Finally I think we are off to Ireland next summer, and just planning a few things and thought as ever that STW will help plan....
Definitely going via ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast, in a camper for a fortnight. Myself & mrs_oab plus one other oab for first 5 days.
Initial idea is to visit Belfast, Mourne's and Dublin and then head very south to Schull area. My family are from Schull area originally. The +1 OAB prefers city and more gentle walks and will likely leave us to get train & ferry & bus home himself.
We want to have a hill day or two (Macgilycuddy's Reeks I assume?) and a few cycling days, perhaps even a cycle overnight away from the van. Work our way back up north for a week or so....?
We are more into nature, hillwalks, cycling, beaches, wild and beautiful scenery than cities and paid 'attractions'.
Planning a separate cycle trip to Northern Ireland (we have been before) to catch up with old university friends so no NI needed this trip.
Where should we go?
Any good campsites?
What is the law on roadside / out the way camping in Ireland?
Watching with interest
depends how much driving you wish to do, the motorway network is mainly in the east, once you go out west it'll be slow going driving, no bad thing but it means fewer miles.
as someone in 'the north' and since you are arriving into Belfast I'd say head west, along the Antrim Coast, to Donegal, the Inishowen Peninsula, there is a ferry across Lough Foyle, then from there (eg Malin Head) head south slowly through Donegal, lots of walking and cycling opportunities eg Glenveagh National Park, plus small towns and amazing beaches.
if then you have the time and the desire keep heading south via Sligo and Westport, nice small towns, lots of local walks, and cycling opportunities on quiet boreens, and when you run out of time cut back inland, say from Galway, via the motorway network, via Dublin, to Belfast?
no public rights of way in Ireland, so walking in the hills (or anywhere) is down to local landowner agreements, there is some upland parts where walking and wild camping is accepted.
have a look at the OS 1:50k maps, cheap on Dash4It:
https://dash4it.co.uk/ordnance-survey-maps/country./republic-of-ireland.html
The bit of Ireland I liked the best was the Beara peninsular down in the bottom left corner. One thing I did find tho was its very difficult to get off the road. Every bit of land is fenced off. I ended up using farm and field gateways just to get off road for a break. I think roadside camping in a van will be very difficult. Plenty of campsites tho and not too expensive
Mournes and Carlingford area are nice but I've done the bit between Dundalk and Wexford quite a few times and while its pleasant countryside there are much better bits. I wouldn't go that way other than to rack up the miles on the better roads. The West coast is awesome. As tractionman says, I'd head west. I'm currently working on the west coast of Mayo and its fantastic. Awesome scenery. There is some good walking to be had despite the limited access rules. Wild Nephin is properly wild. There used to just be one path through it that is a two day walk (no short cuts) with guaranteed wet feet but they are opening up more trails and even a bothy. The Wild Atlantic Way takes in a lot of the best spots although some bits will be busy in summer. There are many wild camp spots along the way and quite a few private aires opening to attract the van campers.
west coast is great. You'll have to plan your walks very carefully, it's been said already but it's a real shock if you are used to scottish access rights / british footpath networks. It also seems to be a shock to visiting germans, as many of the 'keep out' signs are translated 😂. Lack of access to the countryside was the main reason I didn't move to Cork when I had the chance.
The Bloody Foreland
Connemara, and the whole of the Mayo coastline from Belmullet down to Galway
Climb Croagh Patrick (barefoot, if you're authentic) even if just for the view over Bertra Beach and the islands beyond
Cliffs of Moher (County Clare)
I think roadside camping in a van will be very difficult.
When I last went, to a visited family in Mayo, we struggled to find places to pull over to pee!
Lovely country
Bias alert, my father was from the slopes of the Reeks and we have a house in the next valley so Ciarraí Abú!!!!!
McGillycuddy Reeks are where the big summits are and Glencar and the surrounding areas have the advantage of the Kerry way for walking. Although it’s a large lop bits can be done as day walks. It is also a bit quieter that’s the Wild Atlantic Way hotspots. Tbh all of Iveragh is pretty good if you like the outdoors.
I’ve seen some wild campervanning down that way but it’s not met with universal love mainly due to people digging fire pits, crapping on farmers land etc. Best bet would be in Coillte forestry edges which abound is Iveragh.
There are campsites in Killarney, Caherciveen and the Climbers Inn in Glencar (best pub and hostel for the high peaks ) also used to do camping. Happy to recommend more.
Beara peninsula, as TJ says is also lovely (but it’s not Kerry!!!!).
Gratuitous photos from last walks in August, thankfully I’m back there next week.
Brilliant folks, keep it coming!
Noted on the access laws and challenging roadside / car park camping. We planned to use campsites mainly, just wondered if there might be a few 'overlooking a wild beach/forest/mountain' spot. I think we will just campsite it.
I suspect the parking/camping issue is seasonal and regional. I know some parts of the Wild Atlantic Way are made one way in the summer as it gets busy. This weekend was glorious, lovely and sunny and not a person in sight. This was my private beach for a morning run, and there were some good parking spots that I would've happily camped in if we weren't in a fancy hotel.
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Did see a few campers parked up in Donegal. Nice spot at the end of the main carpark by the quay and abbey remains.
Climb Croagh Patrick (barefoot, if you’re authentic)
Several of my family have done Croagh Patrick in the dark (yikes, although part of a crowd) but none in bare feet as far as I know!
I went in daylight like the wussy heathen that I am. Spectacular views though.
We climbed it in 1974 from a caravan at Westport. When doing the Mournes we had caravans at Kilkeel and Newcastle. North coast beaches we preferred Castlerock and Ballycastle to the Port's. I'm from Coleraine and my Irish side of the family are from Derry and Donegal.
We planned to use campsites mainly, just wondered if there might be a few ‘overlooking a wild beach/forest/mountain’ spot. I think we will just campsite it.
maybe have a search here,
https://park4night.com/en/search?lat=55.31742449513828&lng=-7.3889923095703125&z=10
I know quite a few spots on the Inishowen Peninsula are informally used by camper vans...
We did a week on the west coast last Summer in a rented T6.
The West coast from County Cork North all the way Achill is amazing in my direct experience over 3 trips.
My top tips would be:
A great mountain walk is Brandon Mountain (952m) on the Dingle Peninsula. We didn’t do the standard route and followed a ridge. The situation by the sea was fantastic. It has stuck in my mind way more than McGillycuddys Reeks. The peninsula is worth a visit any way
Doolin. We used the campsite near the port. Nothing special but we loved walking to the pubs in town to listen to local music. Our airport taxi driver said that’s where he did on holiday and why he goes there. We did a day trip to the Aran Islsnds which was great. We got around on rubbish hire bikes. A walk on the limestone pavement (The Burren) was another high light.
The only campsite we visited that really stood out was this one this. Just an incredible location
Have a look at the wild Atlantic way - https://www.thewildatlanticway.com/
Might give some inspiration for the west coast?
one other thing to add is the weather!
June is normally the better of our 'summer' months up in the north and west, August can be very grey up here, warmish but lots of mizzle, July's a mixed bag typically, sunshine and showers sort of weather... SO, if you fancy the prospects of drier and sunnier weather then I suggest head to the south and east of the island, but then expect more crowded roads and sites etc!
Reading with interest also - I want to visit on my motorbike 👍
Some good riding and developments at Coolaney bike trails, near Sligo, if you're taking a MTB
June is normally the better of our ‘summer’ months up in the north and west, August can be very grey up here, warmish but lots of mizzle, July’s a mixed bag typically, sunshine and showers sort of weather
Being married to a teacher = last few days of June and first 10 days of July is the time we will be going....
If castles are of interest, then Cahir in Tipperary has a good one, that was used for it's intended purpose as well.
Also has some good walking and the Galtee, Comeragh and Knockmealdown mountains* around it.
There may also be a trail centre of sorts - iirc it had a DH course back in the day.
*Irish mountains are often very rugged hills, rather than actual mountains.
**I'm biased as half my family are from there.
last few days of June and first 10 days of July is the time we will be going….
the schools in NI break up end of June, so expect sites, roads and places to be busier then, especially around July 11-12 (in NI).
Reading with interest also – I want to visit on my motorbike 👍
I rode over to our house on my Harley sportster last year. Got off the boat at Rosslare and it was one of the best days riding I’ve had, even got a wave from a Garda on a bike as I was blatting along.
Did some days riding in Kerry and Cork, including the ring of Beara and it was excellent. Motorists are much friendlier and would often move over even when the overtake they were offering wasn’t really on!
A motorbike is one of the best ways to see Ireland.
I learnt to surf in Brandon bay, Dingle- various beaches for different wind directions, beautiful spot, hill walking as above with Brandon mountain overlooking the bay- I really liked Dingle peninsula as a whole.
Reading with interest. Planning trip with Wife and 23 month old in April next year... fly to Dublin, rent a car to head was/South and head back to Dublin in 7-days. Do able?
fly to Dublin, rent a car to head was/South and head back to Dublin in 7-days. Do able?
Easily. You can get to the west coast in about 4 hours, It's a pretty simple drive, nicer than driving in England. Worth looking at Knock airport too. Limited flights but a simpler drive.
I second recommendations for Beara. If you're going to Schull, keep going to Crookhaven and Barleycove for swimming and seafood - will be busy in July though.
Regarding land access, for walking or MTBing (not camping), there's more than enough places you can go which are not privately owned or restricted, e.g. Coillte (semi-state forestry service) own 7% of total land area, then there are National Parks, and waymarked routed (e.g. Kerry Way, Beara Way). Certainly for a couple of weeks visit you won't run out of places to go.
fly to Dublin, rent a car to head was/South and head back to Dublin in 7-days. Do able?
If you're going mainly to the west then Luton to Kerry is your best bet.
Reading with interest. Planning trip with Wife and 23 month old in April next year… fly to Dublin, rent a car to head was/South and head back to Dublin in 7-days. Do able?
Assuming you're coming from UK, taking ferry with your own car is probably cheaper and much, much easier than flying with a small child?
Assuming you’re coming from UK, taking ferry with your own car is probably cheaper and much, much easier than flying with a small child?
return GB-IRL/NI ferry fares are expensive, way more than cross-channel, expect to pay around £500 for a car + PAX whichever route you take.
personally I prefer Liverpool-Belfast to go backwards and forwards across the Irish Sea, but then I'm in NI and need to get to the (English) Midlands usually, so cuts down driving time...
Dublin-Holyhead is not much cheaper, though there used to be good Ferry+Cottage deals to be had, not sure if they still exist?
Some good riding and developments at Coolaney bike trails, near Sligo, if you’re taking a MTB
It's a very all-weather trail centre with fairly limited elevation, but there's nothing else out west, so I'll bet that it's a huge asset for the locals!
From Belfast heading North then West:
Causway costal route (Derry to Belfast)
Slieve League, Glenveagh & Kylemore abbey, Donegal coast & beaches
Clare Burren National Park, Doolin ,Cliffs of Moher, Don Aonghasa on the Aran islands, Clifden and Sky Road, Leenane, Achill Island (there a bridge!)
Dingle, Slea Head Drive, Inch beach, Skelligs Islands
Heading back up from Cork take the Motorways on the East coast and check out:
Brú na Bóinne & Trim Castle
Carlingford to Rostrevor (via the short ferry) then through the Mournes (e.g., Hilltown/Newcastle) to Belfast
Happy to chat through any of this in more detail.
Useful links:
https://www.mountainbikeni.com/
https://www.coillte.ie/coillte-national-mtb-trail-centres/
return GB-IRL/NI ferry fares are expensive, way more than cross-channel, expect to pay around £500 for a car + PAX whichever route you take.<br /><br />
I was looking at doing a trip across to the south, around Cork, around three years ago, with my late partner. She’d lived in Schull for about twelve-fifteen years or so, and loved it there, but her family circumstances had changed dramatically and she was forced to come back to Salisbury. She really wanted to go back, and I’d wanted to go there myself. Problem was she wasn’t comfortable traveling in a car and the ferry from Wales was around £600 taking the car.
Sadly I never got the chance to work out a way to get us over and be able to get around and explore. Sometime I’ll look into flying from Bristol and hiring a car to explore the place she loved so much, which is what we would probably have done anyway. <br />Hopefully a few people might remember her, so it would be nice to meet them.
No mention of Wicklow mountains yet. Done some nice walking round there and there's ballinastoe if you want to ride some fun trails.
Not much to add to what’s been said. I am in Cork myself and the south coast is pretty good, Beara/Schull/Dingle/Barleycove are all good shouts for coastal stuff as is Killarney/Ring of Kerry for hills. Closer to Cork and around Kinsale is a nice spot too. As mentioned Coillte are the forestry commission types for Ireland so worth looking at their website. They also own my local trail centre at Ballyhoura which I can recommend if you want a cycle ( do bike hire on site at ‘Trailriders’ and good walking trails too). As for other places I would stay more west (Galway etc) than east (Dublin etc). I do miss the open acces of Scotland (walking out my back door and up the Ochils) as mentioned some places are not that accessible here.
>I always go Cairnryan-Belfast route and it takes me about 11hrs to get from Cork to Stirling, and lots of the motorways over here are tolled (m50 bridge in Dublin is tolled via cameras and paid online so watch out for that if coming that way, and yes they can fine you in the UK if you don’t pay as my Dad found out once).
Feel free to ask any specifics.
Step mother had a contract for a couple of years in Dublin ( turned out to be 5 or 6 years in the end)
They ( her and my old man) lived in Skerries.
small seaside town up the coast from Dublin. They absolutely loved it and so did we whenever we visited. Beautiful! No idea about camp sites or owt but would definitely recommend.
I did the Wild Atlantic Way in my Motorhome earlier this year.
My highlights were :-
Beara Peninsular.
Killarny
Dingle peninsular and Inch Beach
Cliffs of Mohar was underwhelmed by but the Burren was good
Clifden and Connemera
Wild Nephin
Sleive League.
I stayed on campsites. The highlight being Clifden Eco Beach which was stunning. Manix Point on the Ring of Kerry aslo lovely. Had no issues just arriving and getting on.
Absolutely stunning. Lovely place and lovely people.
Would post pics but no idea how anymore.
Heading to Rosscarbery for a couple of weeks next August. I have no idea what to expect or do when we get there, so I'm going to have to do a bit of research.
If you are driving south from Belfast to Cork or Limerick to get to the South West, the Galtee mountains and Ballyhoura MTB Trail Centre are a good place for a stop over & a hike / bike. These are not far from Cahir Castle which was mentioned earlier. I have a cracking walk in Galtees and the nearby Ballyhoura trail centre is pretty good day out with just under 100km of purpose built trails and decent bike rental.
I eventually got fed up with the unpleasant goml encounters and gave up on the place.
Have just returned from a week working in Ireland. What hard work/great fun. Dublin to Galway then to Limerick via Cliffs of Moher and a perfectly timed sunset, we drove up corkscrew hill which looks like fun on the road bike. After Limerick we went to Cork and then back to Dublin. Was quite sad at heading home.
For Belfast, we used Jordanstown, a few miles up the coast. About 10 years ago it was basic but had a bus stop just outside. Looking on Google, it seems to have grown/improved.
The only place we stayed off-site was on the shore at Ballycastle - again years ago, so no idea how good an idea that is now; as others have said that's not really the done thing . . . And there didn’t seem to be that many campsites (certainly fewer than 10 years earlier. It I think that’s everywhere!).
If OAB jr is bussing home, it’s worth looking at Hannon's coaches Belfast-Glasgow. I understand that the difference between these and Ulsterbus etc is that the Hannons coach does the whole route, and you can leave luggage on it (and they take bikes), while the others drop you at the port then you board a new bus the other side.
Campsites in NI can be busy the weekends either side of 12 July as people get out of Derry and Belfast.
If you loop back pass Dublin , a must do is the "white" waymarked miners walking trail in the Wicklow Mountains from the Upper Lake car park, we did it today after watching the uci cx in Dublin yesterday.
A really fantastic walk. We did it clockwise. 9km of views, waterfalls and great geology. Exceeded expectations. We did pass the odd camping site on route.
Busy in summer I would think.
If you go to Westport, make sure you pop into Matt Molloy's, the finest diddlee-dee music and voted pub of the year.
