Ireland. Hoping to tour Ireland in a few

[barnesy]

I toured Ireland last summer over 2 weeks, left Belfast where i live and straight down the east coast, over the Wicklow mountains and down to Cork. I then done the west coast and all the inns and outs, Bantry bay, Beara peninsula, Ring of Kerry, Dingle peninsula and then got the ferry from Tarbert to Clare and then up the coast, past the cliffs of Moher and through the burren to Galway.

Ive far too much t say or think about now, i was thinking of making a CGOAB about it if i got time.

It was a brilliant tour though and the part from bantry to the burren was brilliant.

I found Belfast to Cork very boring as it was along major roads (although you have a nice hard shoulder most of the way)

I took a bus form Galway to Dublin and then onwards to Belfast. The journey from Galway to Dublin didnt seem live very good cycling, although i was seeing it by bus so cat really comment.

I would recommend taking a bus to galway form dublin and starting your journery South from there, County Kerry has some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland. The Healey Pass and the Connor pass were fun while fully laden but the views were spectacular.

Im cycling Malin to Mizen this May for charity and really looking forward to it, especially the Gap of Dunloe.

I could talk for hours about it so if you have any questions about my tour just ask.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I cycled Mizen Head to Malin Head several years ago. I cycled from Cork across to Bantry, then down to Mizen and back to Bantry the first day. Then cycled along the west through Kilarney and across the river Shannon to Doolin. I foolishly tried to cut the corner to Galway by getting the ferry to the Aran islands and got stranded for the day. Then I cycled through Sligo and ended up in Malin Head. The nicest parts of Ireland seem to be around the edges. Ireland seems odd in that most of its hilly country seems to be around the circumference of the country. I found the traffic busier than I thought it would be. The traffic through the centre of the country does not seem very busy, but along the west it gets very busy. This is especially true around Donegal. I was planned to avoid going into N.Ireland as it's still seemed slightly edgy to me. However, I concluded it was a lot less dangerous than cycling on the busy road around Donegal. Some of Ireland's roadsides are depressingly full of litter, with a lot of not particularly nice houses built up everywhere. Doolin was a very nice place. There were lots of B+Bs and hostels. The Malin peninsula was busy and scruffy until you got right near the top. Malin Head is a lovely place. I didn't have much chance to cycle around county Galway because I got stuck on Inishmore, but the bit I did see was very pretty. I would have liked to have cycled around there and county Mayo a bit more.

 

[jags]

barnsey and yellow fang could i ask you guy's besides the litter the scenery and of course the weather .what is it about (here)ireland that makes it a good touring destination.the thing that get's me is the price of campsites especally up north around 15 to 17 quid for a single pitch.down south are much better .did you find the maps good or gps or just ask the locals for directions.i woulden't mind doing misen to malen myself if i can get super fit by the summer.

 

[Yellow Fang]

When I cycled it, it was during the hottest summer in at least ten years. As a young teenage, I used to get sent to my Irish grandparents in Cavan every summer holiday, so the weather seemed unnatural. I didn't use the campsites. I spent the nights at cheap hotels, b+bs and hostels. I preferred the hostels, because otherwise, once my friend returned home, the only people I'd talk to all day were staff. £15 seems very steep for a tent pitch.

I used four big maps, one each for the east, south, west and north of Ireland. The scale was a bit too big I found. Often I'd find a lane that wasn't marked on the map, and I wasn't sure whether it was a private road leading to someone's farm, or a scenic short cut to somewhere I wanted to go. I've never had GPS; it may be the way to go. The problem with too many small scale maps is that is would get expensive buying them all; they'd be a lot to carry volume wise, and you're constantly going off the edge of one map onto another.

I suspect that apart from the scenery, and the novelty of being in a different country, how much you enjoy going anywhere depends on the company. I was with my mate for the first two or three days, and on my own after that. Kilarney was pretty good entertainment wise, and Doolin was pretty good too. Both these places cater for the tourist trade in their own ways. I suppose for me one good thing about Ireland is that I don't have to worry about the language or trying to sort out unfamiliar travel or accommodation procedures.

 

[JackE]

Most of my camping in the South and West of Ireland has been of the "wild" variety. I've never had any problems finding a pitch and, where appropriate, I've asked permission from the landowner and never been turned down. The beaches/strands usually have grassy areas which is common land and are brilliant places to camp. Going to sleep with the sound of the sea lapping on a beach/rocky shore-line is better than a Symphony Orchestra to me.
In France I normally pay €3-5 for a Camping Municipal site. I would never pay £15 for any patch of grass.

 

[barnesy]

barnsey and yellow fang could i ask you guy's besides the litter the scenery and of course the weather .what is it about (here)ireland that makes it a good touring destination.the thing that get's me is the price of campsites especally up north around 15 to 17 quid for a single pitch.down south are much better .did you find the maps good or gps or just ask the locals for directions.i woulden't mind doing misen to malen myself if i can get super fit by the summer.

I found the weather brilliant when i toured in june, came home with lovely brown arms and white hands and a brown legs up til my thighs.

It was my first ever tour, i was 20 at the time and felt a little nervous about be out there by myself but everywhere i went i felt safe an welcome (except clonakilty where i woke at 2am with the noise of a group of lads drunkenly roaming the campsite) however i loved the feeling of touring and getting in my tent every night, i just thought it was a brilliant way to travel.

The people were amazing, everywhere you go there is somebody who will talk to you, i often had to ask for directions and nobody was ever rude or unhelpful. Id love talking to people in Cork and say i got there from Belfast by bike, nobody would believe me.

Road quality wasnt brilliant everywhere, i had to stop on the ring of Kerry to put on a second pair of shorts. But some of the roads were breathtaking, some brilliant climbs and descents for a country with very little big mountains.

I never paid more than €10 for a site, i found the average to be around €5. Definitely stay in Mannix point campsite if you can in Cahersiveen. I also stayed in a very busy site in Doolin on my last night and had brilliant craic in Gus O Connors pub.

I used 4 OS maps, one for each North, East, South and West and found the scale okay, roadsigns arent bad but can be confusing or even missing altogether in the more rural areas. In the north we use miles and it was no bother getting used to reading in KM, although there are still a few old metal signs from before Ireland went metric.

Im doing Malin to Mizen for charity this year and am unsure whether to take my time and camp again on my converted MTB or if i should go all out 100 miles a day trying to get it done in 4 or 5 days

 

[jags]

thank's lads for that as i said never toured that part of the country ((WEST) hopefully this year i'll head across country then maybe head down south towards cork who knows.i think travelling solo is the way to go buy yeah it's nice to be able to have the craic with people as well.if you have any more info on campsites please let me know.
cheers
jags

 

[jags]

Most of my camping in the South and West of Ireland has been of the "wild" variety. I've never had any problems finding a pitch and, where appropriate, I've asked permission from the landowner and never been turned down. The beaches/strands usually have grassy areas which is common land and are brilliant places to camp. Going to sleep with the sound of the sea lapping on a beach/rocky shore-line is better than a Symphony Orchestra to me.
In France I normally pay €3-5 for a Camping Municipal site. I would never pay £15 for any patch of grass.

sound's great camping by the sea for free.we also only paid around5 to 7 euro for a pitch in france, but in northern ireland last year me and a friend paid £30 for a small pitch £15 each needless to say we had no choice but to pay as it was late when we reachen the campsite .talk about be ripped off i did comlain to ni tourist board but it was out of there hands sorry to say.but that was my only grief with northern ireland otherwise itwas great.