In the beginning
On a humid morning, the same set of cyclists assembled at Murphy’s farm. The objective was to get as close to the source of the Curragheen River as possible, while investigating any interesting diversions along the way. The first stop was the confluence of the Twopot and the Curragheen. We had explored the Twopot source on the first trip. We next moved on to the Curraheen Grotto, an area beside the Curragheen river which is very picturesque and which is looked after by the Ballinora Community Council. Pat Tuite, a member, met us there and introduced the activities related to the river. Then the painful part started, as we ascended the first of three steep hills. This sorted out the e-bikers from the rest. Around Ballinora it was well decorated by numerous flower baskets and information boards. One recent piece of information was the route of the prospective Cork Kinsale Greenway, which is apparently not welcomed by all. One last hill, followed by a famine graveyard took us to a small bridge crossing the upper reaches of the Curragheen. From here we could follow the line of the river back into the city, via the obvious path of trees. The descent back to Cork was thankfully rapid after all the climbing and the necessary sustenance was provided by several pizzas at the Inver (previously Amber) petrol station
Cork River Alliance Group 