Touring in Ireland

[elvet_biker]

Hi all. Been reading this with interest. Trying to figure out cycling for a couple of weeks in Ireland in September with my partner. Our original plan was to do a loop of Northern Ireland as laid out in the Cicerone Cycle Touring in Ireland book - round the coast from Belfast to Derry then back via Omagh and Armagh, followed by tagging on another tour from that book down to Dublin.

We were going to B&B it, but the ongoing COVID situation is putting us off staying in / eating out in lots of different places. So the new plan is to find a couple of locations to do two consecutive weeks self catering with localish rides out. We'll have a car. Was thinking somewhere near Derry (giving access to the North coast, Sperrin mountains and other stuff over the border in Donegal) and somewhere near Newcastle (giving access to the Mourne mountains - good for some hiking as well as biking).

Everyone seems to be complimentary about the Derry / Antrim coast so that seems a safe bet. Anyone with more local knowledge think there's enough scope in those two bases to keep amused for a fortnight doing road rides of 30 - 40 miles a day? Anyone want to recommend any alternatives? North biased - we've toured Cork and Kerry and Galway before and agree that these are beautiful but wanted to go somwhere new.

[Traction_man]

We'll have a car.

This will make getting around so much easier for trips out as public transport (by rail) is fairly limited here in NI, especially 'out west'.

My favoured spots are around Fermanagh, somewhere near Enniskillen which is a nice town, for example. There're lots of route options from there and the landscapes are beautiful and it's relatively quiet:

The north Antrim coast is a popular area but for good reason, with the Giant's Causeway etc, again lovely around Ballycastle and the glens, and a base somewhere around Coleraine would give scope for a run over to Donegal via the ferry (if it is sailing--https://loughfoyleferry.com/timetable-fares/), and back by Derry (and train from to Coleraine if needed)?

County Down also lovely, nice around Strangford Lough, and also Carlingford Lough (ferry across for a loop via Carlingford and Newry--https://carlingfordferry.com/) and of course the Mournes. For hills though I suggest the Sperrins, a very quiet part of NI and fantastic scenery.

The key thing though with NI is the weather! September can be terrific, like today, blue skies no wind--but equally it can be terrible, I remember one September day here with water running in torrents down the streets.

With a car though a few non-cycling days to more indoor places is always an option (Derry is interesting, but do visit Belfast too), and NI is so small it's easy to get around by car, the main roads are fine but for less so for cycling for me I always prefer to avoid the A and B roads as driving tend to be fast, especially along the many straight roller-coaster roads there are here.

That's the other thing, lots of hills, County Down is drumlin country, and what looks a reasonable route on the map can turn out on the ground to be continual downs and ups! If you like hills that's great, but if loaded they're hard work.

Wherever you go here, you'll find folks friendly and welcoming, oh and popping across 'the border' is no problem.

cheers,

Keith

[elvet_biker]

Thanks for the pointers Keith. In the end we decided to split our time between Enniskillen, Coleraine and a bit of time in Newcastle too for good measure. Should give ample opportunity to explore in all corners of Northern Ireland and maybe some of Donegal / Sligo too. Looking forward to it!

[Traction_man]

Thanks for the pointers Keith. In the end we decided to split our time between Enniskillen, Coleraine and a bit of time in Newcastle too for good measure. Should give ample opportunity to explore in all corners of Northern Ireland and maybe some of Donegal / Sligo too. Looking forward to it!

Excellent choices, hope you have a fantastic time and some decent weather!

All the best,

Keith

[molly]

I have booked myself and bike on a ferry to Belfast(one way) from Cairnryan in early August. I have two and a half weeks free to tour there with a tent and thought I'd ask for ay recommendations before I started planning. I prefer quieter roads and fewer people even if it means avoiding the coast. Any suggestions?

[Traction_man]

hi Molly,

Do you plan to return to GB via Belfast / Cairnryan or some other ferry route, say Rosslare, or Dublin?

all the best,

Keith

[Nearholmer]

Even in “peak season” most of the north, west and south coats of Ireland are, by English standards, pretty much deserted*. Even honeypot places like Killarney and the lakes, and the Ring of Kerry barely seem busy by English standards, and The Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, which are hugely famous you can have practically to yourself on a weekday.

Personally, I think you could afford to choose where to go based on interest, choose thin roads on the map, and go where you fancy.

I don’t know the north so well, but I would strongly recommend covering as much of the west coast as time permits, even if you have to go back next time to do so.



*Pre-covid. Worth asking about to find whether things are more pressured due to staycations.

[Traction_man]

Even in “peak season” most of the north, west and south coats of Ireland are, by English standards, pretty much deserted*.

The big difference here is the smaller overall population size, compared to GB, so that makes Ireland as a whole (north and south) quite quiet, especially off the beaten track.

My recommendation -- at least for the north -- would be to go for Fermanagh and Donegal, lots of quiet roads, boreens, and Leitrim and Sligo are lovely too.

Camping is less well provided for except for the touristy areas (such as the coasts, eg North Antrim Coast) and then it's more geared towards motorhomes and touring caravans, in fact some 'camp sites' here don't take tents!

For a good book for cycle touring and getting a feel for interesting possibilities for routes I'd recommend getting this book-- https://threerockbooks.com/product/cycling-in-ireland/

Any qs give me a shout, I'm based in NI.

cheers,

Keith

[Tiggertoo]

If you have a bike that can take wider tyres - ie, a gravel bike - you will find a lot more options to ride off the beaten track - so to speak, particularly near Galway (and probably everywhere else in the whole of the island).

I am envious, I think riding around Ireland would make a wonderful holiday.

[MrsHJ]

We did the west coast from Shannon to knock. Went via doolin, and the burren and the cliffs of moher, Galway, clifden, achill, Delphi and the monument to the marchers who died in the pass, Kylemore abbey, Westport, famous poets home (must have been Yeats?) Stunning. I don’t know enough about Ireland to say what the best is but that trip was excellent. Nice b &bs and super friendly pubs too. Good food, excellent breakfasts (top of my list of touring countries for breakfast). Agree on quiet roads.

[Tiggertoo]

Many years ago we toured Wales and just found B&B's as we went along, I assume one could do the same these days in Ireland? What do you think?

[molly]

Thanks for the responses, they've already given me ideas to build on. I've only booked a one way crossing so that I have the flexibility to choose my route. I'm from the Northern Isles so I guess what counts as busy will be relative. I like the sound of Donegal and Fermanagh. Is wild camping accepted? I might need to intersperse my camping with B&B's but I've noticed prices this year seem to have rocketed . What time of year did you travel MrsHJ? Stunning and super friendly are adjectives I like

[MrsHJ]

Thanks for the responses, they've already given me ideas to build on. I've only booked a one way crossing so that I have the flexibility to choose my route. I'm from the Northern Isles so I guess what counts as busy will be relative. I like the sound of Donegal and Fermanagh. Is wild camping accepted? I might need to intersperse my camping with B&B's but I've noticed prices this year seem to have rocketed . What time of year did you travel MrsHJ? Stunning and super friendly are adjectives I like

September. It was nice weather but cooler than where I live in south west England. I’ve roughed out our route (definitely not exact- it was ten years ago and I wasn’t the route planner). I agree with the commentator below about maybe using EV1 as a starting point.

https://cycle.travel/map/journey/332291

Photo album (you can judge the weather!). https://flic.kr/s/aHsjz5rkGd

[Nearholmer]

Thinking about it, you could do a lot worse than follow EV1 as the main spine of a route, maybe seeing if you could fit in the route anti-clockwise from Belfast as far as Galway in the time, then cut back across to Athlone, from where EV2 uses rail trails and canal paths to Dublin.

I’ve explored about two thirds of that on various holidays, mostly day walks, rather than bike, and all the bits I’ve seen have been scenic/Interesting, even the midland parts once you get away from the main roads. It might require a route-wiggle, but if you do cut across, try to visit Clonmacnoise, ideally stay over a night nearby - I think it’s a truly special place.

PS: set aside plenty of time for conversations. I’ve never known a place like if for bumping into people along the way and getting into conversations.

[Jdsk]

Excellent long thread on touring in Ireland:
viewtopic.php?t=147433

Jonathan