Blackwater Valley Cycle Route - Maps & Signs - Fermoy to Doneraile

The Blackwater Valley Cycle Route goes from Midleton in East Cork to Rathmore in Co Kerry and covers a distance of about 160kms. This was a tourist initiative launched around the turn of the century.

More info in this overview post.

In this post, we'll look at the section from Fermoy to Doneraile which is about 30kms long. We'll look at what old maps and signs are still present on the route as of August 2023.

As can be seen from the map above, the route goes from Fermoy to  Glanworth to Castletownroche and then on to Doneraile. Large parts of this section are on nice quiet country roads with views of the mountains in the distance.

For information on the signs in Fermoy, see this earlier post.

Glanworth - Map Board : The information sign for the route is opposite the church in the village.

This another view showing the route ahead through the village and the sign on the right.

The sign is a little unusual in that it is facing away from the passing cyclist. The front of the board is shown below.

This is a close up of the map which shows the route from Fermoy to Castletownroche.

Signs west of Glanworth : At the north side of the village of Glanworth, the route takes a left and west onto a quiet country road. There are several junctions along this section and they have direction signs along the way.

The first direction sign at junction 'A' is shown below...

The sign is a little bit battered but still in good condition.

The direction sign at junction 'B' is above the yield sign.

It's still in a reasonable condition.

This is the only section of this part of the route where a little care with navigation is needed. Take a left at the junction 'B' and then a right at the crossroads at junction 'C'.

The sign shows some sign of damage but it's still present.

Castletownroche - Map Board : The information sign for the route is located just in front of the random wall in the village of Castletownroche. It seems a bit unusual in that it's not really near any landmark other than the fact it's about 100m west from the bridge over the River Awbeg.

This is a view of the notice board.

This is the map in more detail showing the route from Glanworth to Doneraile.

After a right turn in Castletownroche, it's onto a quiet country road again until Skenakilla Cross where the cyclist meets the busy N73 road. This only lasts for about 100m before turning left for Doneraile (6.3kms) on a moderately busy road.

Approach to Doneraile... There are a number of signs along this approach road to Doneraile.

At 2.5kms to Doneraile, come to junction A. The image below is from Google Streetview dated 2019 which shows two brown direction signs...

I'm not sure what the current status of the signs are. I passed here in August of 2023 so perhaps I took a photo and it didn't record it, the signs were gone or I just missed them.

Junction B is 2.2kms from Doneraile and passes a road on the right.

Either side of this junction, the two brown direction signs are still present as of August 2023.

Junction C is 1.1kms from Doneraile and passes a road on the left.

This photo from August 2023 shows a pole on the right which used to have brown direction arrows on it. According to Google Streetview, these went missing between July 2019 and October 2021.

Arriving in Doneraile... On arriving in Doneraile, the cyclist comes to a t-junction where the road joins the R581.

The brown Blackwater Valley Cycle Route signs can be seen on the right.

This is a closer view.

Doneraile - Map Board : The information sign for the route is located in the village just north  of the bridge over the River Awbeg.

The Blackwater Valley Cycle Route sign can be seen on the far right while there is a more modern and larger Ballyhoura Cycle Routes sign to the left of it. 

The sign is showing its age and is a bit dirty but at least it's still there.

The image above shows a close up of the map. Once the cyclist reaches Doneraile, they are presented with a choice. 

Option 1 is the northerly route going through Buttevant and heading towards Kanturk. Option 2 heads south to the large regional town of Mallow and then onto to Ballyclough and Kanturk.

Leaving Doneraile : About 500m north of the bridge and sign in Doneraile, there is one more route sign at Turnpike Cross. This is the junction of the R581 and R522 roads.

There are plenty of different signs here but the photo below taken in August of 2023 shows the Blackwater Valley Cycle Route sign on it's own.

The sign on the right points south back towards Doneraile and that's correct. The sign on the left however is pointing in the wrong direction. 

It's pointing north whereas it should be pointing west towards Buttevant.

Looking at the images on Google Streetview, it was pointing in the correct direction in May of 2011. In the image dated August 2019, it is pointing in the wrong direction as it is now in August of 2023.

The signs also look remarkably clean despite being so old. This may likely be due to a very active Tidy Towns group in the village.

In Summary... Despite the age of the route, all of the notice boards and maps are still present in Fermoy, Glanworth, Castletownroche and Doneraile. Out of entire route from Midleton to Rathmore, this is the section where the maps and signs are in the best condition.

For more information on the entire route, see the overview post.