU Just Transition region, and to encourage local people and visitors to explore the Midlands region by bike, e-bike and on foot on a fully-serviced network of off-road trails.
The trails will be linked to heritage sites and visitor attractions across the Midlands, and the project will include the construction of appropriate car and/or bicycle parking at Gateway entry points to the proposed trails and will also include clearly-marked signage directing visitors to nearby towns and villages to avail of accommodation, food and other services. It is anticipated that the Midlands Network Trail across Offaly and the other four Midland counties earmarked for the project will provide significant benefits to towns and villages located in close proximity to the proposed routes.
Bord na Móna currently has an 80,000 hectare landbank and, in advance of the cessation of turf production, they began a move towards becoming a climate solutions company with the launch of their “Brown to Green Strategy” in 2018. The Midlands Trail Network is part of that move with the company saying it will offer a regenerative and sustainable form of tourism on the bogs which were previously used for peat extraction.
The company rehabilitated 8,000 hectares of peatland in 2021, and has set a target of rehabilitating up to 33,000 hectares of their peatlands by 2030.
As part of their move towards the creation of a more sustainable form of tourism with their Midlands Trail Network project, Bord na Móna is proposing to repurpose formerly used railway tracks to create bicycle racks and benches along the trail routes.