Slieve Bloom Mountains

" There is no such thing as bad weather, merely bad clothing."

Slieve Bloom Mountains Spin.

Yesterday was a bright spring day in the Slieve Bloom mountains in Laois (Ireland). I didn't pass another cyclist during my spin and the brisk but beautiful day reminded me of the old saying I've used in the post header.

 

 

Sure enough I was snug as a bug in a rug and never really noticed the cooler temperatures which made a nice change from many previous occasions when I've often departed on the bicycle foolishly under dressed for the weather, only to regret my clothing decision as the biting cold took hold. Perhaps after all wisdom does indeed come with age.

 

Finn Macool ( Fionn Mac Cumhail) was raised in the Slieve Blooms and nearby Ballyfin translates as the town of Fionn.

 

There are a few old abandoned stone houses that you can see from the trails but there's also a little group of hidden houses complete with an old stone wall lined trail hidden in a wooded area here. Life must have been tough in such a remote area all those years ago. The little group of houses is difficult to find.

 

 

Sometimes in Winter it's easier to access the area by MTB on the trails. There's whats believed to be a collapsed Dolmen, the Giants Grave, on the edge of the mountains. If you travel towards Cadamstown on the trails you might come across it.

As well as the buildings shown below there are several other deserted areas with small abandoned houses buried in the undergrowth dotted throughout the hills. Some are hard to find.

Snow dusted Singletrack (Hardtail) at Kinnity side

Laois/Offaly Singletrack in light Snow (no music)

As of 2021 there are Red and Blue Singletrack MTB trails at both Kinnity in Offaly and Baunreagh in Laois. These are a wonderful reacreational facility and hopefully post Corvid 19 lockdowns we will all get to enjoy them again soon.

Sometimes seclusion is nice. It's very peaceful in this weather when you have the surrounding hills to yourself.

The Slieve Bloom mountains in Laois are largely undiscovered. Although there are "Hotspots" which attract visitors there are many large tracts of the uplands where you will meet no one at all.