River Bann Cycling

Cyclist relaxing Enjoy a bicycle journey across land, over bridges, along meandering river banks and through bustling towns.

The route has a great diversity of natural and cultural heritage attractions and huge potential for the adventurous touring cyclist. The Lower Bann Valley is the perfect location for a short cycling holiday.

The Lower Bann Cycleway project has put in place a quality signed cycle route that follows the Lower Bann River corridor from Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the UK, through the rolling countryside of counties Antrim and Londonderry to the North Coast where it meets with the Atlantic Ocean at the Barmouth near Castlerock. A series of interpretation panels have been installed along the route and a free Lower Bann Cycleway route map has been produced.

Download the Lower Bann Cycleway guide (4.6MB PDF)

The low-lying landscape of the river corridor provides a gentle cycle leaving cyclists to enjoy the route at their leisure, relax and take in the scenery of the Lower Bann. The cycleway passes through or close to the towns of Toome, Portglenone, Kilrea, Ballymoney and Coleraine. Running predominantly along quiet country roads the route includes traffic-free sections through parkland at Canal Walk in Toome, Riverside Park in Ballymoney and Christie Park in Coleraine, which are ideal locations for family cycling.

The Lower Bann Cycleway is part of the National Cycle Network which now runs within one mile of 55 per cent of the UK population. From Toome to Coleraine the cycleway follows National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 96 while from Coleraine to Castlerock it follows existing NCN Route 93. Sign posts along the route are branded with Lower Bann Cycleway finials.

Attractions along the way include the environmentally protected Lough Neagh and Lough Beg system which are a haven for wildlife and renowned for their diversity of bird life. Portglenone Forest lies close to the route and is a beautiful natural area of ancient woodland, famed for its spectacular shows of Bluebells in spring. Historic attractions along the route include Kilrea Old Church, Ballymoney Old Church and graveyard and the impressive archaeological monument Mountsandel Fort in Coleraine, the oldest known site of human habitation in Ireland (circa 7000BC).

Infrastructure improvements were made to the route as part of the Lower Bann project. In Ballymoney, DRD Roads Service extended a shared use path along the A26 Frosses Road which links to the town’s Riverside Park, practically completing a traffic-free circuit around the perimeter of the town. In Coleraine further route improvements are being made to create shared-use path facilities between Christie Park and Somerset Park. The new infrastructure provides a facility for people of all ages and abilities to travel sustainably for everyday trips, leisure and recreation.

The free Lower Bann Cycleway map with information on the routes and attractions along the way is available from local Tourist Information Centres and bike shops. It can also be downloaded by clicking the link on this page or from the Sustrans website www.sustrans.org.uk or by calling Sustrans Information Line on 0845 113 00 65.

Cycling ideas

1.	National Cycling Network - Ballymena Get on your bike and take a cycle along the ecos trail, Route 97 of the National Cycling Network (NCN 97).
2.	G. McAllister Cycles - Coleraine Offers quality cycle hire for the Lower Bann Valley and the North Coast region.

Cycling at Toome bridge Cyclist looking at River Bann