Ireland ideas

[ju5t1n]

My wife and I are planning a tour of Ireland in July, we’ve never been there before. What should we not miss seeing?

 

[summerdays]

Are you going north of the border ...... if so the Giant's Causeway is one of my favourite places ... although it's not as good as it used to be as some of the path crumbled away so you can't do as much of it now. (You can still do the bit shown in the postcards etc... its just that there used to be a long path on the cliff face ... the last time I did it, I remember it being very scarey)

 

[ju5t1n]

Both sides of the border (I think)

 

[jags]

im planning my first tour of my fair land and ive no idea where to start.
i live on the north east coast near dublin dont know if i should head south or north they both have a lot to offer i intend to camp all the way hope fully the weather will be kind to camp .

 

[Cathryn]

There was an Ireland tour in an old edition of Cycling Plus. I've had a root around and can't find it but if you've got a stash, maybe have a hunt through? It looked wonderful - if rainy.

 

[HLaB]

I've done two organised tours (a van to carry the bags ) on the west coast, Donegal and Mayo, perhaps their web site may give you ideas.

 

[HLaB]

I'd do the west coast. I lived there for a while and I'd go back at the drop of a hat.

Make sure you go to Achill Island.

I'd second that, I lived in Dublin for 5 years but I preferred the west.

 

[Alves]

Agreed too. Anywhere on the West Coast would give good touring. Donegal and the NW tends to be a little quieter than SW but it can all get a little hectic at w/e and in high summer.
I live in Scotland so really like the Sperrins and L Erne and the NE coast as well in N Ireland.
Watch out for farm dogs in country areas, although they only tend to chase bikes and bark rather than actually sink their fangs in: quite alarming if you're not used to it.
The bits in the middle have lots of pleasant country lanes but can be a little tedious with long gaps between semi-deserted villages with nothing open, so I would tend to concentrate on the coast as a starter.

 

[summerdays]

Where ever you go ... take good maps ... the discovery and discoverer (South and North respectively), as the back roads are far from straight.

 

[ASC1951]

Some years ago - i.e. before I became a compusive recorder of routes - I had an excellent week cycle-camping in Eire. It went roughly Dublin Airport, Mourne mountains, Kells, round the coast of Kerry, round the Dingle, Doolin (which I knew from caving), over the Burren, Galway and back to Dub on the train.

The interior is very pleasant rural limestone scenery but all fairly similar. I preferred the coast.