Find your spirit of adventure

Go Ireland:Bored with the usual diets and get-fit-quick schemes? Why not take to the great outdoors and bring a bit of excitement into your exercise regime, writes Sandra O'Connell

GIVEN UP on the diet yet? Starting to lose money on the gym subscription? That’s the thing about January; all those good intentions invariably come to nothing because the activities are just so boring.

Getting fit and being active doesn’t have to be a grind however – not when you live on a veritable adventure-playground of an island. I know I risk sounding like your mother here, but really all you’ve got to do is get out and enjoy it. So go on, be adventurous. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Walking

No mode of transport is cheaper or, given the kind of scenery we have here in Ireland, more pleasurable. All you need is a stout pair of shoes and you’re off.

Dubs have one of the best cities in the world for it – in a matter of minutes (by car or Dart) you’re in the great outdoors, from Howth Head to the Dublin Mountains. Get off the Dart at Howth and you’ve four spectacular coastal looped walks offering views from the Mournes to the Wicklow Mountains.

And there are another 200 national looped walks to enjoy, all fully off road and situated in some of the most scenic spots.

They include the Tower Loop in Glencolumcille, a 10km trek across steep mountain track with views over Skelpoonagh Bay and the 7km climb that takes you to the top of Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park.

Down in Cork, the Sheeps Head Peninsula has wild scenery, picturesque lakes and fantastic coastal scenery and you can opt for either a 4km easy loop or a longer 16km option.

For arguably the most beautiful walking in the country, Killarney National Park has two loops to choose from, taking in Mucross Lake and Torc Waterfall.

Full details of all of the looped walks, including downloadable maps, can be found on the Discover Ireland website.

Look out for the Walkers Welcome logo too. It means tourism providers are actively maintaining trails in their area and provide dedicated services and amenities – from packed lunches to spaces for mucky boots – to walkers.

Leisure cycling

You can cover more ground by opting for one of the country’s popular cycle trails.

Towns all around the country, from Westport to Wexford, have been designated by Tourism Ireland as areas of cycling excellence, which means that you can expect each (be it Achill, Kilmallock, Doolin, Mullingar or Clifden) to offer looped cycling routes suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

There are also fantastic longer linear routes, such as the North West Trail, a scenic 326km cross-border route along the quiet country roads of Fermanagh, Leitrim and Donegal.

For one of the best options, check out the Great Western Greenway in Co Mayo. Currently running between Newport and Mulranny (with an Achill stretch promised for early this year) if offers 37km of traffic-free cycling along the old Newport Mulranny railway line.

With gentle gradients and idyllic scenery, it’s the longest off-road leisure cycle route in the country and, taking four hours to complete, is a perfect introduction to the joys of leisure cycling.

Achill Island has its own great cycle routes, all beginning at An Caol-Keel, ranging in length from 12km to 28km and 44km. In Westport the shortest mapped cycle route is just 8km, takes an hour and includes a run out from the town to the scenic shoreline and back via an old railway line that once connected the two.

Or opt for the 16km Sky Road Loop outside Clifden, set 150m above sea level at Slyne Head, offers fantastic views out over the Atlantic, Inisturk and Turbot.

Clifden itself is a great base for a cycling holiday, with runs out to Roundstone, Cleggan and Ballyconneely each outdoing the other in terms of scenery.

Mountain biking

For more of an adrenaline buzz, take your cycling to the next level with a spin around one of the country’s growing number of purpose-built trails, mainly through Coillte forests.

Best known of all is Ballyhoura in Limerick, the largest of its kind in Ireland with more than 50km of mountain bike trails.

Alternatively, Derroura Mountain Bike Trail in Connemara also offers a nice mix of climbs and descents, with spectacular views of the Maam Valley, the Twelve Pins and Lough Corrib. There’s also a terrific purpose-built mountain bike trail in Ballinastoe near Roundwood, in Co Wicklow.

Competitive cycling

Of course, once you’ve found your cycling legs, before you know it you’ll be setting yourself all sorts of pedal-powered challenges.

These could include the Wicklow 200, a 200km tour of the Garden County, which takes place each June. Or how about Da Cooley Thriller Mountain Bike Marathon Cycle, which takes place in the Cooley Mountains just beside Carlingford, in Co Louth, each August. Its 52km route takes in part of the famous Táin Trail.

Alternatively, join in the Sean Kelly Cycling Tour – led by the great man himself – which starts in Dungarvan, Co Waterford in August. This one takes you up through the mountains and valleys where Kelly trained and, with a 50km, 100km and 160km route option on offer, you don’t have to be race fit to take part.

Marathons

If the competitive element of an event really does appeal to you, how about aiming to complete a running marathon?

There are loads of options, outside of the country’s best known, the Dublin City Marathon, which takes place each October bank holiday Monday.

The Connemara International Marathon, for example, takes place in early April and is a great option for first-timers, given that you can opt for either a half or a full marathon. The scenery’s great too, of course, not that you’ll see it for sweat.

May is the month of the Great Limerick Run, which is really three races in one – a marathon, half marathon and a 10km race. Both Cork and Galway cities have marathons in June and August respectively, while the Dingle Marathon, in early September, takes you out around its spectacular peninsula.

Triathlons

For supermen and women, triathlons are about the best test of mental and physical endurance you can find. Most take place over the Olympic distance of a 1,500m swim, a 40km cycle and a 10km run.

Again there are plenty of options, including the Tri-Burgh Triathlon around Louisburgh and Clew Bay in Mayo, which takes place in May.

In June the action moves to Kildare for the TriAthy event, which includes a river swim and, with its flat running and cycling terrain, sounds like a walk in the park compared to the Ironman 70.3 event which takes place in Galway this September.

This gets its name from its 1.2 mile swim, 56-mile cycle and gruelling 13.1-mile run, and is one of 31 such events internationally, leading to the world championships in Florida, but let’s not lose the run of ourselves.

Multi-disciplinary events

These competitions throw all sorts of extra events into the mix, such as the 50km Rás na Ríochta Adventure in July, which includes mountain biking, hill running and canoeing.

Or how about the Beast of Ballyhoura – a 36-hour, non-stop race through Cork, Limerick and Tipperary, which takes place over the August bank holiday weekend.

Get your friends out training with you because this one takes teams of four for a combination of mountain running, mountain biking, kayaking, abseiling and orienteering.

The Gaelforce West adventure race in Mayo is another multi-sport event taking place over 65km including cycling, running, hiking and kayaking.

There’s also the Warriors Run which, at just 15km, only seems like a short hop until you realise it’s almost all vertical, taking you up to the top of Knocknarea Mountain. A month later, in September, the Achill Roar is made up of an 800m swim, a 2.4km kayak, a 15km run and a 45km cycle.

Surfing

If all that sounds a little too much like hard work for someone currently having difficulty getting off the sofa, then think surfing. It’s the ideal way to get fit and have oodles of fun at the same time. What’s more, the better you get the more fun you have, which isn’t always the case with sport. It’s also a great pursuit for all the family to start together.

Obviously you’re not likely to be out looking for 15m “prowlers” or the like, but Ireland is literally awash with great places to surf. Many of them, such as Tramore in Waterford, Lahinch in Clare or Rossnowlagh in Donegal, are perfect for beginners. And wherever the surfing is good, you can be pretty sure there’s a surf school nearby.

Adventure sports

For total thrill seekers however, the great outdoors just isn’t all that great unless there’s a carabiner involved. For the uninitiated, these little clips are the fellows that keep you aloft, and indeed alive, as you whizz up high wires and down zip wires and through all the other white-knuckle activities that pass for entertainment at your local outdoor adventure centre. Wherever you live in the country, you’re not going to be too far from one and, indeed, they are not only great fun but, thanks to the mandatory combination of instructors, harnesses and hard hats, perfectly safe too.

Adrenaline junkies might also like to know that Tourism Ireland has carved the country up into a number of “adventure hubs”, geographic locations that specialise in specific outdoor pursuits. These include Achill, Ballyhoura, Westport, Connemara, Sligo, west Cork and Kerry, west Clare and Lough Derg.

All are places it’s nice to be, even if you only go outside to cross from restaurant to pub but chances are, given the number of adventure firms clustered in each, you’ll end up clinging on to a carabiner for all you’re worth at some stage during your stay. Enjoy.

Useful websites

• discoverireland.ie/adventure
• dublinmountains.ie
• triathy.ie
• gaelforceevents.com
• connemarathon.com
• roar.ie
• killaryadventure.com
• delphimountainresort.com
• donegaladventurecentre.net
• irishadventures.net
• atlanticseakayaking.com
• surfworld.ie