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Winder · 31-05-13, 10:43 PM

A few weeks back I decided to bang some luggage on the SV and take a ride over to Ireland to watch the NW200 road races (all 2 laps of the b*stard thing!!!). Then I thought, balls to it, if i'm going that way I may as well see a bit of the place. So 6 days riding, visit the parents in County Down Northern Ireland, watch some racing and head for home was the new plan.
I looked online for some recommended roads, attractions etc and marked them on a crappy old map of Ireland along with the locations of campsites dotted around the place.
I'll give you a quick bit of info on where I went and what roads and places I think would be worth a visit in case anyone on here is thinking of touring Ireland.

Day 1

Early start from my house in Berkshire, England and the weather was grey but dry. Due to my "leave everything to the last minute" attitude this would be the first time riding the bike fully loaded for more than 1 mile.
The first part of the journey was going to be complete ass as I would be using the motorway but later I cut onto the A5 near Shewsbury and followed it through North Wales all the way to Holyhead Port. From Llangollen to Bethesda the road was awesome, great views and lovely twisty roads. The weather on the other hand turned to complete dog ****. Monsoon rain and gusts of wind that made me change lane a few times on the last stretch of dual carriageway before the ferry.

Irish ferries Holyhead - Dublin takes 3.5 hours and it cost £50 for me and the bike. I also got a single berth cabin for an extra £20, this was the best idea my pea sized brain has ever came up with. If you do this journey I would recommend the cabin, at least for the return journey if you have a long ride home. I was able to get out of my Halfords 1 piece rain suit (10/10 by the way) and all my bike gear and walk around the boat in comfort with my gear locked in my cabin, I even had a shower and a power nap and was able to poo in comfort. All the other bikers were sweating their tits off in their gear and squeaking around the boat in wet boots, MUGS!

Dublin is a big pile of ass, soiled, old person ass. There are 2 road signs in the whole of Dublin and they tell you how to get to the port. The one way system is a nightmare, the place is a dump and the roads are so fecked It was like green laning but surrounded by taxis rather than trees. I wish I had brought a sat nav just for this one bit of the trip as the map was useless. I eventually picked up a motorway for a few miles that led me in the general direction I wanted to go so I could pick up the R115 that would take me through the Wicklow mountains towards a dot on the map that was a camp site.

What a road! This is more like it! Some lovely fast twisty bits with a smooth surface for the most part. As you get into the mountains it becomes a single lane but the road surface is still great. The best bit is there was not another car/bike/lorry/person in sight!
The R755 s a brilliant little road that leads out of the mountains into a village/small town called Rathdrum. 3 minute ride from the High Street and you are at Hidden Valley Holiday Park.
Set away from the roads with a river running around the outside of the park and mountains in the background this campsite looks the dogs danglers. The site is accessed via an electric security gate and a traffic barrier, I was happy to leave my bike and tent full of gear here unattended. The camping pitches have a tarmac parking bay with a patch of grass about 5 mtrs x 3.5 mtrs for the tent. There are also power outlets for each pitch if you need it at an extra 5 Euro. The bloke charged me 10 Euro for a pitch for the night (although it said 16 Euro on the sign) and I got a token for the shower for 1 Euro.
When I asked where was good to eat he told me that I was 30 minutes too late as all the pubs stopped serving food at 8pm. He then made a call to a bloke called Declan from his local pub and told him that "A lad on a motorbike has turned up and he hasn't had any tea, he's come all the way from London.". Declan sorted me out with a MASSIVE chicken curry and a few pints of the black stuff before I retired to my tent to work out the route for day 2.

Good roads = A5 Llangollen - Behesda, R115 and R755 Ballyboden - Rathdrum

Camp site = Hidden Vally Holiday Park, County Wicklow, Ireland 00353 86 727 2872 (recommended)

Route = I have left out the 1 hour of getting lost in Dublin and ignore where the ferry arrives on google maps

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...2508,10.821533

31-05-13, 10:43 PM	#1
Winder Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Moved again now in Bracknell Posts: 981	Ireland trip A few weeks back I decided to bang some luggage on the SV and take a ride over to Ireland to watch the NW200 road races (all 2 laps of the bstard thing!!!). Then I thought, balls to it, if i'm going that way I may as well see a bit of the place. So 6 days riding, visit the parents in County Down Northern Ireland, watch some racing and head for home was the new plan. I looked online for some recommended roads, attractions etc and marked them on a crappy old map of Ireland along with the locations of campsites dotted around the place. I'll give you a quick bit of info on where I went and what roads and places I think would be worth a visit in case anyone on here is thinking of touring Ireland. Day 1 Early start from my house in Berkshire, England and the weather was grey but dry. Due to my "leave everything to the last minute" attitude this would be the first time riding the bike fully loaded for more than 1 mile. The first part of the journey was going to be complete ass as I would be using the motorway but later I cut onto the A5 near Shewsbury and followed it through North Wales all the way to Holyhead Port. From Llangollen to Bethesda the road was awesome, great views and lovely twisty roads. The weather on the other hand turned to complete dog *. Monsoon rain and gusts of wind that made me change lane a few times on the last stretch of dual carriageway before the ferry. Irish ferries Holyhead - Dublin takes 3.5 hours and it cost £50 for me and the bike. I also got a single berth cabin for an extra £20, this was the best idea my pea sized brain has ever came up with. If you do this journey I would recommend the cabin, at least for the return journey if you have a long ride home. I was able to get out of my Halfords 1 piece rain suit (10/10 by the way) and all my bike gear and walk around the boat in comfort with my gear locked in my cabin, I even had a shower and a power nap and was able to poo in comfort. All the other bikers were sweating their tits off in their gear and squeaking around the boat in wet boots, MUGS! Dublin is a big pile of ass, soiled, old person ass. There are 2 road signs in the whole of Dublin and they tell you how to get to the port. The one way system is a nightmare, the place is a dump and the roads are so fecked It was like green laning but surrounded by taxis rather than trees. I wish I had brought a sat nav just for this one bit of the trip as the map was useless. I eventually picked up a motorway for a few miles that led me in the general direction I wanted to go so I could pick up the R115 that would take me through the Wicklow mountains towards a dot on the map that was a camp site. What a road! This is more like it! Some lovely fast twisty bits with a smooth surface for the most part. As you get into the mountains it becomes a single lane but the road surface is still great. The best bit is there was not another car/bike/lorry/person in sight! The R755 s a brilliant little road that leads out of the mountains into a village/small town called Rathdrum. 3 minute ride from the High Street and you are at Hidden Valley Holiday Park. Set away from the roads with a river running around the outside of the park and mountains in the background this campsite looks the dogs danglers. The site is accessed via an electric security gate and a traffic barrier, I was happy to leave my bike and tent full of gear here unattended. The camping pitches have a tarmac parking bay with a patch of grass about 5 mtrs x 3.5 mtrs for the tent. There are also power outlets for each pitch if you need it at an extra 5 Euro. The bloke charged me 10 Euro for a pitch for the night (although it said 16 Euro on the sign) and I got a token for the shower for 1 Euro. When I asked where was good to eat he told me that I was 30 minutes too late as all the pubs stopped serving food at 8pm. He then made a call to a bloke called Declan from his local pub and told him that "A lad on a motorbike has turned up and he hasn't had any tea, he's come all the way from London.". Declan sorted me out with a MASSIVE chicken curry and a few pints of the black stuff before I retired to my tent to work out the route for day 2. Good roads = A5 Llangollen - Behesda, R115 and R755 Ballyboden - Rathdrum Camp site = Hidden Vally Holiday Park, County Wicklow, Ireland 00353 86 727 2872 (recommended) Route = I have left out the 1 hour of getting lost in Dublin and ignore where the ferry arrives on google maps https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...2508,10.821533 __________________ "Somewhere between happy and total fkin wreck"