Skibbereen Cycle Hub Loop 2
Grade
Challenging
Length
23.9 km
Time
2 hours 20 minutes
Format
Loop
Ascent
251 m
Waymarking
Blue text on white background
Start Point
Skibbereen Post Office
Finish Point
Skibbereen Post Office
Nearest Town to Start
Skibbereen
Lat. and Long.
51.54964535, -9.270360768
This loop is south-west of Skibbereen and starts at the Heritage Centre, passing through a beautiful part of the country. There is an option to continue on a linear there-and-back section from Lough Nacartan to Baltimore. While the loop part is the easiest of the three Cycle Hub Loops, the linear section includes the challenging Lough Hyne, some very steep hills, narrow roads and poor surfaces. Care is required on some sections and at some junctions.
Maps and other information
OSI Maps
Discovery Series Sheet 89
Mairead from Dublin
I was cycling in the area and I followed the signs for this trail from Baltimore to Lough Hyne. I thought it was awful. The route was obviously designed by a sadist, who brought you up the steepest hills in the area. The roads were so narrow that you had to stop every time a car came from either direction. The surfaces on the roads were very poor. On the descents, it was quite dangerous. I was riding a touring bike and carrying about 12 kilos and the descents were lethal. In my view one would need a mountain bike for these descents. There were no maps showing where the roads were going and no warning that some bikes, or cyclists, might not be up to it.
This is a beautiful part of the country and I was there on a glorious June day. I reckon I would have found a more pleasant, and safer, cycle if I'd worked it out for myself on an OS map.
I wonder if the people who devised the route have ever actually cycled it. If they have, have they done so with a young person whose cycling skills are not fully developed?
This is a beautiful part of the country and I was there on a glorious June day. I reckon I would have found a more pleasant, and safer, cycle if I'd worked it out for myself on an OS map.
I wonder if the people who devised the route have ever actually cycled it. If they have, have they done so with a young person whose cycling skills are not fully developed?
amrita mellink from Netherlands