All the Way Around...

...Ireland, that is! 1700 miles into a 1200 mile trip, we arrived back home after travelling all the way around Ireland. We thought it was going to be a bit shorter than it was, but what a fantastic trip! Both Northern and Southern Ireland are beautiful, just as green and picturesque as we've read about. The Irish people are lovely, with all the hospitality that's written about too.

We started out by packing up the bike (how can I forget how to do this in such a short time!) with enough stuff to last for 9 days in three 12x15x5 inch panniers (motorbike boxes). This is always a feat of engineering and we know we're done packing when nothing else fits! Then it was a quick trip down the motorway to Wales.

We've done a motorbike trip in Wales through the Snowdonia region and that was very nice, but this time we went through the middle of Wales and enjoyed it even more. The roads were great, the hills, mountains and foliage were at their summer's best, and the cottages, houses, stately homes and castles were everywhere you looked. Steve at one point remarked, "It's been 20
minutes since we've seen a castle, what's wrong?!" It was a nice mix of sweeping roads through leafy forests and then climbing over the hills. The towns were unspoiled in the main with little evidence of chain store invasion. It's amazing what a difference it makes to the look of a town to
have the old hand painted signs versus neon.

We stayed at B&B's for all of the trip except for Dublin and it worked out so well that it's something we'll do in the future. They ran the gamut from posh to plain, but were good value and quite interesting. Staying at B&Bs also allowed us to have conversations with the people who lived there which was a really nice change. Usually the conversations we have when we travel
are limited to check in / check out and ordering meals - hardly a view into local personalities! While our conversations weren't anything earth-shattering on this trip, it was nice to get people's thoughts on good places to go in the towns, little know scenic routes to travel and views of things happening in Ireland. It was also nice to see the differences in the B&Bs, these are people's homes after all even if they are run as businesses. All served some form of the traditional Irish breakfast which seems to be a three course meal beginning with muesli / yogurt / fruit followed by toast and then eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding and white pudding (don't ask, you don't want to know!), potato cakes and fried bread (we are eating lots of fruits and veg this week!), but there were distinct differences in the quality and preparation from extremely cheap and basic to everything organic / homemade - including fruit preserves and yogurt. I had a lightly smoked haddock omelette that was one of the best breakfast meals I've ever had!

Our night in Wales was spent at the Highland Moors Guest House in Llandrindod Wells, run by an Irish / English couple who had chucked it all and moved to the country to raise their children (we think there were three, but there may have been four) and run a B&B. They are slowly renovating this big old spa hotel which is the last one standing in Wales. We searched the town for a restaurant and ended up at a Chinese, which we were a bit unsure of - the appetiser menu only had 5 things on it and two were ribs. But our options were limited, the Indian was closed and the all-you-can-eat buffet was busily serving leftover lunch food, so we gave it a go. We went with the set menu for three ("But you are only two!" "We don't care.") and had a fantastic, if very big, meal. So if you're ever in Llandrindod Wells, try the set menu for three at the only Chinese in town!

We took the car ferry from Pembrooke Dock to Rosslare, Ireland. It was a four hour trip across a flat calm Irish Sea. These car ferries are like small cruise ships, with cabins if you want them, restaurants, lounges, and the ever-present duty free shop. We lounged and read for the four hours and then hopped back on the bike for the 15 mile trip to our first Irish B&B in Wexford. This was the nicest of the B&Bs we stayed at and a great way to start the trip. McMenamin's Town House was the epitome of what I would consider the classic B&B, antique furniture, flowers, and an array of gourmet, homemade foods - just lovely!

Then across the southern part of Southern Ireland to Killarney, positioning us to ride around the Kerry Ring the next day. We stayed at a simple and basic B&B there called Rathmore House, run by Pat and Mary. Pat was full of information about the area, where to go and what to see. Killarney was where I had my first Guinness, something that we continued to enjoy throughout the trip and we had an excellent fresh seafood dinner. Killarney was a nice town, a bigger one with lots of shops and restaurants - and Jaunt Carts! We couldn't figure out what they were when we saw the sign, but as we were leaving the next morning and saw all the horses and carts lined up we figured it out - something for next time. We cruised out of Killarney past the lake and into the forest which starts the beginning of the clockwise trip around the Kerry Ring (most people have to go clockwise around the narrow roads because there are many places where you cannot pass the tour buses, but it didn't matter on the bike - and we didn't have to follow the tour buses!). It is one of the most scenic and famous routes in all of Ireland, and it lived up to its reputation. Winding through the woods, past lakes and streams and over hills and through mountains, the view as we whizzed by ranged from cottages nestled in sheltered valleys to mountain slopes covered with fields of rhododendrons, a mass of purple against hills covered with hedgerow-lined pastures and stone walls.

Throughout the trip the scenery was beautiful, so much so that I arrived at home having taken 452 pictures!

After the Kerry Ring, our next night was in Galway at a basic, basic B&B! It was a good walk to the town and the restaurant, which we needed because the Irish breakfasts were already beginning to add up. We had our Guinness at O'Connors Famous Pub and decided to come back for the music after dinner. Dinner, on the barman's recommendation, was just down the street at Da Roberta, an excellent Italian. After dinner, we came back for the music, a duo on guitar and piano. Now the Irish music I have been exposed to in the past, I have not really been a fan of listening to for a whole evening, nice for a few minutes though. This was excellent, a mix of what I would call honky-tonk piano and classical guitar - wonderful, could have listened to it for days! Unfortunately they didn't have a CD or it would have been an immediate addition to our music collection (my American money making gene had also indignantly raised its head, 'But, but, but they could be making money at this!' 'Steve's response, 'Perhaps they don't want to' took me a
while to get my head around). Breakfast was 'interesting' and then we were off to Donegal.

We went to Donegal via a loop around the northwestern part of Southern Ireland, another gorgeous scenic drive along the sea and through the mountains. It was pretty barren up there and you could see where people had been cutting and stacking peat to burn in their stoves over the winter. The rhoddys were still in bloom all over along with entire hedges of fushia! Donegal was quaint with a tiny castle and an excellent Thai restaurant. It was pretty funny as we were sitting there eating this amazing Thai food and people from a coach tour at the table next to us were being served mass-produced mash, steamed veg and some form of meat / gravy - same restaurant, totally different food experience!

After Donegal, we headed up across the border into Northern Ireland. Unlike Southern Ireland, Northern Ireland is still part of the UK and there are distinct differences between the two countries. The scenery in Northern Ireland is just as spectacular, but the houses are different. They did not go through the housing boom that the southerners did and houses are of the older and cottage-y variety, more architecturally interesting, I think. We continued along the coast and stopped for a hike and a peek at the Giant's Causeway . Then on up to Ballycastle, way up on the north coast, just above the Glens of Antrim and stayed at Clare House overlooking the town of Ballycastle, the sea and Torr Head in the distance. It was a good hike into and out of town for dinner, but again we needed it after all the Irish breakfasts!

The man at Clare House suggested that as we were on the bike we should take the lessor used coastal road by Torr Head. You can't go on it on coach buses or with caravans, but it's fine for a bike. It's twisting, winding and slowly navigating up, down and along the cliffs by the sea. It's one of those places where you want to take it slowly and not make any mistakes, because as you look over the edge of the road just to your right it's a 500 foot drop right down to the rocks and crashing surf! There were sheep and cows wandering in their pastures right at the edge of the cliffs (Steve wonders how many fall off) with the most amazing views right across to Scotland. As we dropped down from the cliffs, the road got better (less steep, less cliff edge-like) and meandered for miles along the shore. It was sunny and cold with a brisk wind. We saw a couple of sailboats and decided that would not be us - too cold! The whole Glens of Antrim area was
gorgeous and I'd like to spend more time exploring it - perhaps another time do a motorbike / hike trip.

It was a fairly quick trip from there into Dublin and after a tour of the one-way road system, we managed to find our hotel, Trinity Lodge. It's a little boutique hotel in the heart of Dublin, right next to the shopping district and the Temple Bar area. After a double-decker bus tour of the city, we headed over to Temple Bar to find dinner. When Julie and Andrew talked about going to Temple Bar, I thought they meant 'a' bar and I pictured in my mind a fairly modern chrome and wood type place. I couldn't have been more off! Temple Bar is a street district of restaurants and pubs, streets and streets of them! As you walk along, there are musicians playing streetside and music pours out from the open doors of the pubs. One pub had a sign out front with its music schedule, 12-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 with different musicians for every set. We had a pre-dinner Guinness accompanied by Irish music (not as good as the guys at O'Connor's Famous Pub!) and then found a place for our first 'Irish' dinner of the entire trip at Gallagher's Boxty House. We had a boxty starter, potato pancakes served with sauces (they are also served stuffed). Steve had steak and Murphy's (a Guinness alternative, gasp!) stew and I had bacon, cabbage and colcannon (mashed potatoes with onion and cabbage, quite similar to the English bubble and squeak). The waiter warned me that the bacon (ham) was a large portion, but I figured Steve could help if he was still hungry. I didn't realise they would bring a whole ham out! It was enormous and more than enough for three people, never mind one!

Colcannon (from the BBC recipe website)

500g/1lb2oz mealy potatoes, cooked
250g/9oz cabbage, shredded and lightly steamed
2 tbsp cream
salt and black pepper
1 large or 2 small onions, sliced thinly
a little bacon fat, beef dripping or other frying oil

(I think the colcannon I had also had cheese in it)

1. Sieve or mash the potatoes and mix with the cabbage and cream. Season well with salt and pepper.
2. Fry the onion in the fat over a moderate heat until it is soft and beginning to brown.
3. Using a spatula, press half the potato and cabbage mixture in an even layer on to the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until it is well browned and crispy underneath.
4. Cut the mixture into 4 quarters with the spatula or palette knife and turn them over carefully so that the crispy bit is uppermost. Press the remaining potato and cabbage mixture on to the first layer and after a few more minutes, cut and turn again.
5. When the bottom is again browned, you will have a crispy top too, a crispy bottom, and a crispy layer in the middle.

After Dublin, we headed over the Wicklow Mountains. It was misty, wild and desolate up there. We drove for miles and we only saw a bit of fencing, no sheep, no cows, no houses. Winters must be very quiet up there, we wondered if the roads would even be passable once snow came. We did see a few wild deer and it felt like we'd reached the top part of the world as we went over the mountains. I would like to go back and see it in the sunshine!

it was back to Rosslare for an overnight before catching the morning ferry (8:45 sail) back to Wales. Had a great evening walk along the cliffs there, the wind was whipping! Good thing it was blowing onshore or it could have blown us over the cliffs if we weren't careful. We were accompanied in spots by a very nice herd of cows. Another good B&B, St. Martins, and a Chinese dinner. We probably didn't eat as much Irish food as we should have and after we recovered from Dublin, we would have like to try more. I'm not a big fan of stews, but after Dublin found a variety of things I would like to try, including champ again. Often the selections in the towns were basic pub grub (which was posing for Irish), seafood, or Chinese / Thai. Basic pub grub, we're not really huge fans of so we stuck with the rest. Next time, we'd enquire further to find the really good Irish restaurants.

A nice four-hour trip back. Steve took a slightly different but equally scenic route back through Wales and we were back at home within about 5 hours of riding off the ferry. At some points we weren't sure of Ireland, mainly because the condition of the roads made motorbiking a bit strenuous, but it turned out to be a fun and beautiful trip. It's definitely on our list of places to visit again and one of the nicest things about the whole trip - we didn't get rained on once!!!