Southern Ireland tour?

heavymental

My office looks out over Milford Haven where the ferry goes to Ireland. It occured to me the other day that I really ought to get over with the bike and go for a mini tour. I've not actually been to Ireland despite living close to the port so I ought to take advantage.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a few days tour? I wouldn't want to be going too far but it would be nice to do a nice circular route over a few days.

boleary

If you are coming over aroound the 19th Aug you could do the Sean Kelly Spotive http://www.theseankellytour.com/ , It starts in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford which is fairly handy for the Pembroke / Rosslare ferry.

PatG

I live in Cork so if you are planning on coming this far, I can give you some guidance on routes round West Cork/Kerry. However, Cork is about 125 miles from Rosslare so I'm not sure if you are coming this far? I'm not hugely familiar with the South East although Wicklow is a fairly scenic area. Lonely Planet Cycling Ireland has a (seemingly) good route around the South east. Let me know if you need anything around the South West...

Philip Davis

There are loads of nice potential roads in the south-east. Just get a decent map that shows the third class (country) roads. 'N' roads are to be avoided at all costs, and 'R' roads are ok for getting from A to B, but can be a little too heavily trafficked for comfort.

The area north of Waterford i well known for its connections with Sean Kelly, and also Dervla Murphy (travel writer). The coast roads south of ARklow and west of Youghal are mostly very nice, but best of all ais the rolling countryside north of Waterford. A mini tour linking up places like Carrick on Suir, Kilkenny, New Ross, and the southern part of the Wicklow Mountains would be very pleasant. Local tourist offices are plentiful, so you could get lots of information as you go, no need for intense planning, but it would be useful to get your hands on the relevant Ordnance Survey maps.

For a slightly longer holiday, I've often thought a lovely route would be to circle the Irish Sea, goin from Rosslate to Dublin, via a hgih route through the Blasckastairs and Wicklow Mountains, across to Holyhead, then down to Fishguard via Sustrans routes.

heavymental

Thanks for the tips guys. Maybe I'll have a look at the Lonely Planet book as that sounds good. I'm a surfer and I'd always heard Dingle was quite nice (not that I'd be surfing) so did think about heading all the way across there and then back by a different route. But it sounds like Waterford and the surrounding area would be nice too. I'll have a think and maybe pick your brains again when I've had a look at the maps.

redmenace1

I would agree with all the above. Consider Wicklow though as it is quite accessible from Rosslare, maybe 100km from Port to start of the mountains proper.
You could avoid bringing your car(assuming you were bringing it!) and take a spin up the coast before veering off into the Wicklow mountains.

Avoid the major towns & cities as they are pretty uninspiring for cyclists!!

heavymental

Wicklow sounds like a good idea then. I was planning on just coming over with the bike. As I can leave my car at work and cycle to the ferry I thought it could be quite a cheap little tour.

kaacp

If you do head towards Waterford, there is a ferry from Ballyhack in Wexford across to Passage East in Waterford. That'll save you a few miles. I recommend Wicklow as well for scenery and the challenge of the hills, though there is the coastal route too if you want a break. Kilkenny is one of my favourite places so I would echo the Waterford/Kilkenny option.