None of these seven sits inside a single county. Cuilcagh straddles the Fermanagh and Cavan border at 666 m, the highest point in both, and its Stairway to Heaven boardwalk crosses a vast intact blanket bog to a platform on the edge of the plateau; the car park at the start is booked. The Blackstairs, on the Carlow and Wexford border, carry loop walks and a stretch of the South Leinster Way over dry heath under Mount Leinster, 795 m.
The rest are long lines rather than summits. The Lagan towpath runs flat for 11 miles from Stranmillis to Lisburn past the Giant’s Ring, and it is the only one here you can start on foot from a city. EuroVelo 2 crosses 230 km of level midland ground between Dublin and Galway, traffic-free on canal towpath and lifted railway as far as Athlone, quiet shared roads after that, and barely signed. Much of that lifted railway was Midland Great Western track, which also survives as the Great Western Greenway and the Old Rail Trail. The Foyle Greenway follows the old Great Northern line from Craigavon Bridge in Derry to Lifford and Strabane.
The Great Irish Grasslands Trail is not a route at all: 27 semi-natural meadows from the Burren to the Glens of Antrim, sites to seek out, best in summer for orchids and marsh fritillary. Greenways and towpaths hold up year round; the bog and heath on Cuilcagh and the Blackstairs are exposed and slow going in bad weather.
A boardwalk across one of Western Europe's largest intact blanket bogs climbs to a viewing platform at 666 m, with the car park booked in advance.
Loop walks and a stretch of the South Leinster Way cross roughly 17% of all Ireland's dry heath, under Mount Leinster at 795 m.
Eleven flat miles of towpath from Stranmillis to Lisburn, past Norman mottes and the Giant's Ring, walkable straight out of Belfast.
A 538-mile Victorian network that still carries the Dublin to Galway trains and, where the rails were lifted, the Great Western Greenway and Old Rail Trail.
Two hundred and thirty flat kilometres between Dublin and Galway, traffic-free on towpaths and old railway as far as Athlone, then quiet roads.
5 of 7 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Border of County Fermanagh (Northern Ireland) and County Cavan (Republic of Ireland), various
Cuilcagh reaches 666 m on the Fermanagh–Cavan border, the highest point in both counties. Its 'Stairway to Heaven' boardwalk crosses one of Western Europe's largest intact blanket bogs to a viewing platform on the plateau's edge, with red grouse and golden plover for company and a booked car park at the start.
Various, various
The Blackstairs run along the Carlow–Wexford border and hold roughly 17% of all Ireland's dry heath, which is why the range is a Special Area of Conservation. Two summits define it: Mount Leinster at 795m and Blackstairs Mountain at 732m. The uplands sheltered rebels in 1798 and rapparees before that; today they carry loop walks, a stretch of the South Leinster Way and ground-nesting birds like red grouse and hen harrier.
Belfast, various
Once an industrial artery, the Lagan now anchors a 4,200-acre regional park. A flat towpath runs 11 miles from Stranmillis to Lisburn past Norman mottes and the Giant's Ring, while narrated cruises pass the Titanic slipway and Harland & Wolff cranes.
Various, various
Incorporated in 1845, the Midland Great Western Railway reached Mullingar by 1848 and Galway by 1851, growing to a 538-mile network. Its route survives as the Dublin–Galway and Dublin–Westport train lines and, where the rails were lifted, as the Great Western Greenway and the Old Rail Trail.
Various, various
Craigavon Bridge, various
Across the island of Ireland, various
← All things to do in Multi-County Trips
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