Sir, – I read with interest Sarah Swift’s letter regarding the difficulties of cycling from Dublin to the west of Ireland (September 4th). It is a journey I have undertaken twice in the past year, along the towpaths of the Royal and Grand Canals. Neither route is marked as a cycling route but the potential of both to encourage cycle tourism is, in my view, enormous. However, this will not be accomplished without support from the powers that be.
Consider the advantages of the canals for cycle tourism – the generally flat terrain allows easy cycling; there are almost no access difficulties, as the land is in public ownership; and, for most of the route, there is no danger from motor vehicles. At present the towpaths are not developed for cycling and thus are grassy and rough in places, but this could be easily resolved by gravelling the paths, as has been done on the Great Western Greenway in Co Mayo. That initiative proved to be a huge success and has revitalised towns along the route. Creating two new cycling routes along the canals could bring similar benefits to such towns as Longford and Tullamore, which at present are not known for being tourism hotspots.
I am aware that we are living in financially difficult times, but given that the land is already in public ownership, surely turning the towpaths into proper cycling routes would not be a heavy burden – all that is needed is some gravel, signage and replacing some cycling-unfriendly gates with others. This has already been done along short sections of both canals. All that is needed now is to complete the routes from Dublin to the Shannon and market them appropriately to both the Irish and international markets. We already have a hugely successful Great Western Greenway, so let’s add a Royal and Grand Greenway and give our tourism market a much-needed boost. – Yours, etc,