Touring photos
2009 Tour of Ireland -’Just for the Craic’ – 13-18 June 2009
Andy, Jeremy, Paul & Sam had great time touring round Ireland. Sam decided to travel in his recently purchased open-top sports car whilst the other 3 were on their bikes. We had to reduce the tour to 5 nights due to other c0mmittments. The weather was kind to us, certainly once we got out of Northern Ireland and on the return trip we had some rain in Sligo and Enniskillen. There were s0me good roads, for example in County Kerry and there were some terrible roads, like those in County Clare. We ate good food and had a good laugh along the way. The accommodation was good and we even used our negotiating skills to get a reduction in prices most of the time.
Day 1 – Dromore to Wexford
We set off from the rugby club and got past Dublin as quickly as we could and got onto the N11 heading South. We stopped at the first petrol station to refuel and a quick cuppa. This was where Andy believed his card was ‘skimmed’ as a few days later his card was declined due to lack of funds as his account had been cleaned out! (All sorted now – new card and money refunded) but very embarassing at the time.
We headed into the Wicklow mountains for some great biking roads and views with a lunch stop at Glendalough.
We then stayed off the beaten track and made our way to Avoca (of Ballykissangel fame). We watched the first half of the Lions rugby match in Fitzgeralds Bar before heading to the east coast. Absolutely boiling day.
Our next stop was at the seaside to Courtown. A cup of coffee, skimming stones and bag of chips before making our way to our overnight accommodation.
Our final destination of the day was just outside Wexford. Andy & Jeremy stayed on a campsite but this was to be the only night that they did – Jeremy couldn’t put up with Andy’s snoring and Andy couldn’t put up with Jeremy’s farting! Paul and Sam stayed in a farmhouse B&B just up the road where they were well looked after by a couple who said that they hadn’t had any guests in months. Obviously, they came to visit us at our campsite and gloated about the fry up they had for breakfast whilst we rustled up some bacon butties. Dinner that first evening was a curry in Wexford town centre.
Day 2 – Wexford to Kinsale
Another long day ahead of us starting off with a great run to New Ross. We came across a large group of bikers who were about to head off on a ride out. Had a chat with some of them and was admiring a bloke’s Harley when he told Jeremy he paid 40,000 euros for it! We declined the offer to join them, went for a cup of coffee then went on a tour of a replica of a ship that took emigrants from Ireland to America during the famine.
We continued onto Dungarvan for refuelling, a quick drink then onto Youghal for lunch. The weather was great so we had no choice but to sit outside for a good lunch afterwhich we made out way to Kinsale via Cork. We went in the tunnel that misses out Cork city centre giving Jeremy the opportunity to give some big revs on the Harley – he was really pleased with himself. Our stop for the night was at Acton’s Hotel, Kinsale, which we had previously booked via a contact. A great place right on the marina and a minute’s walk from the town centre. A fantastic meal was had in one of the local pubs – seafood for all.
Day 3 – Kinsale to Dingle
A bad start to the day as it was a bit damp and there were a couple of navigational problems to begin with! Anyway, the weather improved, the scenary was brilliant and the roads fantastic for biking. We went cross country to get to the main road (N22) that takes you over the Derrynasaggart Mountains in County Kerry. All the earlier problems of the morning were simply forgotten as we hit the best biking roads of the tour. Straight over the mountain, where the road was wide and dry , it had good tarmac, and no other vehicles in sight. Long sweeping bends that required no slowing down, breaking or changing gears – brilliant. Everyone had a buzz after that run. Even Sam enjoyed it in his sports car with the roof down.
We stopped at Killarney for lunch and a bit of urgent shopping. Then it was on to the Dingle Peninsula. Great views all the way. We stopped at Inch to take in the views of the Strand and the Bay. Some French tourists got off the bus and were busy admiring the BMW totally ignoring the Harley, much to Jeremy’s disgust! We rode on to Dingle, hot and bothered and in need of an urgent shower. We managed to negogiate a good rate for our accommodaion. A good laugh was had that evening with dinner in a local pub and coming across some people we had met in New Ross.. and again in Youghal. We moved onto another place in the main town – one half of the room was a bar whilst the other half was an old shoemakers shop. Of course there was a bit of diddly music and a local told us we had no culture but we showed him….by telling him we knew all about Billy Shakespeare, Jimmy Joyce and Ollie Wilde…he wasn’t impressed!
Day 4 Dingle to Doolin
We had a great morning riding over the Slieve Mish Mountains to Tralee and then up to Tarbert where we caught the ferry to cross the mouth of the River Shannon (missing out Limerick and saving us about 90 kms). Once into County Clare we made our way to the West Coast and had lunch in a small seaside town called Kilkee, County Clare. As we continued north it became obvious that mister tarmacadam had forgotten to come and repair the roads! So it was a bumpy ride up to the Cliffs of Moher. Paul wasn’t to happy about that as he was complaining of a sore arse! The weather wasn’t very good – it was raining and visibility was poor so we couldn’t really see the Aran Islands. Sam didn’t mind about the raining as he had brought an umbrella with him, oh, and one for Paul!
We then decided to stay in Doolin and found a fantastic hotel and even managed to get very good rates for our rooms. A nice meal in the pub but just as the diddly music started we all went to bed – knackered!
Day 5 Doolin to Westport
A complete change in the weather this morning, which gave us an opportunity to have a look at the Aran Islands before heading north. We stopped off at the Kilwee Caves which gave us some good views of Galway Bay. Entrance was expensive so being skinflints we stayed for a cuppa then carried on. This took us across the Burren, a very bleak landscape with roads so bad and twisty that Jeremy was bouncing all over the place on his Harley, which gave Paul a good laugh. We bypassed Galway due to lack of time then headed up to our old stomping ground, Westport. A good run in to the town and then once again some good negotiating skills to get the room rates down for our hotel rooms. We had a Chinese meal then spent an hour in Matt Molloy’s Bar. The lads went off to bed but Andy found a nice little bar that had some live music on so he stayed out for a while and had a few pints of Guiness to keep him company.
Day 6 – Final day – Westport to Dromore
An early breakfast then the run home. The weather wasn’t too promising and by the time we got to Castlebar it was rain suits on for the rest of the way home. A nice run from Sligo to Enniskillen and then the heavens opened up on us! We all arrived home safely at about 2 pm. A good trip, with some good laughs along the way. A total of 950 miles travelled.
2007 Tour to the Scottish Highlands
2006 The Beaches Tour – Normandy, France
