Around Ireland

[mnichols]

Got a few ideas for next year, and trying to decide between them. This one is an outside bet:

Has anyone got a route for around Ireland? I think the core of the ride would be an end to end up the west coast (Malin to Mizen Head), but practically it's probably best to start and finish in Dublin, so is it worth doing the east coast?

Other contenders for next year are: end to end Norway and San Francisco to Zion National Park

[eileithyia]

Stick to the road(s) closest to the sea, but stay off the yellow stuff...
sorry silly sense of humour time of night. Whenever i have ridden in Ireland I have just ridden on the obvious roads closest to the coastal routes I was following. No experience of coastal route immediately north of Dublin but have done the coast north of Belfast .. around the Antrim coast... and basically just followed the lanes as close to the coast as possible.

Have ridden some of the west coast on various trips, and again just hugged the coastal routes, though I did not follow around all the peninsulas, they are bigger and further around than you think.

[Norman H]

I've toured quite a lot in Ireland and my advice would be don't try to include too much in your first visit. The west coast in particular is extensively indented and as eileithyia says, a route exploring all the peninsulas would be a major undertaking. Also consider using public transport links to get at least part way to your starting point. There are for instance both train and coach links from Dublin which carry bicycles.

One possibility would be to travel from Dublin to Cork and explore the coast clockwise from there. The Mizzen and Sheep's Head peninsulas are two of my favourites. The Beara peninsula is more extensive but if you're fed up with coastal scenery by then you could just include the Healy Pass or head more directly north into Kerry by the equally scenic Priest's Leap.

The Ring of Kerry gets very busy at peak times and my preference would be to continue north and either explore the dingle or head into Co Clare by crossing on the ferry at Tarbert. Time will determine whether you get as far as Malin Head but there are various options along the way to return to Dublin by public tansport.

Its also worth searching the forum for other threads on Ireland, there are a number of them.

Here' s one with information about travel links from Dublin.

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=103579

[yutkoxpo]

For the West Coast, check out the Wild Atlantic Way, a designated "tourist route" from the north to south or vice versa.
As pointed out, the west coast is very indented! From memory, the west coast is in the region of 2000 km!

There is a route along the coas...tish of Northern Ireland, but the biggest challenge of the East coast is getting around or through Dublin. The rest will be fairly well serviced with quieter secondary roads.

Good luck!

[mnichols]

Is there an equivalent to the NC500 in Ireland?

When traveling around Scotland i saw lots of nice hostels is there an equivalent in Ireland?

[Norman H]

Yes, The Wild Atlantic Way mentioned by Hobbs runs from Kinsale in the south to the Innishowen peninsula in the north. Encompassing most of the west coast.

https://www.wildatlanticway.com/home

Its primarily a tourism led initiative. There's nothing wrong with that but the problem for cyclists is that it inevitably leads to an increased in motorised traffic and it puts extra strain on available accommodation. Use it to plan a basic route but be prepared to deviate to avoid the busier tourist hot spots.

[bikepacker]

I think the core of the ride would be an end to end up the west coast (Malin to Mizen Head),

If you are going up the west coast then you would go from Mizen to Malin. Here are my diary notes for my Ireland E2E of a few years ago. http://www.bikepacker.co.uk/irelandtour.html

[NUKe]

The North Coast from Londonderry to Larne has signposted Cycle Route if you want to stick to the coast. However if your not absolutely determined to stick to the coast, my own preference would be to follow it to Colraine then follow the Bann on the Bann Cycleway to loch Neagh you can go clockwise or anti clockwise around the Loch to Portadown follow the old canal, 20 miles of virtually traffic free cycleway, to Newry. Where you can cross the border and make your way south to Dublin.
http://www.cycleni.com/

[eileithyia]

Is there an equivalent to the NC500 in Ireland?

When traveling around Scotland i saw lots of nice hostels is there an equivalent in Ireland?

There are hostels, An Oige is Eire's version of YHA. But there are also a variety of independants. Pre internet days there was someone who compiled a handbook of all the hostels with An Oige and all the independants. I have used a variety of both. However at one hostel we stayed at we were warned that another one nearby was not 'a travellers' hostel as we know it but was likely to be full of the less fortunate on benefits.

https://www.independenthostelsireland.com/

http://www.uniqueirishhostels.com/http% ... eland.html

https://anoige.ie/

[mnichols]

Thanks. Food for thought. Two friends that i tour with both want to do Ireland. I prefer sunnier climes, but I'm outnumbered. Big list of possible tours for 2019. I usually do a couple, but might just be the one next year

[eileithyia]

Thanks. Food for thought. Two friends that i tour with both want to do Ireland. I prefer sunnier climes, but I'm outnumbered. Big list of possible tours for 2019. I usually do a couple, but might just be the one next year

My first trip in '83 was during in a heatwave, I think I had 3/4's of hour rain in a fortnight a Californian stopping in one of the hostels was complaining about the heat... he had come to Britain/Eire to escape the heat of California.

Another reason I have often hugged the coast on a couple of trips.... the weather was better along the west coast than a couple of miles inland where you could see the gathering clouds and rain while we enjoyed sunshine...

[SA_SA_SA]

There is this book:
http://www.obrien.ie/paul-benjaminse
I have only done from Enniskillen to Sligo from it though (was OK: some little roads which were quite rough used).
(and I think the bit south of Tralee, near Lissardboula, is now wrong due to N22 bypass/upgrade/realignment: here is proposed correction
https://cycle.travel/map/?journey=83893

[Norman H]

There is this book:
http://www.obrien.ie/paul-benjaminse
I have only done from Enniskillen to Sligo from it though (was OK: some little roads which were quite rough used).
(and I think the bit south of Tralee, near Lissardboula, is now wrong due to N22 bypass/upgrade/realignment: here is proposed correction
https://cycle.travel/map/?journey=83893

I was given that book as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. It contains much that is good but I would question some of his route choices. Perhaps that's not surprising when one of his stated aims in the introduction is to avoid hills as much as possible.

He completely misses out the entire north and north east coasts; Co Antrim, including the Giants Causeway, and Co Donegal, including Malin Head. In the west and south of the country he again heads inland and, apart from the Dingle, he completely by-passes all of the peninsulas of West Cork and Kerry and ignores the many coastal delights between Mizzen Head and Cork city. Not to mention a large chunk of Co Wexford.

[gregoryoftours]

I especially liked co.Donegal, particularly the far north towards and at Malin head. If you are camping there's a great wild camping spot on the cliffs about 1km to the west of the northernmost point of Banba's crown. If you get the weather it is an awe-inspiring spot with the Atlantic swell crashing against the rocks.

[gregoryoftours]

I'd recommend the cicerone Ireland cycling guides- there is one on the wild Atlantic way and Western Ireland, and an out of print one just called cycle touring in Ireland. I'd not be overly worried about cycling to and from Dublin, I'd make best use of your time by putting your bikes on bus or train and start cycling where the good stuff starts. The peninsulas of the South West are good, as are lots of places up the west coast. I haven't done the whole way up though. The route down the East coast from Malin head to Belfast is also nice with lots of stuff to see on the way, although I preferred Donegal.