Mizen Head to Malin Head

[ruthe]

Planning to do the Ireland end to end next year, anyone any advice/suggestions on travel/places to stay/things not to be missed?

 

[rich p]

Planning to do the Ireland end to end next year, anyone any advice/suggestions on travel/places to stay/things not to be missed?

No but a friend did this supported ride this summer and you may be able to glean some info from their pages

http://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/supportireland.html

 

[jags]

if my france tour dosen't happen next year june my plan is to take on the end to end.there are company's who will look after you ,iron donkey is one ,but i would rather have a go at it myself see what happen's.

 

[ruthe]

thanks for replies/ have looked at companies but they seem quite expensive, hoping to do it cheap and light! will have a nose at the companies and see what places they stop at!

 

[HLaB]

I've been a few times with ICS; the west coast of Ireland can be beautiful, their site might give you some ideas.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I cycled it two years ago. Doolin's quite a nice place to stay. There are a couple of hostels there. Don't be tempted to cut the corner with a ferry via the Arran Islands like I did and get stranded for the day. I found County Galway the prettiest. I would like to have cycled more of it, but lost most of a day stuck on Rocky Island.There were two hostels at Malin Head. I can't remember the name of the one I stayed at. It didn't seem to have much custom but I liked it. I liked Malin Head, once you got past the town of Malin. The first bit of that promontory wasn't very pleasent: lots of traffic and plastic bottles every twenty yards. I thought Malin Head itself was a magical place. Traffic was denser than I thought it would be in many places, particularly County Donegal. I wanted to avoid N. Ireland, because I still felt wary about it, but it's a lot safer cycling through its lanes than chancing it on the main roads in County Donegal.Mostly I stayed at cheap hotels and B+Bs, but I think hostels are better overall if you're on your own. Otherwise you only talk to hotel staff.

 

[DJ]

Thanks, I had'nt thought of that ride I will add it to my list ofrides I must do before I die!

 

[seano]

Easiest way is 410 miles Sligo Limerick Mallow, Macroom. I've done this solo in 3days. and with a group Sth-Nth a easy 5day trip. If you have the time the CTC 509 mile route is the best. I can e.mail it to you if you wish.
In my opinion North -south is slightly easier but its almost totally flat. Alternativly you could fly into Belfast or boat to Larne and do the senic coastal trip to Derry and on to Mallin.

 

[jags]

seano hi.im thinking of doing the end to end (mizen to malin ) next year,im living in drogheda .can you give me any advice on the route and campsites,along the way. basically any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

[seano]

Hi Jags I think there's a bus on Fridays from Dublin to Malin. Mizen is very difficult to get to. You will probaly need to get back to the Bantry for a bus to Cork or Killarney and then Dublin. Best get some back-up. Doyle's had a very nice B&B at Malin Head don't know if it's still open.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Don't underestimate the journey from Bantry to Mizen Head and back. I went with a mate on the ferry from Swansea to Cork and then cycled across to Bantry. We got there mid-afternoon, had lunch and found a B+B. My mate wasn't interested in doing the whole end to end, so I thought I'd just nip down and back. I don't think I got back till near 10pm.

 

[ruthe]

thanks ppl. seano is the ctc route on their downloads from the website? i could prob do it from there

 

[seano]

Hi Ruthe As my membership has expired I cannot check, but I'm sure it is under heading End to end - Ireland. Page 2 has detailed map and the disrtance is 509 miles update 2000

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

No but a friend did this supported ride this summer and you may be able to glean some info from their pages

http://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/supportireland.html[/quote]

I rode that tour with them as well, see link below for a write that may be of interest

Paul_Smith