A 326km cross-Border cycling and walking route was opened by the North's Minister for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Michelle Gildernew, yesterday.
The North West Trail, which passes through Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Leitrim and Sligo, utilises quiet country roads through scenic, rural landscapes as well as high tracks along the Atlantic coast, offering views of dramatic seascapes. The circular route also passes through picturesque rural villages as well as the large towns of Enniskillen, Sligo, Donegal, Lifford, Strabane and Omagh.
The trail is to be extensively signposted and a website, www.northwest-trail.com will carry information on places to stay and eat as well as where to hire bicycles.
The North West Trail links into the existing cycle network in Northern Ireland, where it meets up with route 92 to Derry. It also links an existing cross-Border route, the Kingfisher Trail, and the Inish Eoghain cycle route, which is being developed.
A guide leaflet and map of the trail is to be available in shops and tourist offices along the route. Developed by six local authorities in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Fermanagh and Tyrone, the project received about €700,000 from the EU Interreg fund, which aims to promote cross-Border integration. The trail is also supported by Fáilte Ireland, the NI Tourist Board, the PSNI and An Garda Síochána.
It is to be managed by Sustrans, the UK's leading sustainable transport charity.
Sustrans works on practical projects to enable people to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister said the North West Trail "provides tourists and local communities with an opportunity to travel along quiet country roads, forest trails and riverside paths.
"It winds its way through the beautiful countryside of Lifford, Barnesmore Gap, along the beach at Rossnowlagh, on through Bundoran, Sligo and Leitrim, back through Belcoo, Enniskillen and on to Omagh before returning here to Strabane.
"I am confident the North West Trail will act as a magnet to cyclists and pedestrians from both the local community and further afield."
Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell, the Opposition spokeswoman on tourism, also welcomed the development, commenting that such trails should be "actively promoted by tourism bodies across the whole island".
