Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

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Omega Sprinkles
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Joined: 29 May 2014, 11:55am

Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by Omega Sprinkles »

We are planning a week long bike trip though Ireland in June this year. We will probably concentrate on the West / North-West. We'd love to take in the rugged coastline, hills, empty spaces and maybe the odd pint of guinness!

We are thinking of 6 days, averaging perhaps 100km per day (give or take)

We'll be on road bikes, not mountain bikes, but apart from that, anything goes!

Has anyone done something similar? Are there any routes or places which we definitely shouldn't miss??

Any B&Bs we should definitely stay in?

Any amazing resources that you recommend to help plot a route?

Any tips or shared experiences would be very welcome!!

Thanks!
robing
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Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by robing »

Don't miss the Burren in co Clare. Amazing limestone formation and the Father Ted house.
The Park House BnB in Sligo town (not to be confused with the Park Hotel) is one of the best I've stayed in.
Norman H
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Joined: 31 Jul 2011, 4:39pm

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by Norman H »

The “West/North West” of Ireland is a big ask for a six day tour. I think I would concentrate on a smaller area. Especially if you have to allow for travelling from your entry point.

The Burren is certainly a highlight and could form the basis of a good six day tour. Especially if you flew into Shannon. There are many other attractions in Co Clare. The Cliffs of Moher are rightly famous, a bit of a tourist trap but nonetheless impressive. Especially if you visit early morning before the coaches arrive. The same might be said of the Aran Islands but still worth visiting. Whilst in the area you should also take a day to explore the Loop head peninsular. Most tourists doing the coastal route tend to bypass this area but its one of Ireland's best kept secrets.

If you want to go further afield there are various options; You could take the ferry across the Shannon to Tarbert and head south into Co Kerry or you could continue north from the Burren into Galway.

My experience of B&B's in Ireland is that all of the Tourist Board recommended ones will be excellent but I tend to mostly use hostels in Ireland when touring by bike.

https://anoige.ie/

http://www.independenthostelsireland.com/

You will receive a warm welcome wherever you go.

The OS Ireland 1:50K maps are excellent for cycling and their 1:200K road atlas is also very useful for planning. The 50K mapping is also available in digital form From Mapyx

Edit to fix link
Jayne Raynor
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Joined: 26 Jan 2016, 12:12pm

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by Jayne Raynor »

Hi

There is a good train link from Belfast to Derry which will give you good access to the area of Donegal, which is beautiful and a good area for cycling over 6 days.
Omega Sprinkles
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Joined: 29 May 2014, 11:55am

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by Omega Sprinkles »

Those are great tips! Thank you!
eileithyia
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Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by eileithyia »

Having been all up the west coast (on various trips) I can highly recommend all of it, thankfully i saw the Cliffs before they became a major tourist destination and was massively disappointed when I went back a few years later to find tourism had arrived.... they are still worth a visit.

You will go for 6 days, wish you had longer and go back, that's for sure. Don't underestimate distances some roads are quite twisty with short sharp hills that can test you, am particulary thinking of the road we used up to Malin Head.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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MrsHJ
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Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by MrsHJ »

We did Shannon to knock along the coast. Highly recommended. Lots of lovely places but favourite bit may have been the pass up to louisburgh.

Liked this place that we stayed at on the isle of Achill. My friends didn't want to camp on this trip so we mostly stayed in B&B's and a couple of hostels. http://www.bervieachill.com

This might be the link to our Ireland photos (I've posted this before I think but it must have been in a different thread). https://www.flickr.com/photos/7745330@N ... 204456075/
Last edited by MrsHJ on 30 Jan 2016, 3:54pm, edited 1 time in total.
greyingbeard
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Joined: 24 Mar 2015, 10:41pm

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by greyingbeard »

Good waterproofs
Local village shops VERY expensive, its no wonder people in the sticks do a monthly trip to supermarket
eoinh
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Joined: 27 May 2011, 6:31pm

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by eoinh »

Hi,

6 days is plenty of time to do a good chunk of the west and northwest. Ideally you would fly into belfast or derry or even donegal (which has flights to glasgow) and fly out of dublin, galway or knock. There are a surprising amount of flights to the UK.

You could cycle from Derry into north donegal and then go south until you run out of time. Donegal, Sligo and Mayo have lots of quiet roads and lovely villages. If you want the Northwest then you won't make the cliffs of moher but the cliffs at sleeve League in south Donegal are actually higher and you can cycle right up to them.

Get back on when you have looked into flights and i'll give you more specialised information. I usually find June to be the best month over here.

Eoin
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Farawayvisions
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Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by Farawayvisions »

I cycled the northwest, (Donegal) and have maps you can download and loads of information about the route and what you might see or do and also places to stay if you're not camping.

I went in April and had good weather. The traffic was light as it was before the tourist season kicked in. Slieve League is worth the visit.By June, you'll have light till 10.30pm.

http://www.farawayvisions.com/bikepacking/bikepacking-ireland-wild-atlantic-way/
Padraic
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Joined: 5 Jan 2016, 2:37am

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by Padraic »

Hi, I'm based here in County Mayo, so if you need any advice for Mayo and Sligo please let me know.
GigiN7
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Joined: 23 Apr 2016, 2:06pm

Re: Week-long tour in the W/N-W of Ireland. Top tips please!

Post by GigiN7 »

Thank you to everyone for the valuable tips. I thought it would be helpful to follow up as I sit exhausted and weather-beaten on the return ferry across the Irish Sea to Holyhead...

We did 700km of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) cycling South along the coast of Donegal from Derry to Sligo over 7 days. I would recommend it very highly! (We reached Derry by 14 hour journey of trains and ferry from London via Holyhead, Dublin and Belfast - we wanted to avoid the hassle of sourcing and storing bike bags and having to return to the same place.)

Note that the WAW is primarily for cars (not v busy tho) and in some places we would get even closer to the coast on quieter, single-track, tarmac lanes that wind and twist and sometimes climb sharpe next to the coast. We also cut inland through Glenveagh National Park and Mt Errigal at one point which was a stunning ride.

3 beach highlights for us:
- Marble Hills (plus coffee in The Shack);
- Portnoo (plus lunch/ tea in the conservatory at Carnaween House);
- Silver Strand at Malin Beg

Pubs for great food:
- McGrory's in Culdaff
- Fleet River Inn, Killybegs
- Caisleain Oir Hotel, Annagry (amazing local steak!)

A couple of accommo recommendations:
- Ard Na Breatha Guest House, Donegal Town
- Pearse Lodge B&B, Sligo
We also stayed in lovely Air BnBs.
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