Helen said:Hi folks
I posted a couple of weeks ago asking for advice on touring in the
Channel islands in a couple of weeks - well, I've decided to put that
off for a couple of months since all the campsites and many of the
guesthouses and hotels are closed then, and the ferry to Alderney
doesn't start up until April (I wanted to go and visit the little
blonde hedgehogs 🙂
Anyway, I just discovered you can get cheap train/ferry combo tickets
to Ireland and am now thinking about a few days over there instead.
Can anybody recommend a good cycling area in Ireland? I'm not afraid
of a few hills, in fact would prefer scenic hilly stuff to flats. I'm
looking at 4-5 days.
Cheers all
Hel
Hi Helen,
You can get the ferries to Dublin Port (Dublin city centre), Dun
Laoghaire (6 miles south of Dublin city centre), Rosslare (SE tip),
and Larne and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
The east coast is generally a bit drier than the west, though most of
the country is "dampish" at this time of year.
County Wicklow (immediately south of Dublin) has excellent cycling,
and is reachable from Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire in an hour's
cycle . See http://www.wicklow200.ie for an idea of terrain. Hilly and
scenic in equal measure, and my own back yard.
Carlow/Kilkenny is another nice area, readily reachable from Rosslare,
and with plenty of good cycling roads.
If you want to head further West, you could kick off from Galway and
head out from there. It's a traditional tourism area (not too
"touristy" in the bad sense). Galway/Clare/Mayo is very scenic, with
plenty of good cycling roads, but you'd want to have your nightly
stops planned in advance, as it's a bit less populated than some other
areas. Probably a half day's travel from Dublin, a little longer from
Rosslare.
Transport on trains with a bicycle here is patchy at best.
I've never had a problem getting my bike onto the inter-city coach
services though, and they are far cheaper than the train, and at least
as reliable. The main hub for these buses in Dublin is "Busaras" (bus
station), which is about 2km from Dublin Port. There are similarly
good bus connections from Rosslare Port, timed to coincide with the
Ferry arrivals/departures.
Roads are generally reasonably well surfaced. Most National roads
have a substantial, well paved, hard shoulder, though nearly all some
have stretches where this is not the case. As in the UK, bicycles
aren't allowed on the motorways, but the "old road" is normaly still
in place running roughly in parallel, so you shouldn't be stuck. You
should get an up-to-date map - there's been a lot of road building,
and several National Road -> Motorway upgrades in the last few years.
Hotels are pretty expensive here, but B&Bs are plentiful in most
areas, and competition keeps the prices down, though the Republic of
Ireland is no longer cheap by UK standards. €30 per person per night
is really the minimum you'll get away with - normally more like €50
p.p.p.n., more again in the really touristy areas like Killarney.
Given the choice, I'd come in to Rosslare, head north through Wexford/
Carlow/Kilkenny/Wicklow, and leave again from Dublin Port or Dun
Laoghaire. It's only about 160km by direct route from Rosslare to
Dublin via the coast road, but you can stretch that out to whatever
you want by going inland.
Almost everywhere will take Credit Cards, and Maestro/Cirrus (called
Laser over here) is also accepted. Some B&B's won't though - it's
worth checking when ringing to book.
I work in Northern Ireland quite a bit - it's a nice place, the people
are friendly (regardless of what the media would have you believe,
it's a lovely place with a very small number of areas that are best
avoided), and you won't have to change your Sterling to Euros and back
again. I haven't cycled there myself though, so I can't advise you
beyond the above.
In and around Dublin, we have plentiful stupid, dangerous bike lanes,
ill though-out junctions, lethal steel tramlines/grooves sunk into the
road, and the "tac-tiles" are arranged just like in the UK, to cause
maximum inconvenience to all users. Home away from home ;-)
hth,
bookieb.
