After returning home from our holidays in Ireland we were often asked: “Did you like it?”. Friends and work colleagues were curious to know, but it was not an easy question to answer…
The break from work felt good but still we did not feel fully recovered. The journey had lacked a bit of the easygoing and relaxed vibe, which we normally would have felt most of the times.
But why?
We travelled to Ireland by bus, train and ferry. We passed through Paris just before the Olympics. The city was bustling with the last preparations and – though clichéd – we wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower, which unfortunately did not work out. The journey to Ireland worked out well and on the ferry we found a cozy corner for our sleeping pads which we shared with an older couple who had the same idea as us.
During the first days in Ireland we were warmly welcomed by sunshine and Sami was optimistic that it would stay like that, whereas Juli anticipated rain, wind and cold temperatures. Well, unfortunately she was right. The weather, above all the rain, demanded some creative workarounds at times. In the first few days when we were still in the South we wanted to escape the rain and hunkered down in a passage to a backyard. A father and his small son spotted us and offered us some hot coffee. A few minutes later the boy returned bearing the mugs. Since Sami doesn’t like coffee and Juli had already brewed her first cup she ended up with 3 cups. That warmed her up and gave her enough energy to get back to cycling in the rain.
The journey lead us along the Southern coast of Ireland. Sami had already cycled parts of it in 2016 and was already looking forward to some of the spots. The first highlight was Kinsale, a small coastal town close to Cork. We found a very rundown accomodation nearby and realized, that our tolerance for “adventures” like that had diminished quite a bit.
Sami had fond memories of Kinsale. We enjoyed hanging out in cafés and visited the two old fortifications.
8 years ago Sami could stay with two brothers in town, who had their own shop where they sew bags out of recycled marine materials. Their model was the Swiss brand “Freitag”. They are not as famous but their craftsmanship is beautiful and can be found at Mamukko. Unfortunately they were both out of town but their kind substitute was happy to listen to the story and will send them our regards.
In the Southwest, we cycled the Ring of Beara. Compared with the well-known Ring of Kerry, Sami had already found this to be the nicer choice on his first trip, with equally beautiful scenery but much less car traffic. The route was still very pretty, but due to the rain we did not enjoy it as much. Instead of camping out at the tip, we “escaped” to a small campground, hoping for a warm shower and a dry corner to cook in. Fortunately, we were able to cook and dry our equipment in the campsite owner’s shed. Funnily enough, two small children thought we would be staying in the shed, but we preferred our tent for the sleeping part.
Before we cycled over Moll’s Gap into Killarney National Park, we got to spend a day with Kate and Kieren. Many thanks to both of them for the pleasant time and the fun fact that the Irish weigh themselves in stones and not in pounds…
Along the southern part of the West Coast we passed some well-known and beautiful places. We visited the impressive Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, a rugged and very unique rocky coastline and, to our delight, a small cave with the largest stalactite in Europe (Doolin Cave). We were in a small group and our guide told us about the exciting discovery of the cave and the stalactite by two teenagers.
In addition to the sights, we also found some very nice wild camping spots on this route. One evening we spent by the sea and had to keep an eye on the tide and another time next to an old tower ruin.
By the time we arrived in Galway, Sami’s favorite town in Ireland, we had already completed the first half of our trip. We enjoyed a longer break at a campground in the North of the city. The annual arts festival was taking place and the whole city was bursting at the seams. Sami thought it was a bit of a shame, but at least we rediscovered the traditional bar with music that Sami had really enjoyed on his last trip. With a local cider and traditional Irish music, it felt just as Irish as Sami had wished.
We met Gaby at the campground in Galway. We were very impressed that she was still out on her bike with camping equipment at the age of almost 70. If we can still be on the road for as long, there are probably many more tours and corners of the world waiting for us.
It was great to have her company and to talk about everything in the world and camping equipment in particular. Since one evening wasn’t enough and we had planned our routes in a similar direction, we arranged to meet a few more times at campgrounds and finally in Belfast for a farewell beer. We hope that our paths will cross again in the future!
The second part of our journey from Galway to the North, through the Connemara National Park to Belfast, took us once again through some beautiful regions of Ireland. We stopped at the Slieve Leagues, imposing and less crowded cliffs compared to the Cliffs of Moher, and at the surprising landscape of the Giants Causeway, with its hexagonal formations. Wild camping in Ireland had previously been rather difficult and now became incredibly tedious on some days. Practically all the land belongs to someone, is used for agriculture and is therefore fenced off. We asked twice whether it would be okay to spend the night in the fields, but got the impression that this was not very welcome, so we sometimes searched for a long time and had to push on a long distance until we could find something suitable. Ruins generally seemed to be a good place to stay, as long as they were freely accessible.
Derry, or Londonderry as they say in Northern Ireland, was our last highlight of the trip. Located in Northern Ireland, it was always heavily involved in the Northern Ireland conflict. As a result, it offered an intriguing cityscape as well as a history worth exploring. We attended a guided tour in the Bogside district of Derry. A contemporary witness told us about the history and in particular the riots. He himself lost his older brother at the hands of the police and campaigned for his death to be investigated. The gruesome stories reminded us again that violence only produces more violence and is hardly conducive to establishing peace. Fortunately, after decades of attacks, protests and fighting, Northern Ireland managed to make peace after realizing that things could not go on like this.
So, how was it then? Despite the challenging conditions, with cold, wet weather, a little too many kilometers and challenging wild camping conditions, we look back on the trip with fond memories. Sami likes to remember what Christoph Rehage, who walked from China to Germany, said: “In the end, your brain turns your memories into gold and you want to experience it again.