Boyle to Lough Key on the cycleway

Most people drive to Lough Key. They come off the N4 at the main gate, queue for the barrier, pay their €6 on the way out, and never see Boyle at all. If you are staying in the town, or you have come in on the train, there is a better way in, and it starts at King House.

The Boyle to Lough Key Cycleway is 7.9 km from the middle of the town to the visitor centre on the lake shore. It is shared by walkers and cyclists, Roscommon County Council grades it easy to moderate, and it is free. Because you arrive on foot or by bike, the park charges you nothing to come in either.

Starting in town

The map board puts the start at King House on Military Road, and that is the place to begin: there is free parking on the street and in the car park behind the house, and the tea rooms in the courtyard open at nine from Monday to Saturday if you want something before you set off. Right beside the house are the Pleasure Grounds, the town park on the river, which has a sculpture trail and is a pleasant ten minutes on its own.

From there the route follows the Boyle river north out of the town on a surfaced riverside path. It is the flattest and easiest part of the whole thing, with the river beside you and the town falling away behind. After a little over a kilometre you come to Boyle Harbour, the marina on the river where the Boyle Canal begins.

The canal and the estate

Past the harbour, the cycleway runs along the bank of the Boyle Canal before turning east across what was the Rockingham estate, the demesne the King family laid out on the shore of Lough Key after they left King House. The map board marks two landmarks on this stretch, the Boyle archway and the Lough Key gate lodge, and they are the first sign that you are entering an old estate rather than just a forest.

The second half is woodland. The route goes through Kilbryan Wood, Knockanapple Wood and Derreendarragh Wood, on forest roads and woodland paths, with gentle climbs that you will notice on a bike and barely notice on foot. In April and May this is where the wild garlic comes up, and you smell it before you see it. After heavy rain these sections hold mud for a day or two, so pick a dry spell if you can, and do not take a road bike.

Arriving at the lake

The route comes out of the trees at the Lough Key visitor centre, and the view across the water to Castle Island, with the MacDermott castle ruin on it, is the reward. The Lakeside Café is right there, with window tables and a covered, heated terrace facing the island, and its hours follow the visitor centre's.

From the visitor centre you are a few minutes' walk from everything else in the park: the Rockingham Remembered tunnels, the Moylurg Tower and the canopy walk, Boda Borg, the Old Harbour where Lough Key Boats sail in summer, and Zipit in the woods. The park has about 8 km of its own traffic-free cycle trails as well, if you have the legs for more.

How long it takes

At an easy walking pace, 7.9 km is about two hours each way. By bike, most people will do it in thirty to forty-five minutes. The sensible plan on foot is to walk out in the morning, have lunch at the lake and walk back in the afternoon, which makes a full day. By bike it is an easy morning, with the park for the rest of the day.

Practical notes

• Dogs are welcome on a lead on the cycleway. They are welcome in the park's outdoor areas too, but not on the Rockingham Remembered tour.
• Parts of the route are wheelchair and buggy friendly, according to the council, but the woodland sections are not surfaced for wheelchairs.
• Bring your own bike. Check locally before you travel if you are hoping to hire one.
• The visitor centre runs shorter hours in winter; from November to January it opens Wednesday to Sunday, ten to five. The trails themselves are open all year.
• The emergency number on the map board, and anywhere in Ireland, is 112 or 999.