Work to create a “peatway” in an area of bog near Littleton, Thurles is to get underway in September. The project is a collaboration between Bord na Mona and Tipperary County Council as the extraction of peat has now ceased and Bord na Mona has plans for a wind farm in the area.
The development proposes to construct a shared walking and cycling route along the disused rail track on Bord na Mona lands spanning 7.8km in total and is intended to form part of larger tourism project.
The route of the proposed shared “peatway” is from the end of the existing Horse and Jockey Derry na Flan Greenway and will follow the disused rail line through or in close proximity through the townlands of Killaheen, Chapel Hill and up to and including the existing walking track around Lough Doire Bhile. This man-made lake at Doire Bhille is a project delivered by Slieveardagh Rural Development Company. The monastic site in Derry na Flan is famed for the major find of items known as the Derrynaflan Hoard of five liturgical vessels in 1980 and is the reputed burial ground of the Goban Saor. The items are now on display in the National Museum – please use this link for further information here.
In the longer term a tarmacadam pathway will link to Templetuohy using the former light railway lines used in the past to transport peat. There are also plans for a visitor centre and a Bush Craft Centre offering training skills for the outdoors. The network of trails is to be known as the Littleton Labyrinth. It is expected that the trail linking Derry na Flan near the Horse and Jockey and Lough Doire Bhille and onwards will be completed by March or April 2024.
