Page 1

A Trip to the Italian Dolomites

So it was that early on Sunday 13th September we set off for Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel. There were two of us packed with general clothes for two weeks, plus Via Ferrata gear (more of which, later). We had the Tardis that is the top box, plus a pannier each and a 15Litre Tank Bag, otherwise known as a man-bag containing all essential equipment that no self-respecting man can do without. Robyn, my pillion and significant other, also had one of her collection of handbags worn back to front to hold passports, money and many other unmentionable things that ladies appear to be incapable of being without.

We took the M5 south, then across on the A417/419 past Swindon to the M4 then all the way down to the M25 and around and down to Folkestone. Of course, it rained, lots, so we were well pleased to get inside the terminal building for a while. We had arrived a good hour early but unfortunately couldn't get an earlier crossing than the 15:30. No matter - BK for lunch!

Eventually we loaded and found ourselves in a carriage with 20 or so other bikes, all of which were French, comprising Triumphs, BMWs and a couple of nice Yamaha Sport bikes.

As we left the train I noticed a warning light on the dash indicating that a bulb had blown somewhere - I suspected the headlight but as I hadn't memorised the icon code from the manual (who reads the manual for heaven's sake!) had to wait until the next service station to confirm my suspicions - yep it was gone, but not to worry, I had the driving lights on and we would be at the hotel long before dark.

Our plan was a quick 120 mile hop to Mons in Belgium which went without incident except that it rained, lots, well, until about 10 minutes from the hotel when the sky cleared and the sun came out.

Day 2 was a long day of 300 miles down to Seebach in Germany, mostly because I wanted to ride the B500 - more of which, later. Early on in the day it rained and rained and rained, so much so that we decided to pull over for an early lunch and watched as the water ran down the windows like someone had turned a hose on!

Eventually it slowed enough for us to make a dash for it, but soon enough it rained again, harder and harder. This was not good for two reasons; it is no fun in the rain, and secondly I had promised my pillion good weather. Oh yes, thirdly, her visor leaked so she was getting both her face and her hair wet - I was in serious trouble! Eventually the rain cleared and we found ourselves in bright sunshine and as a bonus on a section of unrestricted Autobahn. I didn't realise at first but two things gave it away; my Sat Nav gave no speed limit and a number of cars and bikes came past like we were standing still and we were doing about 80mph. Ok, let's go for it. I slowly wound the speed up to 120mph which the RT coped with no problem. I could have probably gone a little faster but there were vehicles ahead and at that speed, they come up fast and I was beginning to feel a pain in my side where my pillion was 'informing' me that slowing down was in order! I eased off to a steady 80mph. I discovered later that Robyn had been buffeted about by the wind at the high speed which surprised me as I thought the windshield on full extension would have protected her, but seemingly not.

Seebach is in the Schwarzwald and is quite beautiful. We were staying at Pension Williams, run by a British couple who were extremely welcoming and, as it turned out, knew more about riding the local roads than anyone and gave me lots of advice about BMW dealers and the B500 (more of which, later).

That evening we dined at the nearby hotel and enjoyed a very quiet night, praying for no rain the next day for the big ride.

The day dawned clear and bright and after a good breakfast and a final briefing on the B500 we set off in search of the BMW dealer. I say 'in search' but all I needed to do was to program the Sat Nav to take me to the nearest dealer which turned out to be about 10 miles away!

We found it easily enough, but sadly they didn't carry the bulb I needed but gave me the address of the next nearest dealer on our route and even phoned them to confirm we could get it done. As luck would have it, the dealer was at the other end of the B500 - result. They did, however, sell crash helmets and so Robyn, now thoroughly fed up with her leaky helmet and broken sun visor, decided to treat herself to a shiny new Schuberth C3 helmet, same as mine but silver instead of matt black to avoid confusion. I was dispatched to remove the intercom from the old one so that we could leave the helmet with the dealer to dispose of.

We set off in the direction of Baden Baden, the start of the B500, but as we arrived at the top of the hill, we discovered we were actually on the B500 and had been advised by David Williams that the first section was not so brilliant, so turned right and headed off. The road, known as the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse (Black Forest High Street), it seems, had been built in conjunction with the German Motorbike police as a road they could use to practise their high speed chases and as such, almost every bend could be taken at 70mph, probably faster by Sports Bikes or those that knew the road. Those that required a slower speed were well marked. The fact was, approaching a bend could be done fast knowing it wasn't going to tighten up suddenly and some of them were just beautiful, sweeping off into the distance right, then left downhill, up the other side - all roads should be like this! It improved the further South we went to the point where I thought every bend was fantastic and then another even better bend came up that was even more fantastiker! The road is also wide enough in places to overtake even with oncoming traffic, although care should be taken of course, as it should when approaching the view point car parks as we discovered early on where we came upon a mini-bus in the middle of the road! Thankfully, having recently attended the WHAM slow speed day which included speed braking I stopped well within the distance and was able to show my disgust to the driver even though I don't speak German!

We continued without further incident and without dropping below 70mph and times a little higher. The tarmac is perfect with that light brown colour and excellent grip and the rain had held off which was even better. Too soon we got to the end and I begged my pillion to allow me a second run, but we still had some miles to go and a bulb to replace so reluctantly continued on our way. I'll be back!

At the second dealer, the bulb was soon replaced by a mechanic who seemed to have elastic arms and did it without recourse to removing the cover or anything. The bill was just 30 Euros so I was happy with that and we headed off towards our destination of Ulm, some 140 miles from Seebach where we would have two nights to break the journey.

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A Trip to the Italian Dolomites

Ulm is a nice city, boasting as it does, the highest steeple in the world at 162m. For 5 Euros, you can climb it which of course, we had to! The view from the top was excellent and we spent some time taking photos and having a breather before heading down again. Both up and down are spiral stairs and after 162m of walking in a downward spiral, both felt a little giddy so concluded the best thing would be to go for a beer or two to settle our heads which rather amazingly, did just that.

Leaving Ulm, we headed down to Innsbruck on our 226 mile ride to Corvara, enjoying some Austrian rain which it seems is nowhere near as heavy as either Belgian or German rain so barely noticed it.

From Innsbruck we headed south into Italy and the Dolomite Mountains where the roads narrowed and twisted and turned with hairpins designed to test the skill and observation of the rider. The scenery improved mile by mile and the last hour or so was just amazing as we rode towards our destination of Corvara.

We had an apartment booked for a week for walking, Via Ferrata, some riding and generally chilling out.

Corvara is centrally located and on the popular 'Sella' circuit which circumnavigates the Sella group of mountains, Piz Boe being the most famous. The route is popular with bikers as it takes in the Grodner Joch, Pordoi pass, Arabba, the Falzarego and Valparoli passes and can be done from any starting point and features more hairpin bends than you could reasonably be expected to throw a large BMW at.

It also features multiple fuel stations so that even thirsty Ducatti riders can get around without recourse to syphoning.

Our first day saw us ride over to the Falzarego Pass the long way to explore the Lagazuoi tunnels - famous tunnels from the First World War, then back via the shorter route making a nice walking day out and a nice ride - the weather had improved remarkably and the roads were a joy to ride.

A second outing took us up on the local cable car to climb Piz Boe which at 3,152m high was a good day out with the normal spectacular views and even boasted a hut at the summit serving food and drink - why can't all mountains be like this?

I'd been keen to climb a Via Ferrata so set aside a day to climb Pisciadu via the Tridentina Ferrata. In case you don't know, Via Ferrata are wired climbs and require some specialised equipment but not as much as for traditional rock climbing, basically comprising a crash helmet, harness and a piece of equipment called a Zyper; a special friction device that attaches to the climbers harness and the wires and protects in case of a fall. The wires are bolted to the rock wall periodically and whilst a fall could easily be three or four metres, it would be painful but not fatal and means that climbers with limited skills (but skills nevertheless) can undertake climbs that would otherwise be out of the question.

The routes require a good level of fitness and an excellent head for heights combined with a reasonable rock climbing ability. On the Tridentina the route is several hundred metres vertically above the ground and in places very airy and exposed. I didn't hang about (excuse the pun) but it still took me two hours of near vertical climbing to ascend to the hut, followed by almost an hour down by the descent path which also has its inherent difficulties.

Other shorter walks were done and of course the week just flew by and before we knew it, we were packing for our return trip. The day before our departure, the worst thing happened; it snowed! Fearful that we might not be able to leave, we constantly checked weather forecasts, all of which assured us that the snow would stop mid-afternoon and the following day would be gone - let's hope so!

Our departure day dawned and our first job was to look out of the window - thankfully, the snow had all but gone from the roads and pavements, replaced by light rain - that was good, it meant the air temperature was above zero and the puddles of water on the road meant the road temperature was also above freezing. Good news!

We left by 10:00am as our first day was a big one; 300 miles of mostly motorway from the Dolomites to the Black Forest. There is only one sensible way out of the Dolomites and that is towards Innsbruck which we followed, noticing that the temperature increased from a cool 4 degrees in Corvara to 10 degrees by the time we hit the Motorway North, not dipping until we crossed the Brenner Pass where it dropped again to about 5 degrees and made us both feel quite cold. Heated seats and handle grips on full power!

Grateful to get to the end and Innsbruck we turned West along the Motorway, thinking it was all over bar the riding, when we came upon a diversion that took us through St Anton and the Arlberg pass which was nice but also worrying in case of ice as it rose to over 5000 feet. As it turned out, the minimum temperature we experienced was 10 degrees so it was ok.

At one stop, we met other UK bikers who had been touring Austria and had to turn around on one pass because of bad weather and wait for a snow plough so we considered ourselves quite fortunate.

Day 2 saw us ride up to the B500 again for a second run at it, which if anything was better than the first as the road was familiar and I knew the bends were good. From the end, we drove through Strasbourg to Verdun in France and Day 3 was a very boring ride across France on Peage from Verdun to Saint Omer and finally Day 4 the short 20 miles or so to the Tunnel and the crossing. Interestingly we saw no evidence of immigrants or the trouble that is seen on the news.

By mid-afternoon on the Sunday we were home. Our total mileage was just over 2,100.

Page 1

Ron Haslam Track Day - Donington Park

OK, so I'm never going to be British Champion nor am I going to challenge Guy Martin, but I've always wanted to ride a motorbike around Donington Racetrack every since I first went there a very long time ago to watch a young man by the name of Ron Haslam take on all comers and give them a good spanking.

So it was full circle that, for my recent birthday, I was given, as a gift by my better half, a Ron Haslam Premier Track Day experience.

The format is pretty simple; turn up with nothing more than enthusiasm and they provide the rest!

We arrived at the reception area nice and early and were told that I was in Group 9 which would be called for registration at about 3pm. Sitting nervously waiting for the call, which finally came, I handed in my paperwork and was directed to the kit area where I picked up boots, race leathers, gloves and crash helmet.

Soon we were off for the initial briefing, held in a thoughtfully air conditioned room - it was a warm day and we were all wearing full leathers. Given an overview we trooped out, via the toilets, for a nervous pre-ride pee, and into the pit area where we were introduced to our instructor. Mine was Barry and I was paired with a guy of similar age and experience. Barry proceeded to get to know us by asking about our bikes, what we wanted to get out of the day and whether or not we had done this kind of thing before - we were both first timers, wanted a fun day with some fast, but not stupid riding and hopefully to go away having learned something.

Barry told us we would be riding an initial 15 minute session where he would see how we were doing, our technique and give us each the opportunity of riding behind him so he could get a better look. He told us not to worry about other 'traffic' as that was his job and he would give us signs to move to the left or rejoin the race line as appropriate.

Soon enough our bikes arrived from the previous session.The good thing about that, as we were told, is that the tyres are permanently warm so once on the track there are no warm-up requirements and we can go pretty much full on from the start.

I located my bike; a Honda 600 Fireblade which immediately felt way too small - I ride a BMW 1200! Squeezing onto the bike I tried to get comfortable which I kind of did, but it still felt tiny. Joining my race buddy and Barry at the start line, we waited for the pit marshall to give us the 'go' and we moved out onto the track. Once on the bike I quickly forgot how small it was as we set off for the first bend. I was also surprised how easy it was to control the bike. I had visions of pulling an (unintentional) wheelie straight out of the pit lane but no. Into the bend in second and we raced off down through the curves and up the hill to the right hander. This was amazing!

There is no speedo on the bike and gear changes seem to be a case of 'if and when', for me anyway! I found quickly that I could take most of the bends in second, changing up to third for the straight sections, with the engine revving at well over 11,000rpm, even for me it was screaming. Soon enough we came to the hairpin and everyone slowed to take it. I managed to change into first, which annoyed the bike somewhat and it slowed much quicker than I had wanted it to, that coupled with some poorly timed braking had the back wheel bouncing a little. Quickly changing back up to second, it calmed down, I took the bend on a very bad line and emerged to see Barry heading off into the distance for the final bend before the main straight past the pit lane. Feeling confident already I raced after him, the pits passing in a blur and the engine screaming again I followed his line around the bend and the start of the next lap.

So it continued for the full 15 minutes, which seemed to pass in an instant, but with each lap, the confidence grew and I was soon throwing the bike into the bends. Periodically I was bought back to earth as Barry waved us to the left for bikes to rocket past us like we were standing still.

Eventually the chequered flag was waved and we made our way back into the pits and into our first briefing.

Barry was reasonably happy with us and we spent the time discussing leaning off the bike for the bends, sitting on a static bike to demonstrate how it was to be done. Being a BMW rider it is seldom either of my bum cheeks (intentionally) leaves the comfort of the seat but here I was being asked to do exactly that. OK, I'll give it a try.

Back out we went and off again. This time I tried the leaning position and managed, after a fashion, to get over a bit more, occasionally glancing down to the tarmac speeding by, it seemed very close! The bends went well, better than last time and I managed to avoid the 'first gear' drama of the previous session so felt much happier and got the impression we were lapping quicker than the first time. Rather disappointingly, it started raining which had been threatened for a while. We had been told that, unless it got stupid, that it would be okay to continue at normal speed - I guess we beginners weren't exactly pushing the limits! Strangely I felt quite confident in the rain and figured that if anything were to go a bit 'Pete Tong' it would be on the relatively slow tight bends and so only pride would be damaged. As it turned out, no dramas, although we did hear later that one student had taken a fall, but was fine.

Back in again and this time into the 'advanced brief' which, rather than discussing our technique as I had hoped, seemed to concentrate on questions being asked about how to get the knee down and so, for me, was a bit of a waste of time, I had wanted to know how I had done on the previous session. As we came out, I decided to ask my instructor who was, already on his bike and waiting at the front of the grid, so gave me no chance!

Third 15 minute session on, faster I thought than the previous two and better than the previous two. Of course, as is always the way with these things, you start to get the hang of it and it is over....

Parking the bikes we were congratulated by our instructors, then made our way inside to get changed and attend the final debrief which was a typically information gathering exercise dressed up as a competition. Some words about our day, how we had enjoyed it and then the certificates were handed out along with goodie bags with 'money off' vouchers and other things that may come in useful someday. We were also told we qualified for a 10% discount off a subsequent 'Premier' day and were informed about the Elite course, but told, since it is fully booked until September,that no discounts are given on that course.

A final treat for me was to get a photo with Ron Haslam himself who is a really nice guy, chatting happily with us for a few minutes and even confirming a myth for me; he was British Champion before he passed his motorbike test! He even took the time to elaborate on the story, telling me how he got a summons for sitting on a motorbike listening to the engine!

I left the track smiling, happy with the day, wanting to do it again. For a first time it is a great introduction to track racing. Would I change anything? Well, I was a little disappointed that my attempts at leaning weren't discussed, but then again, I could have asked! Would I go again - definitely, would I recommend it? Already have.

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Southern Ireland Tour 2016

For a list of Sites in Ireland that I have visited, click here

Day 1 - Home to North Wales

We left about 1:30pm and headed for the American Diner at Leominster for lunch. The timing was perfect as we watched the rain pour down whilst we tucked into our burgers. As we finished, so did the rain so after a fuel stop headed off on a revised route to avoid the worst of the rain. Originally I had planned to ride via the Elan Valley but the advance forecast had thunderstorms that way. So far we'd encountered a few spots but nothing to worry about.

Our new route which took us up to Craven Arms then across to Welshpool to pick up our original route proved inspired as we didn't see another drop for the rest of the day. A quick drink stop in Dolgellau and the final 20 miles was dispatched with ease. We even found the B&B first go.

Total distance 130 miles, Total journey time : 4 1/2 hours including stops.

Day 2 - North Wales to Donegal

Left the B and B by 9:00am as planned and rode into Bewys y Coed for a quick trip to the outdoor shop for some waterproof leggings for Robyn. From there a spectacular ride through the Ogwen Valley and over to Angelsey.

Stopping for fuel on Anglesey we were entertained firstly by a guy not looking what he was doing and allowing the fuel nozzle to come out of the filler which flooded the floor and his trousers with petrol! Then as we were about to leave a car pulled in front of us and sat there for a few seconds before realising they were blocking us- no sorry, no reverse gear on my bike!

Arrived at the ferry by 10:45am and only needed to show our booking reference number to get the ticket - easy Peazy.

We soon boarded and settled into our seats for the crossing which was just under 2 hours and very smooth. Irish Ferries use a Catamaran making it fast and stable.

Heading out of the port of Dublin we were surprised to encounter a toll tunnel. Bikes and cars €3 at weekends.

Two more tolls before we moved off the motorway at €0.70 each so not too bad.

Our route took us along the N3 which was very quiet to Eniskillen which is actually in the North where we stopped for coffee and some snack supplies and were amazed to find it was less than £8. The town looked really nice and would make a nice stopover - maybe next time.

The final 20 miles went quickly and we even managed to locate the small lane on which the B&B was located first time.

Spotting the house we pulled in and parked outside the front door. An elderly gentleman opened the door and greeted us like old friends asking us how we were and had we had a good ride over. After the third or fourth time of asking us the same questions we realised all was not what it seemed. Anyway, he phoned his wife who came a few minutes later and explained to us that we were at the wrong house! Our actual destination was two doors up! They then offered us tea and biscuits but we declined on the grounds that it was raining, we were tired and were starting to think we were in Groundhog Day! Turns out he had Parkinson's disease. What a friendly couple though! Imagine that in the UK?

Riding up we quickly located our true destination and were shown our room.

Deciding that we needed to eat we rode into Ballyshannon in the rain in search of food. Soon located we tucked into Fish and Chips but not before having my photo taken by a Rory Gallagher statue - turns out he was born in the town! Awesome!

Total mileage: 58 to Holyhead, 145 Dublin to Ballyshannon.

Day 3 - Tour of Donegal (or not)

We had expected rain so had planned an easy start. Breakfast was huge and set us up for the day.

About 10:30 or thereabouts we decided to ride into Donegal for a look around the castle which was small but very nice and at €4 each pretty cheap. After that a quick coffee in the local bar, which looked like it did nice food. We then went over the road to purchase of supplies in Spar and after some discussion we decided on a ride to the Slieve League cliffs but after less than a mile out of town abandoned the idea as it was raining so hard.

Back to the B&B to relax for the afternoon and evening. Tomorrow will be a better day!

About 7:30 as I was bored and it had stopped raining, we decided to have a ride into Bundoran. It is a pleasant seaside town but not a lot happening so we had a walk by the sea then had a quick sweet stop and back to the B&B.

Total mileage: 40 miles

Day 4 - Donegal to Westport

After a steady start, we left the B&B about 10am and headed off South towards Sligo. Our first stop was the Ceide (pronounced Kay-J - 'J' as in Juice) Fields which was about 85 miles away. The roads started off as wide main roads but for the last 20 or so became smaller country roads but the scenery improved as we went with mountains springing up on all sides.

Arriving at Ceide we walked up to the visitor centre and were told that a guided walk had just left so after an essential toilet visit headed out to catch up. The guide gave us a very interesting and at times amusing talk about the history of the area which dates back 6000 years! Turns out it was a farming area with a very extensive field and wall system found by accident by local farmers digging the peat.

After the tour we spent some time in the centre having coffee and cake then looking at the exhibitions - very interesting. Excellent value at just €4 each although refreshments were pricey. About 2:30 we left for our next destination, Achill Island which was about 30 miles further on.

Disappointingly the island was not what I had hoped for (a small island with a folk centre) but in reality a non-descript village with not much going on so we stopped for a coffee then decided to head to Westport another 20 miles further.

No problems getting there or finding the B&B, arriving about 5:30, and we were made very welcome by the owner, although an English family before us walked in and closed the door behind them forcing us to ring the bell!

After a shower and change we walked into town in search of food and entertainment. Food was in the form of ribs for me and a burger for Robyn plus my first Irish Guinness of the trip. We then walked down to Matt Molloys for the music. Matt is a flute player with The Chieftans so has a good pedigree. We arrived at 8:45 nice and early to guarantee seats. The music started about 9:45 and was amazing getting better as the night wore on, although Matt didn't play, the musicians were great and highly entertaining. We finally left around midnight for the 10 minute walk back and bed.

Total mileage:167

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Southern Ireland Tour 2016

Day 5 - Westport to Galway

Today was our shortest day at about 100 miles so we had an easy start, a late breakfast - full Irish of course, then after loading up, ride down into Westport a few minutes away. Robyn wanted a long sleeved top so we went in search, eventually locating a suitable garment.

Off we went in the direction of Louisburgh and a tour around Croach Patrick or the Diamond mountain as it is known locally. After a superb ride of 20 miles or so including Doo Lough where we encountered a group of American bikers and spent some time discussing the merits of the RT vs the GS whilst we took photos, we popped out at Leenane to join the N59 to ride to Kylemore Abbey our main destination of the day. It is a real tourist trap and after changing into our civvies and using our new metal 'kit bag' headed into the Abbey via the cafe for a quick drink.

It is quite expensive to get in being €13 each. The Abbey is okay but there are only a few rooms open. The small church was interesting - it is a cathedral design but really small. We decided against the walled garden which was reached by either walking or by free shuttle bus. We probably spent about 1 1/2 hours there including a visit to the souvenir shop where Robyn bought (another) jacket and I bought an Ireland cycling top.

Leaving we had about 60 miles to ride on great roads with awesome bends but dubious surfaces requiring constant concentration.

About 5:45 we arrived at the hotel which was definitely a step down in terms of quality but hey ho.

Unloading, I went to move the bike to the free parking but had second thoughts about the location so bought it back. We can leave the bike outside until 10:30am so no worries.

Oh yes, no rain today - a first!

Total mileage: 105 miles

Day 6 - Galway day trip

After a steady start and a small cooked breakfast in a local cafe we walked the mile and a half along the front into Galway City. It was a nice day but the wind chilled the air.

On arrival the first area we explored was the Latin Quarter which actually was the souvenir quarter! We both purchased T-shirts and pin badges then walked up to Eyre Square passing several buskers which made for some good entertainment. The square itself was unexciting and we soon retraced our steps, stopping on the way for lunch which consisted of a toasted sandwich and for me an Irish coffee whilst Robyn had a Diet Coke. Out again and down to the port for a look, then, as it was starting to rain took shelter in the museum which seemed to centre on Irish independence and various wars which is pretty significant in this area but ultimately lost my interest. The visual mapping of old Galway was interesting- shame it has mostly gone now.

Back into the sunshine and a nice walk along the river via an ice cream shop to the cathedral which was huge and must have cost a fortune to build - shame the money wasn't spent on the poor instead!

We looped around and popped out on the road back to Salthill and enjoyed a nice but windy stroll back, stopping briefly at a park dedicated to children who died in the great famine in the mid 1800s.

Back to the hotel for a chill out then over the road for fish n chips at the Irish version of McDs.

The evening was spent watching Ireland play football against Italy- Ireland won which apparently was a good thing.

Day 7 - Galway to Limerick

Set off about 10:30 in the rain which was a bad start but once out of Galway it improved a lot and by the time we got to Dunguaire Castle the sun was shining. The castle was pretty good but quite small but featured a gift shop so Robyn went shopping! It cost €6 each which was okay. Very photogenic.

Next stop was the Aillwee cave which turned out to be much more than I expected and gave us the choice of the cave, a mountain and woodland walk and a birds of prey exhibition. We elected to do the cave only which was €12 each! It was actually quite good value as we had a 40 minute tour and very interesting it was too.

From there we headed to the Poulnabrone Dolmen which was tiny! Free access although there was a guy making silver jewellery - I bought a bracelet - more manly than it sounds!

Soon away, next stop was Doolin for a late lunch. We found a suitable cafe and parked up. Robyn had sausage rolls and I had a ham and cheese roll. Suitably full we rode down into the village which was basically a tourist trap comprising a few shops, a pub and a chocolate store plus many coaches. Declining to stop we turned around and headed for the Cliffs of Moher. On arrival we discovered that there was a charge of €6 each! Basically they have stitched up the area so that there is no parking except in their car park. There is a Tarmac path up to the cliffs. We decided not to bother so set off for Limerick 45 minutes away.

The hotel was easy to find but definitely a step down. Pretty tatty with the smallest TV we have ever seen. Never mind it is only one night. On the up side it was very convenient for the town and restaurants and had its own locked garage. Dinner this evening was at a Texas steak house- we both had steaks.

Total mileage: 110 miles

Day 8 - Limerick to Wexford.

The alarm went off early because we wanted to visit the castle, had a long day and were planning to stop in Dungarvan to see my old mate Ashley.

Limerick castle is just out of the town but only took us 5 minutes to reach. Entry is €12 each but it is well worth it and probably the best castle we have seen on this trip. The first part is a comprehensive history of both Ireland and the castle itself and whilst interesting did cause a bit of information overload. Eventually we came outside via the underground mining section. There are several towers all of which can be explored both inside and out including the Royal Mint, armoury and Constables quarters. There are also actors playing traditional parts with a musician who played the lute and harp for us and was actually very good. In all we probably spent a couple of hours there and could easily have spent more time.

Leaving Limerick we were soon on our way to Dungarvan stopping at Tipperary for lunch which of course required the obligatory photo call. Dungarvan was soon reached about 3:45 and after one slight detour met up with Ashley. It was good to see him but due to the timing only had time for a quick coffee before we were on our way. Wexford was another 1 1/2 hours away on east wide roads and the B&B easy to find.

Stowing the bike in their private car park we showered and relaxed. I took a walk down to the town and the sea front amusing myself taking photos. Early night as we have an early start.

Total mileage: 140 miles

Day 9 Wexford to Home

After a very early breakfast (for us) we were on the road by 7:30 for the 12 mile ride to the Ferry port which was dispatched with ease - all roads lead to the Port it seems. Checking in was a simple as before, just giving them our Booking reference number. Being on a bike we were called forward almost immediately and were soon parked and sitting having coffee in the lounge.

The crossing is 3 1/2 hours so quite a bit longer than the Holyhead route, but then this was a ferry and not a catamaran. Rolling of in Wales, we followed the Sat Nav which took us a merry route around some small lanes and 'B' roads, eventually popping out on the main 'A' road where we met some of the ferry traffic - we knew this because we recognised one of the motorbikes. Turns out our route was mildly quicker but only by a very short amount.

We rode steadily to the Brecons where we stopped for lunch at the base of Pen-y-Fan which was a nice place to stop. I was quizzed about my bike by an Ambulance Biker who asked if we had been caught in the thunderstorm - we hadn't, but had a bad feeling!

Lunch finished we set off for home and managed to do quite well until we got on the M50 where the thunderstorm finally caught up with us! It wasn't too bad though, being on the RT with the fairing up and moving we stayed reasonably dry. Eventually we arrived home about 5:30pm.

Total mileage: 12 miles to Ferry, 180 miles to Home

Ireland has more counties than just about any other country I can think of, here is the list of those we travelled through;

Dublin, Meath, Cavan, Fermanagh, Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford

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Southern Ireland Tour 2017

For a list of Sites in Ireland that I have visited, click here

Day 1 - Home to Rosslare

We left Evesham just after 9am and headed down towards the Brecons. My plan was to get to Sennybridge for the first stop and I had found a small cafe on the internet which fitted the bill nicely.

No problem with the ride down but it did rain a little which required a stop to put on my waterproof. The cafe was easily located but we had to park up the road as there was nowhere close. Coffee and cake were scoffed and soon enough we were off to Pembroke just over an hour away.

Check in to the port was quickly done and we were directed to the motorbike queue where we waited about half an hour to board. Bike secured, we made our way up to the food deck. Disappointingly there was nothing suitable for Robyn but I had a sandwich and crisps which did the trick. The journey time was about 4 hours which dragged a bit towards the end.

Disembarked we rode less than a mile to the B&B which was on the main road as described. A quick shower and change and we walked down to the local pub which boasted being the first (and last) in Ireland. I elected to have a Monster burger and Robyn had chicken. Of course I had to have a couple of pints of Guinness.

Irish Counties; Wexford

B&B; Springfield

Pro: Very friendly, excellent location, few minutes from pub, clean comfortable room, plenty of parking, great breakfast, gave me a towel to wipe my bike

Con: towels a little small and worn

Total distance 166 miles

Day 2 - Rosslare to Bunratty

The day started with a Full Irish for me and Poached eggs for Robyn, all of which was excellent. Today's ride was about 130 miles over to Bunratty near Limerick but I had included a couple of stops on the way, the first being Grannagh Castle, a ruined castle near Waterford, easily visible from the main road so presented no issues finding it. It was a proper ruin but had a wonderful view of the bridge nearby. The whole castle only took about 15 minutes to see so we were soon on the road again heading for our second castle of the day; Castle Carey. We did have to stop part way to put on waterproofs as we could see rain ahead. The castle is near Clonmel but in some woods so the Sat Nav was no use. Stopping for a coffee at the local Tesco I checked the map and programmed in a small village that would put us on the right road which it did but due to a lack of signposts we rode straight past the small lane leading up to the woods. I soon realised we had gone too far so turned around and headed up a small unmarked lane until at the top stopped a sign leading into the woods. We parked in the small car park and walked the 500 metres down to the castle. Both the walk and the castle were really quite nice although Robyn was a little disappointed that it was only a Folly and not a real castle although it was nice despite that.

Back at the bike we had a couple of false starts due to the rain, eventually giving up and donning waterproof again.

From here we rode to Tipperary about 20 miles further where we stopped for lunch at a Subway, then rode the final 30 miles to Bunratty. We had some trouble locating the B&B but eventually asked and were told it was just out of town - obviously the photos were slightly misleading!

Very friendly welcome. We were shown as round at lightning speed but took it all in.

Back at the bike we had a couple of false starts due to the rain, eventually giving up and donning waterproof again.

We had a quick shower and then walked the 10 minutes into Bunratty for dinner at the Oldest Pub in Ireland; Durty Nellies dating from 1620. Really nice pub and the meal was excellent - I had Lasagne plus cheesecake and Robyn had Chicken.

Back to the B&B to relax and then bed.

Irish Counties;Wexford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick

B&B; Bunratty Mews

Pro: nice room, comfortable bed, amazing breakfast, incredibly friendly owners

Con: nothing at all

Total distance 142 miles

Day 3 - Bunratty to Tralee

After a humongous breakfast we packed up and after a slight delay waiting for the rain to stop we rode the mile or so down to the village to visit the castle. Top tip: you can buy tickets on line much cheaper than on the door. We bought ours last night for €11 instead of €16.55. The tickets did say that they had to be printed but they let us in just showing the email although the lady behind the counter did make a bit of a fuss about whether they would get paid by the ticket agency - not my problem mate!

Either way Bunratty castle is well worth a visit. We were there over 5 hours so excellent value for money. The castle is awesome and there are about 25 houses of varying shapes and sizes in the grounds all showing how life was in Ireland. There is even a small village with shops selling all sorts. I bought some souvenir plectrums.

We also had lunch there - I had mushroom soup and Robyn just had fruit.

Eventually we left and changed in the (free) car park to head off to Tralee - the familiar car park strip. Our route took us along the coast of the Shannon on some excellent roads with some great bends. The first stop was Carrigafoyle castle which is pretty impressive being right on the water, although it is now a ruin and locked so not possible to get inside but impressive nonetheless. From there we had a couple of miles of serious country roads - they even had grass growing down the middle! Thankfully that came to an end and we were back on better roads down to Ballybunion where the rain which had been threatened finally started to come down with a vengeance. Less than 10 miles to go and, after a brief stop for picnic food rode into Tralee. Finding the B&B took some doing and we eventually phoned them and were guided in.

The owners were incredibly friendly and we were made to feel very welcome.

After a shower and rest we went downstairs for coffee and a sandwich - the owner insisted on making it for us and even made Robyns pot noodle. The weather was horrible, raining all evening so we just relaxed in the sitting room.

Irish Counties; Limerick, Kerry

B&B; Ardlee House

Pro: nice room, very friendly, nice towels, very hot shower, great breakfast

Con: hard to find

Total distance 84 miles

Day 4 - Tralee to Killarney

After another awesome breakfast we packed up and headed off. The sky was overcast but not actually raining, even so I decided I would wear my rainsuit.

We headed in the direction of the Dingle peninsula via the Connor Pass which is one of the highest passes in Ireland. Clearly it was popular with cyclists as there were several on the climb and also a number of signs showing the distance to the top and the gradient. Easy for us! We stopped part way up to take some photos before completing the climb and begin the descent to Dingle where we stopped for coffee and cake. It was obviously a tourist favourite with many gift shops. We had a look in a few but didn't spend.

Soon enough we were on our way to the Slea Head Drive which tours the full loop out to the Blasket Island and visitor centre which we stopped at. Entry was €5 each which was well worth it as there was a free video and very interesting exhibition. Seems the islands were all inhabited until the 1950s with up to 150 people living on the main island.

Continuing on we completed the loop and back to Dingle. It is lovely ride on mostly single track roads with some wider sections. On the way back we passed a couple of guys cycling, one was pulling a trailer with surf boards on! Shortly afterwards we stopped for a drink and look at the view and they pulled in. Turned out they were touring the West Coast camping and surfing wherever possible!

We soon left and rode the remaining 30 miles without event and easily located the B&B a mile or so out of Killarney.

Irish Counties; Kerry

B&B; Larkfield House

Total distance 108 miles

Day 5 - Ring of Kerry

Today we did the Ring of Kerry which is an amazing tour around West Kerry with the highlight being the Skelligs at Valentia Island at the far end. For anyone who didn't know, it features at the end of the most recent Star Wars film and boy do they milk that!

The early part of the Ring was in good roads but had quite a few coaches and slow moving cars. Our first stop was in Cahersiveen to have a look around the old Barracks - an impressive building with very friendly staff who gave us a good history of the area and lots of advice about things to see. The building itself holds an exhibition of Daniel O'Connell who was by all accounts a decent chap who did a lot for Ireland and the slave trade in the 1800's.

From there we rode out to the ruins of Ballycarberry castle which was interesting but very windy.

From there it was off to Portmagee and the Skellig Experience which tells of the islands and the Monks that inhabits the islands around 1400 years ago. We also had lunch which was nice and they even made Robyn a sandwich specially. After that we rode along a bit on the island to take some photos of the islands then headed back to the mainland and onto the Southern part of the tour through Waterville, famous for Charlie Chaplin - we decided not to bother with a photo as it was raining heavily but instead took refuge in a gift shop which was the same rubbish just different location.

From there the road got thinner and the surface worse, plus it was raining heavily so we took it steady, eventually deciding on a break in Sneem for Hot Chocolate and cake.

From there we rode up and through the pass, stopping at the very impressive Ladies View before completing the full circuit back into Killarney. A quick trip to the Supermarket for something to eat and back to the B&B for the evening.

Irish Counties; Kerry

B&B; Larkfield House

Pro: very friendly and helpful, even drove us into Killarney for dinner to save us walking. We chose to walk back which took about 30 minutes but no bad thing as we had eaten a large meal. Bed was very comfortable and the room and bathroom good sizes. Parking ideal at the front and off the road.

Con: The radiator didn't work which meant we couldn't dry our washing although in defence the owners did it for us. The room was a little cold though on the first night but sorted for the second. Shower pressure was not great but the water was hot enough.

Total distance 129 miles

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Southern Ireland Tour 2017

Day 6 - Killarney to Castletownbere

After breakfast we set off for our first destination; Ross Castle just a couple of miles from the B&B but even so we had full gear on as it had started raining already. We soon arrived and parked about 50 metres from the Castle. We hurried over as it was now raining harder. The castle overlooks the lake and is very impressive. It turns out that Wednesday's are free which was a bonus, plus we got a free guided tour so all was well. The castle underwent a lot of restoration over the years and had been well done. The guide was informative and the tour lasted about 45 minutes. After that we found the coffee shop, putting off the inevitable rainy ride as long as possible. Eventually we made a run for it, donning waterproofs as quickly as possible. Our first stop was at the Nike outlet shop for Robyn to buy some more tops but no luck so we headed up to the Army surplus store where she found what she was looking for and we also bought a rucsac cover which will be ideal for the crash helmets.

We headed out of town in the direction of The Beara and found ourselves following the Ring of Kerry again in the opposite direction to yesterdays route but this time the weather was much worse and the views non existent. Eventually our route split and we headed to Kenmare but continued through. Finally a turn off down a narrow lane which got narrower and grass appeared in the middle of the road. Twists and turns with the rain pouring down made for a nerve wracking ride in addition to which my visor kept misting up so I had to lift it but got face fulls of rain water. The final section was along a muddy stony track which made the bike slip and twist until we finally got to the car park which in itself was non-existent. What a place! In summer it would have been amazing, right now it was miserable. I was determined to see the stone circle, Robyn was not so keen so decided to walk back to the road, whether it was to make it easier for me (her claim) or whether it was because she felt safer walking we will never know. I had a walk up to the stone circle which was pretty unimpressive so came quickly back down and headed back to the road to pick Robyn up. Getting onto the main road seemed quicker this time. We were soon away towards our destination. With the rain still hammering we stopped at a small cafe which doubled as the local Post Office. We had hot drinks; chocolate and coffee plus a scone for me and sandwich for Robyn.

Finally we had no choice but to move on, having made the decision to go straight to the B&B which took about 25 minutes eaten than ride out to Dursey Island. We found it straight away and checked in.

The room was big and the shower nice. We hung our wet gear, had showers and headed out to Murphy's restaurant for dinner. It seemed every second shop or pub was owned by Murphy!

Dinner was really nice - Robyn had roast lamb and I had a chicken stir fry with marshmallow and twix cheesecake - very nice. The owner even gave us scones to make up for the bad weather.

We were going to walk down to the port but it started raining so we gave up on that idea and relaxed in the room instead.

Irish Counties; Kerry, Cork

B&B; Old Medical Centre

Pro: big room, big shower, nice owner, handy for pubs and restaurants.

Con: no heating in the room so hard to dry our gear. Breakfast came one at a time so Robyn had almost finished hers before mine arrived.

Total distance 61 miles

Day 7 - Castletownbere to Kinsale

Breakfast was nice although Robyns came before mine and she had almost finished before I got mine which was bad planning.

Packing up and setting off, the sun wasn't actually shining but neither was it raining so I decided to go without my oversuit. About 15 minutes after starting I was putting the suit on!

We had arranged to meet Ashley and Ashley in Schull (skull) so made our way over there which was about 1 1/2 hours. On arrival the sun was shining again.

They turned up about 20 minutes later and took us to a creperie for lunch which was amazing. We all had crepes with bacon and maple syrup, Robyn had to have a salad but enjoyed it.

Eventually it was time to leave and after a few bike related photos we set of for Baltimore Castle which took us about 45 minutes to get to. It was well worth it - it was a renovated castle and we were greeted by the owner and restorer although we didn't realise until we saw a painting on the wall. On several floors it also included a history of piracy in the region. From there we had a drink break then headed off for Timoleague Abbey in the sunshine! The Abbey is a ruin now and in fact a burial ground for the locals. It was well worth the drive to it as it was quite photogenic and interesting to look around plus it was free. Just as we finished it started raining again so we headed off for the B&B which turned out to be about half a mile down a lane out of Kinsale with a frightening sharp turn on a slope which I made a complete mess of, not helped by a car coming the other way that didn't give me room to get round!

The B&B was easily located and we were shown to our room - very nice with a great view across the bay.

Shower and walk into town for dinner where we found a fish and chip shop so decided that would do. Nice meal but Robyn had bones in her fish and the bill took ages to come. Nice walk back with some good photo opportunities.

Irish Counties; Cork

B&B; Rockland House

Total distance 120 miles

Day 8 - Kinsale Town

Today we had a day off the bike. Our plan was to walk out to Charles Fort which was on the other side of the bay. It was a nice walk with a bit of up and down and mainly off road which was nice. We soon arrived and after paying the €5 entry enjoyed a talk by one of the historians which was very interesting and nicely set the scene for the rest of the tour. First stop of course was coffee and cake then we walked around. It is a ruined fort but most of the buildings were recognisable and most of the castle could be explored.

Walking back we toured the town, eventually finding ourselves in the Desmond Castle Wine museum. The staff were very jolly and gave us a discount on the entry. The castle was involved in the wine trade and also was a prison so had an interesting and varied history. Well worth the €3 entry fee. As we left we mentioned going for a Guinness and were told that Beamish was the drink of choice so asked where would be a good place to go; Kitty O'Sheas we were told. Turned out that Kitty's didn't sell Beamish! I elected to have a Guinness and Robyn had a Vodka and coke - over 12 Euros!!! We just had the one then walked home and guess what...It rained!

Irish Counties; Cork

B&B; Rockland House

Pro: Amazing house, excellent room, great bathroom, the best view we have ever had and storming breakfast.

Con: Nothing at all. Should point out that it is about half a mile from the town uphill at the start which was fine for us but may not suit everyone.

Total distance 0 miles

Day 9 - Kinsale to Rosslare

Remarkably it wasn't raining when we left so I braved riding without my suit on. Our first stop was Blarney castle about 25 miles away. We had to ride through Cork which is a nice City; I couldn't help thinking about the first time I was in Cork trying Guinness for the first time - loved it!

Soon enough we arrived in Blarney and located the castle and car park. Electing to stay in biking gear as it was neither hot nor cold we stowed jackets in the mesh bag and helmets in our new cover and made our way in.

Blarney castle is quite expensive at €15 each but we figured it was worth it. Wrong!

The grounds are really nice with lots to see and we enjoyed the walk up to the castle which was only spoilt by a huge scaffolding and cover on the facing wall. Walking around to the castle entrance we were slightly surprised at the queue but joined it anyway, assuming it was just to get through the door. Wrong! It was the queue to the top to kiss the Blarney stone. It must have taken us 45 minutes to get to the top up spiral staircases with the occasional empty room. Having visited many castles on our tour we were very disappointed that there was no attempt to recreate the castle as it would have been, instead there was nothing in any of the rooms and venturing in simply lost the place in the queue. Finally we arrived at the top and followed the million other people kissing the stone which involved leaning backwards over the edge and kissing the small stone on the wall.

On the way back down (a different way) we could look in the rooms but none of them were interesting in any way.

Exiting we felt disappointed so went for coffee and scone (one I had taken from the B&B that morning). With the butter and jam I had also purloined it made a tasty snack, made more fun by the use of the Sporken we had purchased. A Sporken is a Spoon, Fork and Knife combination.

From there we toured the grotto area which required a considerable amount of imagination to see the Witches stairs, Dolmen and Witches face but it was a fun area. That done, we walked to the Poison Garden which had lots of poisonous and hallucinatory plants. From there the battlements and finally the lookout tower before deciding we had seen everything of interest.

A final coffee and visit to the gift shop and we were away. Rosslare is along the N25 which is a nice but uninteresting road that runs along the coast. We made good progress and arrived at the B&B at about 6pm. Easily located as it was the same one we had used on our first day. Shower, change and out to the pub we used before for a final steak meal and Guinness. We had an early night as we had an early start.

Irish Counties; Cork, Waterford, Wexford

B&B; Springfield House

Pro: Very friendly, excellent location, few minutes from pub, clean comfortable room, plenty of parking, great breakfast, gave me a towel to wipe my bike

Con: towels a little small and worn

Total distance 155 miles

Day 10 - Rosslare to Home

We had an early breakfast at about 7am as we had a ferry to catch and last check in time was 8:15am. Not that it was a problem as the ferry terminal was only five minutes down the road. Anyway, we were done and out in plenty of time and of course it was raining, so full suits on! Riding down took a few minutes and the check in even quicker. Loading was a few minutes after 8am and by 8:30 we were on our second coffee of the day settled in for the four hour crossing.

On arrival at Pembroke, we were greeted with sunshine which was mildly irritating. I decided to wear my rainsuit anyway as there was a cold wind blowing. Leaving Pembroke, which is a painful experience as all the traffic negotiated roundabouts and traffic lights before hitting the main road. Our return route was the reverse of the downward route. I had decided on the biker cafe at Llandovery, slightly under half way for our lunch and on arrival joined the many bikes parked outside.

Lunch done, we set off for home, soon encountering yet another shower, quite a heavy one to complete our set - it rained at least once every single day of the trip!

We arrived home just after 5pm to - yes, glorious sunshine!

Another holiday done and the remainder of the Wild Atlantic Way completed. It was a great trip, despite the inclement weather and left us with a feeling that we could easily do another week as there was so many other things to see, particularly the leg from Kinsale to Rosslare which every time has been passed by either going out or returning abnd warrants further exploration.

Total distance 166 miles

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Southern Ireland Tour 2018

For a list of Sites in Ireland that I have visited, click here

Day 1 - Home to Rosslare

An uneventful ride down via Monmouth, Brecon and Sennybridge. Our previous cafe stop in Sennybridge was closed (permanently) but a short way past was a cafe at a garage so we stopped there for coffee and cake instead.

We had left home at 9:45 and we arrived at the ferry port by 13:45 with a good stop so happy with that. The crossing was boring of course but made slightly more bearable by some Welsh Rugby players singing most of the way over. Sadly they didn't seem to know 'Jerusalem'!

The B&B was easily located as we had been there several times before and it was every bit as good as previous times. Dinner was at the Kinsale Inn where I had Plaice and Chips and Robyn had Scampi. I had my first and quickly followed by my second pint of Guinness of the trip.

Irish Counties Wexford

B&B Springfield

Total distance 157 miles

Day 2 - Rosslare to Killarney

Breakfast at 9:00am which was fairly relaxed we thought but a big change in the days plan. I'd sorted out a meeting up with Scott McGrath at his parents house so we rode into Waterford and did a quick tour of the Viking Quarter including Reginalds (Ragnors) Tower which is also a museum, then past the huge wooden sword and the Long Boat. There was obviously more to see in Waterford than we had time for so promised ourselves a return trip, maybe at the end of the holiday.

Oh yes, looking for a parking space, we stopped outside a car spares shop where I saw a motorbike to ask about the parking and he very kindly let us park on his front and even looked after our crash helmets. Very nice! That's one of the great things about Ireland; everyone is so helpful and friendly.

We left Waterford to head to Scotts parents armed with some very dodgy directions from Scott. With only one wrong turn down a lane, we found it second go which was amazing as there were no street names or house name! It was great to see Scott after so many years, probably 7 or 8 - where does it go? We also met his parents again, and his girlfriend; Natalie. We relaxed in their garden for an hour or so when they had to leave for the airport. We left shortly afterwards and headed for our first castle of the trip at Mallow, refuelling on-route. This castle is in a poor state and not really worth a visit to be honest.

From there it was straight to Killarney where we were staying at the same B&B as last year so easily found it. A quick sort out and we were off into the town for dinner. The pub had live music which started about 40 minutes late and turned out to be more Country and Western than Irish! We soon left to walk back

From last year, we remembered a short-cut and were amused to find four English people also trying the short-cut but were lost. We guided them out safely.

Irish Counties Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Kerry

B&B Larkfield House

Total distance 167 miles

Day 3 - Killarney to Port Magee

After a leisurely breakfast at 9:00am we headed off towards Kerry, stopping after about 5 miles to see the Torc Waterfall which was only a few minutes walk through the woods, but well worth it. Next stop was Ladies View which had a gift shop and cafe. More photos, then in for a coffee - I did want a hot chocolate but by the time the order came Robyn had asked for coffee - oh well!

Onward from there, we departed the main Kerry ring and followed a smaller road to Sneem; a very nice village with lots of shops and cafes. I bought myself a T-Shirt with 'Feckin Eejit' emblasoned across the front - that should go down well with the locals! Next stop was Waterville, being famous for being a favourite of Charlie Chaplin. Wooppee doo! We found a small cafe for lunch. I had soup and Robyn had an Almond slice - the choice was very limited...Soup or sandwiches, no fizzy drinks and whatever cake happened to be available. Having said that, it was nice enough and the bill seemed to be guesswork.

After a quick walk up and down the High Street we set off for Port Magee and Valencia Island, our destination for the next two nights. As it was still quite early we continued on for a tour of Valencia Island quickly finding ourselves in Knights Town where we purchased supplies for tonight (drink and chocolate) and tomorrow; water. Back at the bike we were greatly amused by a couple of dogs refusing to allow a car past, continually running in front of it in the road.

Leaving town we visited the 'Grotto' which was an abandoned Slate mine with a Madonna, then off past the Lighthouse to find St Brendans Well. Following a very iffy track we eventually came to a halt. I walked down, leaving Robyn at the bike who had wisely decided it would be something of an anti-climax. After about 15-20 minutes I came to the 'Well'. Extremely disappointing is an under-statement! It was a hole in the ground with a few crosses and a dubious story. I was pleased with myself that I hadn't made Robyn walk down! The subsequent cussing would have had poor old St Brendan turning in his grave!

A few minutes ride back soon bought us to the B&B which had a commanding position over Port Magee and extremely friendly hosts. On the recommendation of the hosts we decided on the Bridge Bar for dinner as the menu seemed more varied and there was traditional Irish music on, and we had been promised it would not be Country and Western this time!

I had Beef and Guinness pie with mash and carrots, plus broccoli! Robyn had fish 'n' chips which was okay but a bit burned. The music started just after nine with accordion and banjo, then the band seemed to grow and grow until a bagpipe player walked in and drowned everyone out, but it was great fun. We stayed and listened for an hour or so but had to leave as we had an early start in the morning, shame really, it was great, proper traditional music.

Irish Counties Kerry

B&B Carriag Lliath House

Total distance 78 miles

Day 4 - Skellig Island Trip

The big day has arrived! An early breakfast; for me just scrambled eggs, Robyn a full Irish, and we were off down to the port, less than 15 minutes away. We quickly located our boat and were on by 8:30am. By 9am it was full and after a briefing we set off for the island.

The journey times was about 50 minutes but we weren't allowed to disembark until 10:00am so they took us round to see 'Seal Cove' where we saw loads of Seals sunning themselves. Well, the sea was calm and the sun shining! Once on the island we had a short walk up to the bottom of the steps for an island briefing which basically told us that the island had some dangers so don't be a dickhead, but it was said in a light-hearted way. After that, it was off up the 588 steps.

I'd positioned myself near the steps so I could be the first away and not get caught behind slow walkers. Bottom to top took 14 minutes and I had the entire monastery to myself for about 15 minutes. There were two site guides there who amazingly, managed to position themselves in my photo shots more than once, but apart from that it was pretty clear. Once everyone was up one of the guides gave a talk about the island which was really interesting but bordered on being too long. Mind you, the whole Monastery could be seen in about 15-20 minutes and we had 2 1/2 hours so it's not like we were rushed.

I eventually started back down, taking my time to photograph the puffins and views, arriving at the bottom just after 12:00 which was ideal. We slowly walked down to the jetty to await the boat at 12:30, although we did have to wait as one of the customers of the previous boat was well late. On the way back we did a tour of the smaller island to see what we were told was 30,000 gannets - I could believe that, the rocks were white with bird poo and birds.

Finally back on shore we had coffee and sausage rolls then walked back to the B&B via the supermarket for food for an evening picnic. A quick trip over to the Visitor Centre then Robyn went for a snooze whilst I walked to Bray Head - the end of the island. It was lovely walk in the sunshine, but quite cold in the wind. The evening was spent dining, although it took a while to find a warm, wind-free spot - we failed so toughed it out.

Day 5 - Port Magee to Castletownbere

A slightly more relaxed start to the day today with a full Irish for me and a smaller version for Robyn. After packing I decided to turn the bike round before loading up as the driveway was loose stones. Our first stop was Sneem so that Robyn could buy some suncream - she got burned yesterday! Next stop, the Pedal and Boots Cafe that we went to last year in the pouring rain - this time the sun was shining and no rain - last year we were dripping water! I had a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and a piece of Guinness cake which must have totalled about a million calories. Robyn had a protein bar and coffee.

Setting off afterwards we picked up the route, or so I thought, but after about 10 minutes we realised the water was on the wrong side! In fact, we were headed back to a previous way point although the views across the bay towards Kerry were amazing so worth it. After going down a few very dodgy lanes following the Sat Nav to who knows where I decided the best thing would be to just set the destination to Castletownbere and go from there. Luckily we soon left the thin lanes with grass growing down the middle and back onto the main road, about 1/2 mile back from the cafe! Riding straight into Castletownbere we refueled then continued to Dursey Head about 15 miles further on. The plan was to take the cable car across to the island and at ten Euros each for a return ticket seemed like good value. We did our usual car park strip, stowed the gear and headed up to take the car over.

The journey over takes less than 10 minutes but feels very unsafe. Pleased to be on the island we took a walk along the track, detouring to an ancient ruined monastery. The early Monks really wanted isolation in this part of Ireland. Robyn took the direct route back, I of course, had to go via the hill summit so headed up and was rewarded by magnificient views all around including the Skelligs in the distance. Back down we recrossed after a few minutes wait for the car to come over. There is a convenient chip van in the car park so decided on a portion of chips as we had not really had a proper lunch. Very nice they were too!

We rode back to Castletownbere and easily located the B&B. The owner was extremely friendly, as were his two dogs! After a shower and rest we walked into town, but as we left, a group of 10 or so Harleys turned up at the B&B - it would be a bikers night. Locating the local 'Spar' shop we bought bread, ham and cheese, but then spied cooked chickens for five Euros! Back went the ham and cheese - it would be hot chicken rolls for dinner. We walked around the Port looking for a place to sit but finding none, we walked back to the B&B to dine out with just a begging dog for company. Of course, he had titbits!

After dinner and with the dining table in the shade it soon went cold so we went in. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing on the huge bed and watching TV.

Irish Counties Kerry, Cork

B&B Island View

Total distance 121 miles

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Southern Ireland Tour 2018

Day 6 - Castletownbere to Baltimore

The weather forecast promised rain most of the day so we changed our plans. Having enjoyed glorious sunshine so far we kind of expected rain at some point. At breakfast, the German bikers were sitting out so we enjoyed some piano music from one of their number. We had elected to have a Continental breakfast of cereals, toast and ham/cheese which made a nice change. Eventually the Germans departed when they saw (incorrectly) a break in the rain. To a man they had leather and denim as befits Harley-D riders so heaven knows how wet they would be getting.

We left soon after, it was still raining but not too badly. Our revised plan took us to Bantry House about 25 miles away which proved to be inspired. We joined a tour which lasted just over an hour and gave a good account of the house, then scuttled off for coffee before the rest of the tour (all Americans) turned up, I spied scones with jam and cream so had to have one with my coffee. Robyn had cake. Next, a tour of the gardens as the rain had temporarily stopped, although it started again as we walked to the end of the lawn so we retreated into shelter, soon joined by other bikers presumably also sheltering. Finally we decided we had to leave and headed down to the car park to find a whole heap of motorbikes parked up. Bantry House is obviously a wet-weather choice for many a biker tour!

As Skibereen was en-route to the B&B we set that as our next destination. The B&B said 3pm onwards for check-in and it was only about 1:30 with 20 miles to go. Skibereen also proved inspired. We visited the Skibereen Famine Exhibition which showed a detailed history of the area, especially the time of the famine (mid-1800s) with audio, visual aids, songs, models and reports of the time, plus an interesting video about a local Lough. We were there well over an hour and also discovered a couple of interesting places to visit on our way tomorrow.

Leaving Skibereen it took about 15-20 minutes to ride to the B&B which we located straight away. It was raining quite heavily at this point but thanks to our new gear, bothered us not one jot! We did unpack quickly though and seek refuge in the B&B. Our room was nice with a good sized bathroom and a great view, marred slightly by the rain and wind. After unpacking and making coffee we sat downstairs for an hour or so relaxing as it was still quite early. Dinner was had at the local hotel a few minutes walk away - we dressed in our waterproofs but actually it wasn't raining as we walked down, but very windy. We both elected to have fish 'n' chips which was excellent and I had an Eton Mess for dessert. Our walk back was also dry, although it started to rain again shortly after we got back.

Irish Counties Cork

B&B Channel View

Total distance 59 miles

Day 7 - Baltimore to Dungarvan

A slight change of plan today as I wanted to visit Drombeg Stone Circle, having seen it at Skibereen yesterday. I promised Robyn it would be better than the Uragh Stone circle we saw last year and indeed it proved to be much better. Getting there involved some 'N' roads and a couple of 'R' roads plus one 'L' road so we had the full experience. I had decided that 'N' stood for 'Normal', 'R' stood for 'Reasonable' and 'L' stood for 'Lunatic', a grading system that seemed to work!

On arrival we parked up and I took my liners out - it was another glorious day, far too hot for suit liners. From the car park it took about five minutes to walk down to the circle. It was quite small and the rocks only about four feet high but it was interesting with details on a couple of boards. There was also a water pit which apparently had been used for cooking.

From there, we headed for Cork. By a coincidence, Prince Charles was on a visit so the roads were blocked in places. We stopped and asked a nice policeman where we could park. He directed us and we set off, though soon caught by a Police rider who showed us exactly where we could park. Parking up, I asked another Policeman if it was okay, he said 'yes' but Robyn had spoken to a biker who suggested we park across the road where there was no restrictions. We did so. Now of course, we had to get changed - the roads were really busy so we just got on with it! We wandered around towards what we assumed was the City Centre (it was), picking up a coffee on the way to have with the scones we pinched from the B&B this morning. On the bridge, a lot of people were waiting for Chas and Camilla to emerge. We waited a short while but couldn't be arsed when we found out it would be another half hour at least. We did a shopping tour of Cork - Robyn bought a top and I got a hip flask. I was hoping to buy a cross necklace but couldn't find anything I liked. Eventually we tired of Cork but I'd received a message from Ashley saying they would be late home so we decided to walk to Elizabeth Fort, about 15 minutes away. It was quite interesting but very small and clearly a work in progress, but had potential I thought.

From there, back to the bike and another strip and change. Ashley had sent me directions to Ashley (f) to collect a key to the apartment, but my Sat Nav decided to have a melt down but by luck we found the place, got the key and headed slowly out of Cork - well it was 5:15 so everyone was going home apart from the Ashleys! Ashley(m) was on Security for Chas and Camilla. Finally out onto the open road we cruised to Dungarvan and found their apartment really quickly so were happy with that. Unfortunately they were at the top floor so it took me two trips to get the gear in. Settled in, we both had showers and by 7:30 the Ashleys arrived. Welcoming handshakes and hugs, we were soon about the serious business of ordering an Indian takeaway which soon arrived. Being a Thursday it was a school night for Ashley(f) so we weren't up late.

Irish Counties Cork, Waterford

B&B Ashleys

Total distance 110 miles

Day 8 - Around Dungarvan

Up and about by 8:30 I was surprised to see Ashley(f) still at home. Seems she overslept and missed the bus! We decided to go out for breakfast to help her deal with the obvious disappointment. There is plenty of choice in Dungarvan and the one chosen fitted the bill nicely. Ashley(f) caught a later bus and Ashley(m) had some things to do, no worries, we wanted to explore Dungarvan anyway so parted and headed off to the castle for a look around (via the shops of course). It is quite small and obviously another work in progress but had a short film and some interesting displays, plus enthusiastic staff so I'm sure it will do well.

On the way back to the apartment we stopped for coffee and cake - well, it was lunchtime! In the Afternoon, Ashley(m) took us out in his Landrover for a tour of the Comeragh Mountains and actually drove to the top! No other vehicle could have gotten anywhere near. We had a good tour round then went down to the Stony beach where he let me have a go. Of course, I stalled it immediately! Eventually I got the hang of it and did a few loops of the beach before Ashley took over and showed me how to do it properly.

From there we went off to see the Green Way which is a cycle way from Waterford to Dungarvan, about 25 miles, following an old railway line, it is a tarmac surface and from the bit we saw, in very good condition. It also included a really long, but well lit tunnel which was fun to walk through. We popped into a local pub for a beer - rather amazingly, no Guinness.

In the evening we were out in Dungarvan for a meal and drinks which was nice. A late night, it was almost 1am before we went to bed.

Day 9 - Dungarvan to Rosslare

Another day, another full Irish! Same cafe as yesterday. We had a gentle stroll back, packed our gear, said our goodbytes and headed off to Waterford to finish looking around the city. Based on previous Garda (Police) advice we located a convenient quiet spot that didn't block anything and parked up. It was right in the Viking triangle so ideally suited . Once changed we headed for the shops, soon locating a Jewellery shop where, amazingly I found a cross and chain that I liked. Waterford City Centre is nicely pedestrianised so easy to walk around and quite pleasant. Plenty of music playing by a Brass Band, God botherers and a solo guitarist kept us amused as we toured. Finally we came to the Waterford Crystal factory which had two useful features; a toilet and a cafe selling very nice Hot Chocolate. We availed ourselves of both and had a quick look around at the over-priced crystal glass. Our final stop was a decision between the Medieval Museum and the Viking Experience. We chose the latter and at seven Euros proved excellent value. It involves walking inside a Viking house, having a brief chat about the house and Vikings, then watching a virtual reality movie about Viking life which was just incredible. It lasted about 30 minutes and covered their history and really bought it to life. Well worth it.

Leaving Waterford we rode the hour or so to Rosslare without incident, but did refuel on the way to save doing it as soon as we reached the UK. It was a usual evening; shower, walk up for dinner, bed. I did decide to put my liners in as the forecast for tomorrow was heavy and persistent rain,

Irish Counties Waterford, Wexford

B&B Springfield

Total distance 77 miles

Day 10 - Rosslare to Home

The ferry was about 10 minutes from the B&B so we were soon in the queue to board. It had started raining so putting the liners in was a shrewd move. It was the usual four hours of boredom followed by a standard ride home, slightly messed up by the Sat Nav trying to take me to the M4 requiring a final bit of Green Lane riding - well it wouldn't be a trip to Ireland without it!

We were soon back on the A40 to Llandovery where we stopped at the 'West End Cafe' for lunch. It had rained pretty much constantly all the way so far but as we left, the sun finally came out - well it stopped raining anyway. It was dry for the remainder of the ride home, arriving at 5:20pm.

Irish Counties Wexford

Total distance 157 miles

Page 1

Advanced Motorbike Training

Part 1 - IAM Training

As a back to biker having had 30+ years in the wilderness, I did what anyone would do in a similar position and bought the biggest bike I've ever owned!

My previous bike was a Suzuki GSX250 which I remember with great fondness. It took me round Europe, commuting, trips to Donnington in all weathers and of course, with the passage of time, the memories just got better.

My new steed, after much research and several test rides of different bikes was a BMW 1200RT. Mind you, the salesman almost put me off by letting me ride out on a K1600 as my first 'back to bikes' bike - boy are they heavy! Luckily a good mate of mine who was an IAM Observer came with me to show me the 'lines'.

Being a reasonably sensible type of chap, back in the day I did the 'Star Rider' course, taking both Bronze and Silver awards prior to taking my test, which I passed first time. Now I had my new bike and lots more traffic, I signed up to my local 'IAM' (Institute of Advanced Motorists) group in Worcester, known as 'WHAM'. My Observer Paul met me one warm summers evening for an introduction, coffee at McDonalds and a ride out. 'Just ride like you normally do' was his initial advice, 'then we can see what needs discussion'. Off we went on a 50-60 mile ride around Worcestershire and back to McDs. I felt pretty confident about my riding so was expecting a great report. Paul did the usual good-bad-good summary. Seems my main problem was the lines I was taking into bends (both directions). I explained about being a cyclist and how, in a race, we would take almost the exact opposite line and he agreed that it was a reasonable explanation - still wrong though!

Further lessons followed where we delved deeper into bad habits and small faults until the day came when I was passed over to another Observer for a final ride. I had been told that it would be with the senior observer, but that never happened. Given the go-ahead to put in for my test, I was pleased that the date came up quickly so not too much time to dwell on it.

On the day of the test, a warm Saturday morning, I arrived early and positioned my bike so that I could easily leave the parking area (a tip by Paul). My Examiner was ex-police and (but) very friendly and we soon got chatting about bikes and biking. I told him that I had only been back to biking for about 12 months which seemed to interest him greatly. We also discussed, amongst other things, overtaking speed to which, he responded that when overtaking, he didn't have the time or desire to check his speedometer as it was a potentially dangerous place to be (got it!).

He gave me a brief of the route we would take, but to be honest after the first few miles I'd lost the route in my head so it didn't mean much. We had a one-way radio so he could give direction and I could hear and nod my head. The test route covered all types; fast, twisty, town, slow riding, country lanes, and I found myself enjoying the ride, hardly noticing him behind me. Eventually after about 45 minutes he took the lead and led me to a cafe. As we approached I heard in my headset that I had passed! Well pleased.

The debrief was an exercise in memory retention. He gave me a very detailed turn by turn review of the entire ride, telling me what he was pleased with and what he thought I could have done better. I agreed with most of it, apart from a couple of overtakes that I didn't make, that he thought were 'on'. I explained my reasons why but still got marked down which disappointed me - I thought that the fact I'd not taken the overtakes meant I was riding safely, he thought there was time and space.

Finally, he praised my riding, especially in the light of just 12 months of recent experience.

I was now a fully paid up IAM Member.

I rode with WHAM a few times on evening rides but was always disappointed with the speed of the rides. Now my bike is big and fast, but that doesn't mean I am! More and more I found myself riding solo until the next junction where I would catch the other members of the small group who would then race off into the distance to the next junction. I soon got bored with this and gave up.

Page 2

Advanced Motorbike Training

Part 2 - RoSPA and Bike Safe Training

I rode with WHAM a few times on evening rides but was always disappointed with the speed of the rides. Now my bike is big and fast, but that doesn't mean I am! More and more I found myself riding solo until the next junction where I would catch the other members of the small group who would then race off into the distance to the next junction. I soon got bored with this and gave up.

By a coincidence I went to the Motorbike Show at the NEC and got talking to a representative of RoSPA. I decided I would take the approach of an untrained rider rather than telling them I had passed my IAM course so that they would have no preconceptions. I signed up with them and was promised contact by my local group in the near future to have someone assigned to me in a similar manner to the IAM. Also at the show I walked onto the 'BikeSafe' stand which is an initiative run by the Police to help new bikers improve their skills. Again I signed up but was told the next course in my area would be June/July. No problems, I'd be doing my RoSPA until then anyway.

Not long afterwards I was contacted by the Gloucester RoSPA representative who told me that I would be under the charge of 'Rupert'. Same story, we met up and went for a ride followed by a debrief. He was pretty happy with my performance and we discussed safe defensive riding at some length, emphasising the safety approach and reiterating that speed was nowhere near the top of the pile. I was particularly pleased with the safety first, speed second approach that I felt was lacking in the IAM.

I had three rides with Rupert, each time we discussed safety, rules of the road and bike pre-ride checks; 'POWDERSS' (do a course if you want to know what it means!). After the third ride, I was recommended to take a ride with a senior assessor; Tony. We met at Staverton Airport and after an introductory chat and bike checks, where he made some useful suggestions, we set off on the ride. Again it felt good and I was confident of my ride, with just a couple of minor mistakes. At the debrief he had obviously spotted everything and we spent some time discussing many aspects of the ride, but as he said, they were without exception, extremely minor points. We also looked at some road signs which I mostly knew but realised I had some preparation to do ahead of the official assessment.

The date of the assessment came by mutual agreement and I met David in the car park of the local Morrisons. Turns out he too, was ex-police. We hit it off well and I felt at ease. My ease was doubled when he described the route - I knew it well so could picture it all in my mind. Off we went. Similar arrangement to before except this time I was told to watch for his indicators, although I knew the route anyway, so no real need. unlike the IAM test, this time we did a little bit of Motorway riding - never really popular with bikers, but a necessary evil sometimes.

We finished at Swindon Village Sainsburys and headed in for some theory questions, followed by a coffee and debrief. I knew most of the answers to the theory, but a couple made me think; the warning signs for a level crossing being one and the three occasions when it is okay to cross a solid white line overtaking (Farm Machinery, Pedal Cycles doing less than 10 mph and Horses - although horse drawn vehicles are not included). I passed! I'd been given a 'Silver' award which I was pleased with, given the feedback, all of which I had to agree with. I'd enjoyed it, learned something and came away a better and safer rider for it.

So, finally the Bike Safe course. It was held at the Skill Zone centre at Tuffley which is primarily a Police training centre. We had a lecture by Simon Ross (Rossy) who introduced us to the concepts of advanced training. He did ask if anyone had done any further training and was surprised to hear I had done both IAM and RoSPA so questioned my reasons for being there. I told him I enjoyed the learning experience and wanted to learn more and ensure my skills were as good as they could be. He was happy with the answer but did say that the course was specifically only open to people with no advanced training, but let me stay anyway.

After the mornings theory, we were joined by several serving officers on their police issue motorbikes and allocated one between two. I was given one on my own; Manno. Now this was seriously cool. I'm off out for a ride, escorted by a serving police officer on his police motorbike! Turns out Manno was from Bristol so didn't know the area. His brief; take me for a ride for a couple of hours with a coffee stop mid-way, ride how you normally ride, my ticket book is locked in the pannier and I've forgotten my key! OK, he also said that if I got caught on a speed camera it was bad luck and if I did anything really bad he would take a dim view of it.

We had a great ride out, enjoyed all the more by me as I weaved past motorists being followed by a police bike; they must have wondered when they would be passing me as I was nicked! Never mate! After the ride, Manno gave me a debrief and a report sheet that pointed out one or two minor improvements but nothing to worry about. We had a final debrief in the classroom and dismissed.

So, in conclusion what have I learned and what would I recommend?

For me, RoSPA wins hands down for its Safety first approach. With the benefit of hindsight, attending the Bike Safe course first is a great introduction to what is to come. I would recommend any biker with any amount of experience to do at least one of the courses. If you think you know everything then you'll get a (IAM) First or RoSPA (Gold) award for your trouble. If not, then you might come away a better rider for it. No-one ever regretted the learning experience and we can all improve.

Page 1

Spain 2019

Day 1 - Home to Portsmouth

We'd been told that the ferry was delayed four or five hours so rather than leaving around mid-day it was just after 3pm when we set off. Of course that was the time that the worst of the days rain came!

Dawdling getting ready only postponed the inevitable. For me, a last minute change of mind with the waterproofs, electing to go with the built-in ones rather than the oversuit which had let me down on a previous outing.

For the first hour it rained non-stop then it was intermittent with a couple of really heavy downpours. I felt my crotch getting damp - ho hum.

Finally on the M4 the rain stopped and we had a dry second half. Arriving in Portsmouth, the harbour was easy to find and we headed in to confirm the sailing time. We needed fuel so programmed in the Sat Nav which located one a few minutes away. It also did coffee so after fuelling up we had a coffee as there was nothing much else to do and it was only 5:30.

Coffee done, we headed back to the Port to check in and join the queue. The nice lady at the check in gave us crisps and water which I stashed in my jacket. There were a couple of bikes ahead of us and cars all around. Nothing much to do here so we walked into the Ferry terminal as it had started raining again. An hour spent waiting around and scoffing the crisps we got bored so decided to go back out to the bike. On the way we picked up a couple of pasties for supper.

More waiting around in the increasingly heavy rain which more or less destroyed the bike ticket we had been given to put on the windscreen. Salvaging the remainder I did my best to keep it dry but it started to disintegrate - not surprising being paper in the rain! The loading finally started but the Loader told us bikes went last! A couple of guys appealed to his better nature and he sent us early - nice! Unfortunately that wasn't actually a good thing. We headed straight into the customs and security checks - amazingly they inspected the engine and insisted I open the Top Box. Nothing for it but to get off again. That done we headed off thinking we would be boarding. Oh no, we simply joined another queue which, if anything was more exposed to the rain than the previous one. Finally we boarded and rode through the lorry section and, one at a time, down a steep ramp into a bike-only section. Why we couldn't have got on first is beyond me.

As a note for the future, passports are only required at the initial check in and no further.

Leaving the deck crew to strap the bike down we headed off for our cabin which we located quite quickly although the cleaners were still at it.

The cabin was pretty small with bunk beds, a small table and chair and a really small bathroom. Oh well, only one night!

Keen for a beer we quickly headed off to find the bar. Surprisingly a pint of 1664 and a G&T only came to just over £6. The ship set sail as we relaxed but seemed to take an age to clear Portsmouth harbour.

We had a quick wander round then headed off to the cabin for supper and bed. Our gear was pretty damp so we arranged it as best we could to try and dry it out.

We could feel the ship rocking and rolling which was a bit disconcerting especially as we had an inside room so no windows.

Total Mileage: 136

Hotel: Ferry

Day 2 - Ferry to Santander

Our room was quite small and had bunk beds which wasn't ideal but it was only for a night. I had the upper and Robyn had the lower. Actually it was a very nice nights sleep.

The day on the ship was pretty boring for the most part. We started the day with a continental breakfast of coffee, pain au chocolate and orange juice which was actually very nice.

Most of the morning was spent reading and watching the world go by. Around lunchtime Ireland played Samoa at Rugby which was on the TV so we sat and watched that. Ireland hammered Samoa which was a great result. We had intended to dine in the restaurant but they stopped serving just before the end of the game so we elected to watch the game and get sandwiches which actually proved inspired - they were really nice! Robyn booked us a table for dinner but we realised we wouldn't be hungry by dinner time so cancelled it.

The afternoon was similarly boring made slightly better by the ships resident musician; Scott McMahon who did an hour set of some really great songs, some his own, others covers but all good.

Towards the evening we decided to get some food as it was probably our last chance. I had a salad with crisps, Robyn had another sandwich. Scott was back on again at 7pm so we sat and watched him, again a really good set. I had a chat afterwards and discovered he is on Spotify so will be checking him out. It was then off to the room to pack and change ready to leave. Of course Robyn was on 'late for a plane' mode so we hurried down to the bike garage then spent probably the best part of an hour waiting to leave.

Once off the ship I programmed the Sat Nav for the hotel but the pain wasn't over - the border security insisted on not only seeing everyone's passport but insisting that every biker remove their crash helmets! Obviously that caused a massive delay. Finally we got out of the port and headed for the hotel although thanks to a misunderstanding of the Sat Nav we went round in circles until I realised my mistake, then soon found the hotel. We parked outside a gate whilst we checked in. The hotel boasted parking but the owner simply told us to park in the street which wasn't my idea of parking! Of course there was no parking so I went in search. There was a bit of a space right outside the hotel but as it was quite small, I went off looking for something better - big mistake! I took a wrong turn up a dead end on a hill and, trying to turn the bike, ended up dropping it! Devastated and in some pain having pulled a leg muscle trying to stop it dropping I couldn't pick it up again so had to enlist the help of a very nice Spanish man who helped me. Between us we got it up and after checking I was okay, left me to it.

Round the block I went only to end up putting it in the space opposite the hotel I'd found earlier!

Luckily there wasn't much damage, the pannier had taken the worst and the protection absorbed the impact. A small abrasion on the engine block and another on the lower part of the pannier was all.

Once in the hotel it was pretty much straight to bed. My left leg hurt quite a lot!

Total Mileage: 0

Hotel: Hospedaje Magallanes

Day 3 - Santander to Benavente

The alarm went off around 7:15 but as we'd both had a bad nights sleep snoozed for a while before finally getting up.

The hotel didn't serve breakfast so we decided to leave and find something on the way. Actually as hotels go it wasn't up to much; the owner was a bit grumpy and there were no facilities, not even a cold Drinks machine.

Soon out of Santander we got into the motorway and stopped after about 10 miles at a café for breakfast which again was inspired. We had small rolls, Robyn had bacon and pepper, I had bacon and cheese plus coffee each and a bottle of water came to just €10.

Suitably fed we headed for our first stop; Gijon about 1 1/2 hours ride. On arrival we made our way through the town but had a bit of trouble when the Sat Nav tried to take us the wrong way up a one way street. Eventually we got to our destination and after a circuit around the cobbled streets - my least favourite road surface we located a bike park. Quick strip and change we then went off on search of the Roman Baths which got us confused for a while until we spotted them underground! Sunday's it seems is free entry so we saved ourselves €5. Most impressive they were too and well worth the visit.

From there it was coffee time and we found a nice café close by which did two coffees and a bottle of water for €4. They also bought crisps and small savouries as well - eating and drinking out is certainly cheap! A quick walk round the market where we bought a fridge magnet and then back to the bike to dress again and off to Benavente. The original plan was to go to Astoria but as time was getting on we decided to give that a miss to allow more time to have a look around Benavente.

The motorway goes onto a toll road along here but my Sat Nav diverted us - I must have the setting to avoid Toll Roads. As it turned out, the road was a good one and much better than the motorway as it wound its way into the mountains to around 1300m. As we gained altitude it started very light rain and cooled off so we stopped to put on extra layers. Suitably dressed we finished the climb and then headed down towards Leon, promising ourselves a stop at the next services.

The next services turned out to be McDs at about half way (60 miles) so we stopped for coffee but once inside decided to eat. A huge bucket of chicken wings and McNuggets plus chips and two diet cokes came to around €15! Bargain. Whilst we were there I got a text from Vodafone telling me that my monthly cost was unusually high. Also I couldn't get a phone signal so hooked onto the McDs one to discover that I had a £1500 data bill! Rather stunned I decided I had to phone Vodafone but of course with no signal I had to use Robyns. We arranged a call back and had to hang around for half an hour for a call-back. It seems that Vodafone have a 'problem' with their system whereby users abroad are being charged astronomical rates for data. They promised to sort it out and reconnect my phone. Scary moment!

Off to Benavente was another hour on good roads. Fuel was running low but enough to get there so as we arrived I programmed in Petrol Station so we could fill up and get some snacks for tonight as neither of us wanted a big meal.

A few minutes later we arrived at the hotel but not before being taken up to a pedestrian walkway by the Sat Nav! As luck would (not) have it, by the time we realised, we were on a slope with no chance of turning around or reversing so we rode up hoping to pop out the other side which failed in a dead end street. Fearful of another incident, I gingerly turned the bike round being careful to make sure it was flat and we rode back and took a random street hoping the Sat Nav would take us down roads we could actually ride down! It did and we were soon at the hotel which seemed to have parking out front. Asking the receptionist he told us we could but for an extra €5 we could park in his garage. - bargain we didn't need to be asked twice.

A much more friendly welcome here. We got our room keys, dropped the luggage, spent a few minutes failing to open the shutter, then spotted the pull strap. Not much of a view but better than last night.

The sun was still shining so it was beer o'clock. Grabbing jumpers we headed out to find a bar, hopefully in the sun. No such luck but we found a nice one in the town square. I had beer and Robyn had a huge G&T with a coffee. They bring nuts with the drinks. A second beer and we still had a bill of just €9.

Back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the evening.

Total Mileage: 234

Hotel: Hostal Universal

Page 2

Spain 2019

Day 4 - Benavente to Caceres

We woke to pouring rain so decided to wait a while before setting off. Bags packed we went out for coffee across the road. The rain stopped so we headed out of town, unfortunately the first section was on non-tarmac road so I took it very steadily. Soon enough we were back on the motorway heading south for Salamanca, just 85 miles away which we did in a single ride. Heading into the town we soon found somewhere to park up. It was pretty cool so we didn't bother to get changed. First stop was a café for coffee and food. We found a good one that did nice sandwiches and good coffee. Off down the road towards the cathedral that poked its head above the buildings we spied a door that lead into a convent. Unable to resist, in we went to discover a hidden gem. Unfortunately it was closing in 10 minutes but we went in anyway for a lightning tour. Actually it was enough time to see everything but probably not enough time to appreciate everything.

From there it was off to the cathedral but we spied the tourist train so decided to take a ride. At €4.50 each it was good value for a 25 minute tour of the old town. Spotting the Roman Bridge we made a mental note so we could walk down to it afterwards.

Back at the train stop we headed off to the bridge but the rain started. A quick look then under a tree for shelter. It didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon so we headed back dodging from building to building taking advantage of overhanging balconies until we got to the entrance to the towers where we took shelter again as it was raining hard by this point. Finally giving up we walked a bit further and found a café to take more shelter in. More coffee then off again as it had almost stopped, only almost. Back at the bike, our crash helmets, which we had left on the bike were somewhat damp but hey ho we had to put them on and set off.

Part two of the day was a big 120 mile ride to Caceres on the motorway. It rained most of the time, sometimes very heavy and getting cold as well required the heated seats and grips on. Finally we turned off and headed into Caceres but detoured for fuel, then spotted a McDs so decided to eat there as we were both hungry. More chicken nuggets and chips took some explaining to the staff but eventually they got the message and we tucked in.

Next stop fuel, but it was one of those self service stations where you choose the amount and put your card in. €20 it was.

The hotel was down a lot of small back streets and even when we parked right outside it took a while to spot! Unfortunately I couldn't leave the bike outside so after unpacking, had to ride off to find a space. The helpful receptionist showed me where to park on the map but of course once I set off it all went to rat shit. I did find somewhere more by luck than good judgment and it turned out to be a few minutes walk away although not being sure where I was it took longer than expected to get back, coupled with the fact that my leg still hurt. So long in fact that I met Robyn coming out to look for me!

Our room was really nice, very big with TV and nice bathroom and a separate area with a wardrobe and mirror. I needed a shower as I was still quite cold from the ride. Gear got hung up to dry and we ventured out for a walk and beer.

We found a place just by a church which seemed nice enough so stopped for a G&T and a few beers. It started to get cold so made our way back to the hotel. This hotel is probably the best so far, it has a classic old feel to it, but has drinks and coffee machines and also does breakfast which is perfect as we don't need to rush off in the morning so can have a proper breakfast for a change.

The rest of the night was spent relaxing in the room.

Total Mileage: 210

Hotel: Hotel Albarragena

Day 5 - Caceres to Córdoba

We had a straight ride today so went out for breakfast first and found a very nice café that did croissants and warm sandwiches. I had cheese and Ham and Robyn had Ham and tomato sauce plus large coffees. After that we took a walk around the Old Town which had a lot to offer and would be well worth a return trip one day.

Back at the hotel I changed and went to get the Bike. Due to the one way system and the Sat Nav playing up for a bit I ended up doing a full tour of the town to get back to the hotel again but finally managed.

It was around mid day when we got away but no worries it was a straight ride, almost 200 miles but the first half was motorway so easy, if boring riding. Thankfully the weather had improved a lot since yesterday so no waterproofs required although it was still chilly so when we stopped for fuel and coffee we both added a layer.

The second half of the ride was on a N road which was still pretty good riding with the added fun of regular overtakes and a few interesting bends.

Finally we arrived in Córdoba and found the hotel easily. It was another step up in quality. Check in offered us all sorts of extras, most of which we declined, like a room with a view (although the room we had did have a nice view), meals and balcony drinks - maybe tomorrow. The one offer we took up was garage parking so we didn't need to worry about the bike. It was pricey though at €15.50 per night.

After a quick sort out in the room we headed off into the main town for a look around, although we had agreed that tomorrow would be the main sight seeing day.

The old town comes first after the bridge with the huge cathedral/mosque followed by small streets eventually leading up to the main shopping area via a small square where we stopped for a drink. It turned out that the shops were no different to any other city shopping to be honest.

Back down we went to see if the 101 Tapas bar was open - a recommendation, no! Back into the old town we arrived back in the small square and picked a café with outside chairs. I ordered Spanish omelette and Robyn had fish. My so called omelette was nothing like I was expecting and to be honest, not very nice. We did at first think it was just a starter!

From there a pleasant stroll in the cool evening back to the hotel. We got some snacks on the way back; I fancied chocolate and Robyn got peanuts. It was cool enough for jumpers but I still had shorts on although long trousers would have been nice.

The mini bar in the room was interesting, everything was €3.50. We declined on all of it.

Total Mileage: 197

Hotel: Hesperia Cordoba

Day 6 - Rest day in Cordoba

Not too early start today we left the hotel around 10am and had breakfast in the Visitor Centre just across the bridge. The hotel was far too expensive! Two croissants with butter and marmalade, toast and marmalade and two coffees for less than €10 was a bargain.

First stop was the Cathedral/Mosque. It seems you can either queue for a ticket from a manned booth or use self-service. We divided to see who was quickest - self service won and we were soon inside. It is huge and took us well over an hour to see it before we headed off for a wander around the Tourist shops which soon became very samey. Finding ourselves in a small park we stopped to consult the map and decided to take a walk in the gardens which turned out to be in the Alcazar.

€5 gains entry which was well worth it, the place is huge with towers to climb, small orchards, lots of rooms and several huge gardens. The view from the towers was across the town. It was now quite hot so we sought shelter where we could then decided it was food time so left and walked around to the 101 Tapas for lunch which was inspired. For €10 we had a big starter, big main and dessert, plus bread and a drink.

After that we walked back to the hotel where I promptly fell asleep for an hour then went to enjoy the sun on the roof, relax and watch Thin Lizzy and Slade documentaries on You Tube. Robyn joined me for a drink.

Total Mileage: 0

Hotel: Hesperia Cordoba

Page 3

Spain 2019

Day 7 - Córdoba to Aguadulce

We had breakfast at the same place as yesterday, and the waitress remembered us which was nice. Back to the hotel and we were away about 11:30.

It was a straight ride today, but we stopped twice, once for fuel and cold drink, and once for lunch where we had a ham sandwich and chips each which was really nice.

We finally arrived just after 4pm and I managed to find the flat first go which I was quite impressed with as I hadn't been there for about four years.

After unpacking, we went up to the local Carrefour to stock up which was only about 10 minutes away. The luggage is proving to be inspired as everything can be emptied out of the panniers and top box very quickly.

The rest of evening spent sorting out, having dinner (sandwich) and watching a film.

Total Mileage: 207

Hotel: Ians Flat

Day 8 - Rest Day

Robyn wasn't feeling well today so we relaxed in the apartment. In the afternoon I got bored so went for a walk on the beach.

Dined in this evening. Chicken and rice.

Total Mileage: 0

Hotel: Ians Flat

Day 9 - Mini Hollywood

Robyn wasn't feeling great again today so I went on my own. It was about 30 minutes ride to get there.

They have a parking fee in addition to the entry fee which always seems like a con so I rode back out through the gate and parked in an overflow car park for free. I suspect that parking in the main car park as a bike would also be free but I couldn't be bothered to argue.

As I pulled in, a Spanish guy called me over to park by his motor home (in the shade). Turns out he was also a biker so we chewed the fat about bikes for a while.

Entry is €22.90 without food. I'd packed a lunch so no need to pay extra.

A few minutes walk to the main entrance the first of the pyramid selling started - did I want my photo taken with the pretty girls? No thanks - that would not have gone down well.

Shortly the main town is reached with all of the buildings associated with a Western Town; saloon, bank, sheriff's office etc. Some of them had exhibitions inside but were behind glass. The jail had a double door so it was possible to stand behind one but not go into the cells.

I'd arrived about 10:15 and the main shoot out show was at mid-day so it plenty of time for a good look around. About quarter to, I decided to find a good spot so climbed the stairs above one of the buildings so I could see everything but be in the shade.

To be fair, it was a good show, some people described it as corny on the review pages but I think they missed the point, in a way, that's the appeal of it. Plenty of shooting, plenty of fights, even a hanging. It lasted about 30 minutes, after which I decided it was lunchtime so found a shady spot and sat down to eat.

The next excitement was the Can Can dancers at 1pm so I wandered in for a coffee. Again, they were pretty good, not 'bored' as someone described them.

From there I took a walk into the Zoo which was way bigger than I was expecting - I guess there is no problem with expansion in a desert! Lots of animals, some looking very sorry for themselves, like the Albatross, others quite at home it seemed. At one point I hopped on a train thinking it might take me back to the exit but it stopped even further away!

Due to my leg still hurting I had frequent stops and walked quite slowly which was no bad thing I guess.

Finally I arrived back at the Zoo exit and had one more final look around the Western Town before heading out and back to the bike.

My friendly Spanish neighbours were already there and we got chatting again. Turns out they were from Toledo, home of Don Quixote. They even offered me a (alcohol free) lager which I took with enthusiasm.

Finally time to leave I bade farewell and headed out to ride the Velafique. 20 minutes later I was at the bottom and an exciting 13 minutes later, at the top! It takes us over an hour to cycle it.

The return route was also around 15 minutes and I was soon blasting, erm I mean riding steadily back to Aguadulce. Quick stop at the supermarket for provisions.

Dinner was sausage and egg sandwiches. It was supposed to be chips as well but I bought deep fat fry chips instead of oven chips! Doh!

The evening was spent relaxing and watching a movie.

Total Mileage: 97

Hotel: Ians Flat

Page 4

Spain 2019

Day 10 - Almeria Castle

Today we had some rain early on so no rush to get going. Leaving around 10:30 I soon arrived in Almeria, being just 11 miles away by the coast road. Parking took a little longer to locate, followed by a long walk to the castle. It is big and obvious from a distance but close in there are very few signposts and I had to resort to Google maps to actually get there.

The castle is huge, but on Sundays free to enter which was a result. It seems it is a work in progress with a lot of restoration going on, a few signs in English but most in just Spanish which was a shame. There did seem to be guided tours but of course in Spanish too.

I was there for probably about 1 1/2 hours in total before deciding I had seen enough and headed off to the city to see what I could find. Stopping for coffee on the way I realised that most of the shops were closed as it was Sunday so decided to go back to the bike and head back to the flat, stopping briefly to pick up some bread at one of the few open shops.

Back for lunch and a chill out I soon got bored so decided on a ride up to Sierra Alhamilia which I'd been to on a previous cycling trip. The ride out was good and the final 10k up to the village excellent on a fantastic road, but the village was a total let down and I only stayed a few minutes. Still wanting a ride I contrived a route back via Enix which took in some excellent roads with lovely bends and great tarmac. Finally arriving back having done around 50 miles.

The evening was spent having dinner and relaxing.

Total Mileage: 78

Hotel: Ians Flat

Day 11 - Aguadulce to Cartagena

We couldn't leave too early as we had to do some washing and tidy up the apartment plus go out for breakfast as we had no suitable food. A café was located close by.

On the road by around 11am we made short order of the ride to Cartagena, stopping once only for fuel and coffee.

Part of the way was on a Toll road which was pretty much unavoidable but only cost €9.30 for around 50 miles.

The hotel was easily located and despite being only just after 2pm we checked in, dropped off our gear, parked the bike in the Underground car park for €11 and headed into the main town to see what we could find to look at.

Our planned ascent of the castle stopped before it started with the lift being closed! It seems Monday is closed day in Cartagena! Walking around to the port we spied an open café so went in for a drink; beer for me and coffee for Robyn before heading off for a walking ascent of the castle. We found our way up through the streets and were delighted to discover we could see the Roman Theatre from the outside so no need to come back tomorrow when it would be open. Via a series of steps we made our way higher towards the top of the castle and came to a nice view point where we could see the town and also the port - well worth the walk up. Further up we reached the high point with the final tower being closed sadly.

Back down we decided to descend in search of food. Finally getting to the bottom we stopped at a likely looking place when Robyn realised she'd lost her jumper! I promised to go in search after dinner.

I had pizza and Robyn had a burger. My pizza was awesome but the burger and chips was cold.

After dinner I walked back up to the top of the castle but no sign on the jumper. We were in tourist street so went in a few shops and eventually located a suitable replacement.

It was getting dark by now so we made our way back to the hotel, stopping at a small supermarket for drinks. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

Total Mileage: 127

Hotel: Hotel Sercotel Carlos III

Day 12 - Cartagena to Cuenca

We knew it was going to be a miserable day so were in no hurry to leave. We'd spied a café last night that we thought would do for breakfast but it turned out to be a glorified cake shop so went over the road to CID café which turned out to be much better. We had coffee, orange juice and two pieces of toast for €3 each.

Back to the hotel and we were soon away, having already mostly loaded the bike.

The ride was quite long, being just over 220 miles and we stopped once for coffee and Kit Kat and once for lunch of burger and chips which was excellent.

Eventually we left the motorway with about 40 miles to ride which would have been on a fantastic road had it not been for the fact that it was raining quite heavily which necessitates a steady pace.

Soon enough we arrived in Cuenca and easily located the hotel which turned out to be one of the best we've stayed in. Bike parking was under the hotel with lift access and the room very nice.

I fancied a coffee so we went down to the café where I persuaded the nice lady to make me a pint of Cappuccino which she did, and very nice it was too. It was still raining so back to the room for a chill out until I got bored which coincided with the rain stopping so we went out for a walk. There's not much of a town so we quickly 'did it' and headed back, planning to see the Tourist stuff tomorrow morning.

As we arrived back at the hotel I decided I needed a snack so we went back into the café for a sandwich. We managed to communicate our desire for a ham and cheese sandwich , plus egg and ham sandwich which duly arrived and was very nice. I had a lager and Robyn a G&T.

After dinner, back to the room to relax, making ourselves a promise to have an early start so we had time for breakfast and to see the sights before check-out time at mid-day. We only have just over 100 miles tomorrow so are in no hurry.

Total Mileage: 220

Hotel: Hotel Torremangana

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Spain 2019

Day 13 - Cuenca to Piedra

We wanted to see Cuenca old town so set an early alarm, had a continental breakfast and headed off. The cathedral was about 20 minutes walk and all up hill which wasn't popular but then it would be all downhill back. The cathedral was huge, only €5 to get in which included an audio guide. Of course it dripped gold and wealth but then most churches and cathedrals do. A whistle stop tour and we were out in search of the famous bridge which turned out to be inaccessible from this side, oh well, we'd seen the view from it up and down the gorge. By now it was raining so we headed into a gift shop which turned out to be inspired; cheap brollies, pin badges and even souvenir knives - we came out with one of each. Time to head back, we arrived back at the hotel around 11:30 which gave us a comfortable 30 minutes to check out.

Soon on the road for what promised to be an easy couple of hours to the next stop. It turned out to be somewhat different. First of all we turned off the motorway at the correct turning then ignored the Sat Nav which appeared to be directing us into a filling station. Back onto the motorway, we quickly realised that in fact it was a road! Up to the next junction a couple of miles away and back down we took the correct road. From here on we were on smaller roads (about UK 'B' roads). Plenty of small villages but no fuel stations or coffee stops. I figured I had just about enough fuel to get to the hotel but only just! Then we spotted a petrol station so decided to fill up which meant we could stop worrying.

Many villages and no coffee stops, we finally drew close to Molina de Aragon, most notable for its huge castle on the hill. There MUST be a café here! Sure enough we found one and parked up. Some sign language, some pointing and lots of attempts at Spanish we managed to order coffees each and burgers each. It seems simple but when one coffee is white and the other black, and one burger can have cheese and the other can't, it becomes more difficult. We learned a new phrase; con latte, which means 'with milk' so now the order can be two black coffees, one 'con latte' does the trick. For those not in the know 'no queso' means 'no cheese'. Of course only Robyn could have a problem with that kind of food. Guess which burger was undercooked!

From there it was about 30 miles to the hotel but the previously pretty good road had deteriorated rather badly and looked like it was covered in grit. Speed was duly backed off for a few miles until we came back onto some superb black tarmac with amazing curves, throttle on! Later the road deteriorated again into a 'C' road and really bumpy, slow! Eventually we reached the Monastery but our hotel was 1km further on. We checked in quite quickly and went to our room. Not the best and not the biggest, somewhat dated and quite cold. Luckily there were room heaters so we got them switched on.

A quick shower and I was off for a walk down to the Monastery in the late afternoon sunshine - finally the rain had gone, hopefully for the rest of the day. 15 minutes later I arrived. It looked quite pleasant and will make a nice day out tomorrow. Back up to the hotel I located the owner and requested some water as there was nothing in the room. We relaxed for a while then decided around 7:30 that it was dinner time so went in search. Amazingly and disappointingly dinner didn't start until 8:45pm! Back to the room! Finally we went down for dinner. Not much of a choice really so I had beef steak with a cheese sauce and Robyn had lamb. Actually they were both nice. Didn't bother with dessert. Once again we got served bread that we hadn't ordered and about half way through it realised it was extra! The rest of the evening, what little was left was spent chilling in the room.

Total Mileage: 220

Hotel: Hotel Hotel Las Truchas

Day 14 - Piedra Monastery

Breakfast was served between 9-11am so no rush. We finally got down at 10am. It was a typical continental style with toast, jam, coffee and orange juice but nice all the same. After breakfast we walked down to the monastery which didn't take long. The sun shone so it was a pleasant walk. Tickets are purchased just behind the souvenir shop - hard to spot from the direction we came from.

The monastery itself is interesting but not that big and we had soon done it. There are some rooms described in English as well as Spanish but most in Spanish only. Outside we decided it was coffee and bun time so headed for the café. I had a donut! We also checked on the restaurant opening times so that we didn't miss it. Seemingly it closed at 3:30pm. Plenty of time. The waterfalls were next and very impressive they are too. This section can take as little or as long as required depending on how many of the falls want to be seen. Of course I wanted to see them all! There is a good path up and around and each one has a different name. The free map allows progress to be monitored and location easily determined. After about an hour we started our way back, although I detoured to climb to the far tower and returned via the Owl enclosure. There was still another walk to do - maybe next time!

Lunch comprised pizza for me and chicken and chips for Robyn. Both meals were nice but in true European fashion they arrived several minutes apart. After lunch we went to the gift shop and bought some gifts plus food for tonight rather than going in the hotel restaurant again. After walking back, I sat in the sun for a while reading, then back to the room to chill. Nothing else to do around here and we can't be bothered to go anywhere on the bike.

Total Mileage: 0

Hotel: Hotel Hotel Las Truchas

Day 15 - Piedra to Pamplona

As we didn't have a long ride today we had breakfast around 10:00am. Usual coffee and toast. As we came to check out, the guy at the desk seemed to take forever just to print out a receipt and then tried to over charge us. When I corrected him he changed the price and printed the correct receipt. We did feel he was trying it on!

The first part of the ride was on good tarmac with plenty of twists and turns to enjoy, then the next part on main roads with a few motorways thrown in. We did feel we were taking a few odd route choices until we realised the Sat Nav was avoiding toll roads. With around 120 miles done we finally found a café where we stopped in the sunshine for coffee and cake before the final 30 miles to Pamplona.Rather pleasantly, there was no rain today.

On arrival in Pamplona the mystery tour began. First of all my Sat Nav threw a wobbly so we abandoned that. It had taken us around the old town along cobbled streets then bought us back to the starting point again. There were signs for the hotel but they ended at the crucial moment. I got my phone out which took us back into the labyrinth again and with Robyn calling directions we got really close only to be confronted by a 'No entry' sign. A local waved us on - seemingly they can be ignored! Sure enough we came onto a plaza and spied the hotel, although we did have to go around as there was only one exit.

Parking up we went into the hotel to be told that we couldn't park outside the hotel and had to go to a public car park! We unloaded and I set off, only to discover that we had been right by the hotel on our first lap of the old town! The car park was just a few minutes away but I had to go the long way round as I didn't realise a left turn was possible. Parked up, it took 5 minutes or so to walk back to the hotel.

Straight out we walked into the Old Town again, having spotted an Irish Bar and given that it was beer o'clock figured it would be ideal - sadly it was closed, but did boast the Rugby (England vs New Zealand) tomorrow morning! Further into the town we found a bar that was open and went in for a drink.

Satisfied with that we wandered in, eventually coming into the main Plaza, then onto a small street where the annual bull run takes place. It was full of tourist shops so we amused ourselves for a while, eventually arriving at the Bull fighting stadium where, for €6 we could take a tour. Curiosity got the better of me so we did the tour. The stadium is quite small but the tour interesting, showing the life of the bulls and the lives of the Matadors.

From there back into the centre in search of food. One idea came to nothing so we ended up in the square and had burger and chips with beer for €24, followed by a slow stroll back to the hotel to chill out.

Total Mileage: 148

Hotel: Hotel Hotel Eslava

Day 16 - Pamplona to Santander

We didn't have a huge mileage today and the ferry wasn't leaving until the evening so we made a plan to stop in Pamplona and watch the England vs All Blacks rugby semi-final in the Irish Bar we'd seen. I took a luggage load to the bike, which was parked almost next door to the bar, then checked they were showing the game - they were! Unfortunately they weren't serving breakfast but we figured a coffee or two and the remaining biscuits would do. Second load over to the bike and we went to the bar, already busy, and found a seat with a view of the TV. It was a great game, England narrowly hammering the All Blacks winning 19-7 and even had two tries disallowed!

Back to the hotel car park we were pleasantly surprised to find the bill for a 20 hour parking was just €10.90! Cheaper than some of the hotel car parks.

The ride to Santander was without incident, a combination of Motorway and N roads, several of which were awesome with great bends and straights. Two stops; one for coffee and cake and the other for a McD. We got into Santander quite early so went in search of fuel so that we could ride home without stopping. A minor misunderstanding of roads took us completely the wrong way and we ended up going out of town and had no choice but to ride around and back in again to the Ferry. Finally arriving we were told that the ferry was about 90 minutes late! Nothing for it but to park up, sit down and relax for a couple of hours.

Total Mileage: 170

Hotel: Ferry

Day 17 - Santander to Home

Finally we boarded but of course it wasn't that simple, firstly we moved forward to the passport control, thankfully we didn't need to remove crash helmets! Next we moved to a holding pen and finally we got on. Our plan to go slow to be at the back getting on, therefore first off failed as we ended up at the front (therefore back)! Oh well.

Upstairs our rooms weren't quite ready but after a few minutes we went in, got changed and upstairs for supper of a sandwich and a couple of beers. We joined the music quiz and at one point we were second! Our final position was fifth out of 12 teams so happy with that. We lost it on a couple of final questions - the way it goes. We sat and listened to the cabaret which was quite good, the singer had a great voice but the songs weren't really our choice. After that, we swayed off to bed, the sea being quite choppy.

Early morning rise to watch the Rugby although due to some serious miscalculation on the time change I got down about 10 minutes into the game. Sadly Wales lost to South Africa which makes it England vs South Africa final. Most of the day was spent relaxing and reading with meals interspersed.

I did see the most amazing thing though; guy goes to the bar and orders a pint. The barman asks if he is driving to which he replies that he is, the bar man then refuses to serve him! Nice one bar man. That will be in my report to Brittany Ferries.

The ride home was cold, being down to a couple of degrees above zero which was quite a shock, given that we'd enjoyed around 28 degrees in Santander. A uneventful couple of hours later we arrived home and began the thawing out process.

All in all, a great holiday, some amazing towns and cities in Spain and pretty much ideal riding days on fantastic roads. A couple of wet days were quickly forgotten and our four days in Aguadulce were perfect. The Spanish were extremely helpful and friendly and whilst we spoke little Spanish and they, in places, no English, a combination of hand gestures, smiling and working together, we got through, ate well, drank well and had a great time. It is definitely a country to return to.

Total Mileage: 136

Page 1

Scotlands North Coast 500

Friday 6th August

An easy day, just ride up the motorway to Preston and that's it, what could be easier? Six miles into the 140 and I hit the first of many traffic jams - nothing but the volume of traffic heading North on a Friday. Several miles of slow moving filtering. Oh well, at least I was moving faster than the cars. Clear and off we went to the next blockage, more filtering but nothing to actually stop me making progress. So it went on. Around Stafford I noticed the big black cloud, which soon made its presence known. I was wearing a waterproof jacket, but my jeans were not. The rain came down really heavy and I soon noticed a dampness. Just as I thought I'd have to stop or pull off to get the banana suit out, it stopped and the sun came out again, drying me off quickly - well, my left side anyway! My right side was in the shadow of the bike.

As I rode North, encountering one jam after another, the Sat Nav began to move the predicted arrival time further out until at one point I thought I'd never actually get to Preston! From an initial guess at a 4pm arrival, it final settled on 5:30pm which proved correct. The hotel was easy to find just a mile or so from the M6 - perfect. Unloading I got to the room and gave some thought to food. Deciding I didn't want to go to the pub, I elected to pop over to the local Sainsbury to pick up some snacks for dinner, settling on a Pot Noodle, baguette and a tub of Pringles with a Flake Dessert and bottle of Diet Coke. After dinner I decided the room was too tidy so set about making a mess with the intention of repacking to have clothes choices for tomorrow in one pannier to make it easy to change. Whether I stay in my motorbike gear is to be seen but at least the change is all in one place. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in the room, the weather preventing any plan to go out, not that there was any, but rain confirmed it.

Total Mileage: 140

Hotel Summary: It was a Premier Inn, so as expected really. The only minor difference was no bath.

Saturday 7th August

I left the hotel pretty much dead on 8am which was the planned departure time. Of course it was raining so I was in the banana suit straight away. It was also warm so I was a bit too hot. I will have to see if I can fit my under jacket into the panniers. The motorway was really quiet and I did about 70 miles in an hour until I turned off at Carlisle. The next section was slower but still not much traffic and I arrived at Vindolanda at 10am. Having an hour before my entry time I decided to visit Sycamore Gap. After some faffing trying to find somewhere to park, I finally discovered Steel Rig which is up on the hillside. A quick change and I set off. The path follows Hadrians Wall and it took about 15 minutes of up and down. Still wearing my motorbike boots and trousers it was warm work but I soon arrived. Pausing only long enough to take some photos I walked back to the bike, arriving about 10:50am. By the time I was ready to go it was 11:00am - my entry time. Luckily it was only five minutes or so down to the Vindolanda Car Park and there was quite a queue to get in so I had time to change again and go in.

Vindolanda is incredible. I decided I needed coffee first so headed over to the cafe which is at the far side of the site. A nice coffee and biscuits set me up nicely. The shop and museum was also there so I took a tour round before heading out to the main site. The site is huge and really interesting with lots of boards explaining each building - in many cases essential as they can be hard to figure out. There were some soldiers re-enacting and showing typical equipment, cooking and other skills. In total I was there almost two hours and I could have stayed longer, but I had a ticket for Chesters, so had to leave. Chesters Fort was about 15 minutes away. Getting changed yet again in the rain this time, I hurried into the site. First job was lunch. I had soup and a roll and finished off the Pringles I bought yesterday. The site is smaller than Vindolanda and not as good in my opinion. The building layout and explanations were all very good and the bath house well worth a visit as it is extremely well preserved, but overall much smaller than Vindolanda. I think if I had done it in reverse I would have been more impressed. Normally I'm not terribly impressed with museums but I thought I'd take a quick look at the one here. I'm so glad I did, it is amazing! Full of stuff and excellent interpretations and explanations. Again I was there for a couple of hours.

Finally  I set off for Alnwick which took about half an hour or so. The pub took a little while to find as it was down a blocked road but I managed to get round the blockage! The pub has no car park but I located a space about 100m away. My room was tiny, only just big enough for a bed. The shower/toilet was also tiny. Taking a shower I was disappointed with the slow water flow and even less impressed with the water temperature which started off cool and got colder! At the end of the shower, it was positively freezing! Dressing, I went out for a walk around Alnwick which is a pleasant town. I got myself a kebab as the pub wasn't serving food. Rather amazingly, the kebab consisted of a tub of salad, a pack of meat and a bread which wasn't cut open. It filled a gap despite the presentation. I sat on one of the public seats to eat my meal which seemed a popular thing to do. Afterwards, back to the pub. I had considered a beer, but the pub was really busy so I didn't bother and went straight to the room. Reading the guest information it seems that its okay to get a beer and bring it to the room, so I might do that. I did!

Total Mileage: 170 miles

Hotel Summary: The Black Swan. The room was small, the shower cold and not very powerful. There was a lot of noise from the pub below. It was also incredibly warm but to be fair, they did provide an air conditioning blower.

Page 2

Scotlands North Coast 500

Sunday 8th August

Breakfast was not until 9am and of course I was awake early so after showering, I packed as much as I could and took it down to the bike so that I could get away as soon as I'd eaten. As it was still only 8am I took a walk around Alnwick and watched with some interest as the market took shape. Back to the pub and breakfast. It was huge! Full fry up with everything. I couldn't finish it all and felt very fat afterwards. Final packing and I was off for the short, 30 minute ride to Lindisfarne. The weather was pretty good so I didn't need my waterproof suit nor jacket liner which was nice. Stopping just before the causeway, I attached my video camera to record the crossing. It is a good wide road apart from one narrow section at the start. From the start to the car park was about 3 miles and I was soon pulling in. The car park was pretty full even at 10:00am but I quickly parked up. It's free parking for motorbikes which is nice.

Changing quickly, I stowed my gear and headed off to the castle. My entry ticket was for 10:30-11:00am and it was already 10:30.  Walking into the village I spied the castle some distance out of town so walked quickly towards it. The sun was shining and even in shorts and T-shirt I warmed up quickly. Arriving, it was 10:50 so just in time, but to be honest I'm not sure how much notice they really take. The castle itself is pretty impressive, built on a huge rock promontory. There are several levels, all kitted out with period furniture and very well presented. Climbing right to the top gives an impressive view all round the island. A slow tour took about 45 minutes and I emerged deciding to walk towards the far shore as I was over at this side of the island. As I did so, I came to the Lime Kilns which were huge - easily big enough to fit a couple of hundred people in - I know this because no sooner had I arrived than the heavens opened so I decided to stay a while. Unfortunately about 50 kids had the same idea and a selection of other tourists also arrived to shelter from the rain. Luckily it didnt last long and I was soon out to continue my journey. Interestingly as I approached the rocky shoreline, there were dozens of small cairns, some small, some quite tall. I guess it was a task for the kids to keep them amused for a while. Having rushed from the bike I'd forgotten to bring a drink so decided to walk back and get it. I had all day on the island so no rush.

After collecting my drink, I headed for the Priory which was my next booked site. There was no time on this ticket but I thought I'd get it done. There is a museum which was very interesting and answered a question I'd pondered for some time - why did the Vikings bother with Lindisfarne? It was a small monastery without any riches. Wrong! It was a very wealthy Monastery with lots of Gold and Silver - whatever happened to austerity? Unfortunately just as I was about to leave the museum for the Priory ruins, the heavens opened! Back inside for a second visit and an ice cream - well, I am on holiday! Finally the rain slowed enough to leave the shelter of the museum and I took a tour of the Priory. I had the entire place to myself - one benefit of bad weather I guess. That done, I went to the local hotel for a coffee and shelter from the rain. It did occur to me that with all the rain, my bike might have sunk, so I wandered back to check - all okay. Back again and this time, I decided to do the island tour so headed back in the direction of the castle but detoured to a walled garden which was well worth the visit. Off again to the end and followed the coast around to a white pyramid - unusual and no explanation. It was here that I spied some seals which was exciting. Continuing round I found myself in the sand dunes. Not wanting to get covered in sand I stopped and considered my options. There were people on the beach so I surmised there must be a path around. Continuing on, sure enough I located it and followed it back. A reward was to see a deer wandering slowly through the grass, completely oblivious to my presence. Finally this bought me back to the main village and I decided one more coffee as it was only 5:45 and the crossing time was not until 7pm.

Dawdling, I decided I'd walk back to the bike and get ready. The rain had stopped and I figured it would be better to get changed in the dry and wait, than to risk getting wet. Changed and ready I decided to head off and see what the causeway was like - result, it was clear and it was only 6:40. I only had about 12 miles to ride to my hotel but I'd put on my banana suit anyway - lucky for me. The rain torrented down, giving me a final soaking of the day. The hotel was easy to find and I was soon unpacked and in the room, which was probably double the size of last nights at least. Some serious faffing, some clothes washing and a repack occupied the evening. I still wasn't hungry so had a cup-a-soup and finished off the almonds.

Total Mileage: 39

Hotel Summary: The Rob Roy Inn was superb. A very friendly welcome from the owner who also suggested I park my motorbike off the road in front of the hotel which was nice. The room was huge and the bed super comfortable. Shower was great and there was a good selection of tea/coffee. I had a superb nights sleep and another huge breakfast. Such a shame it was only one night really. Would recommend 100%.

Monday 9th August

The day started really nice. No need for waterproof oversuit or liner - this was motorbiking! First stop was the Duddo Stone Circle. Parking up by a gate, I had a good walk of maybe getting on for half a mile or so to the circle. I hadn't bothered to change out of my bike gear and the sun was shining so it was hard going. Are they worth it? Barely to be honest. It is quite an atmospheric place but nothing special. Back to the bike and on to Etal which was a pleasant village and castle. Because the  visitor centre was closed, the castle entry was free. It's owned by English Heritage, making me think maybe it would be worth joining. The castle is quite ruined but there are interesting bits to see and plenty of information boards explaining how it used to look. From there I headed for 'Ford' but forgot the name and stopped at Heaterslaw instead. It was a fortuitous mistake as it is a lovely little hamlet and well worth a visit. There is a bakery, gift shop and small cafe where I purchased a canned drink for the princely sum of £2! Heading off I soon arrived at Ford where I parked up in what I thought was the car park, although there was no-one else around which surprised me. Walking down to the castle, I was immediately impressed by its size and splendour and it is obviously occupied and also private, which they make very apparent. I had a look in the church opposite which was nice and I was surprised to find I was the only one there, so it was totally quiet. The village of Ford is something and nothing. A couple of tea rooms, an art gallery and some pleasant cottages. All seen in about 5 minutes.

Time to head off North. I let the Sat Nav decide the best route and it chose to pass through Coldstream (as in 'Guards') which I thought might be better than it was, given its fame. Not bothering to stop I rode through but out on the main road North I spied a huge black cloud. Deciding to pre-empt the rain, I stopped to put on my rain suit. Glad that I did, the rains soon started and it was proper rain. As I approached Edinburgh, I decided not to bother with the Pentland Hills as there would be no view and I wasn't about to get changed in the rain, so I reset the Sat Nav to Perth. By now it was serious rain and I was in slow moving Edinburgh traffic. It was time for a coffee! Eventually I located a services and went into the McDonalds for a large one. Dawdling over it I waited out the rain before heading off again and by Perth the sun had come out. I needed fuel and a drink so at the next service station, pulled in for both and to remove my suit. Setting off, pleased with myself that I could enjoy the riding in the sunshine. Of course, that would never last and soon enough I spied a huge black cloud. The road I was on was heading away from it and I thought I would get away without another soaking. Disaster - left turn ahead, heading right for it. Another stop to get my suit on again. Lucky I did, five minutes later the heavens opened again, much worse than last time. I did think about stopping but there was no shelter so I pressed on. At one point I thought I was riding up a river and got quite nervous, but the road flattened out and the rain slowed to a sensible level.

The roads got thinner and just when I thought it would disappear to nothing, a signpost pointed me down a lane to Cairnhill Lodge. I'd been warned about the driveway being loose stones, but compared to the river earlier, I wasn't worried and rode up it onto the hard standing. No-one was home, but it was only just after 5pm and I'd been warned they might not be back until 5pm. A few minutes later, Cameron arrived and 2 minutes later, Elaine returned. It was a great reunion given we haven't seen each other for more than 15 years, so had plenty to talk about which occupied the rest of the evening.

Total Mileage: 151

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Scotlands North Coast 500

Tuesday 10th August

Being a rest day from riding, I decided on a walk up the Glen, so sorting my kit, making lunch and grabbing emergency stuff, then armed with a map and some advice from Cameron, I set off. The weather was glorious and had thought that I'd got it wrong with my choice of clothes; thermal top and new Rohan waterproof trousers - should have guessed. The walk passes two Lochs, firstly Loch Shandra which is reached in less than a mile along a good forest track, then cross country following the Cateran Trail, for a couple of miles to Auchintaple Loch which is slightly bigger. The path itself takes a wide sweep around but is a good forest track again. It was around here, the furthest point away, that it started raining again. Donning my poncho I continued fearless as I had my waterproof shoes and waterproof trousers on. Of course, being Scottish rain, it started heavy and got heavier so I decided to shelter at a small fishing hut. Realising the rain wasn't about to stop anytime soon, I fished my umbrella out of my sac and continued back. This combination worked and I felt dry for the whole of the journey back. Finally by Loch Shandra again, the rain stopped long enough for me to have my lunch, but then it was only a mile back to the house, during which the rain stopped and the sun came out for a brief while! The rest of the afternoon was spent diary writing, sorting out wet gear and generally relaxing. This evening Cameron and Elaine took me out to the 'local' golf club which was about 30 minutes drive. It was well worth it though as the food was fantastic. I had fish n chips and it was so big, I couldn't finish it. Of course the dessert stomach opened up and I had a pavlova which was also amazing.

Total Mileage: Bike zero, Walking 10 miles.

Wednesday 11th August 2021

Up and about by 7:30 I showered and packed. Elaine had kindly washed my dirty clothes so as of now, everything is clean! Breakfast was cereals and Swamp juice (it was thick and green) which was great. Afterwards, final packing, a group photo and thanks, hugs and kisses and I was off North. It was really sad to leave as we haven't seen each other for more than 15 years, but our friendship has clearly lasted as it was really easy going, friendly, chatty and our sense of humour still in tune. Hopefully it won't be so long next time. Heading up the Glen, the roads were amazing, although thanks must go to the local council for arranging grit on almost every bend, just in the riding line! I ran my video camera for a few miles up to the ski resort to try and capture the occasion. We will see how good it is. Soon enough I arrived a Braemar so decided to stop for a coffee. As I was deciding where to stop I rode out of the town. Next left was Braemar Castle which I thought must be worth a visit - it's not! Unfortunately closed but opening at 10:00am. It was 9:30. I didn't think I would have enough time to wait and do a tour, so took a couple of quick photos and headed back to the bike to ride back into Braemar for a coffee. Everywhere was shut! Right, leave and head for Balmoral, perhaps I would have more luck there.

Balmoral is just a few miles further up and I pulled into an almost empty car park. The castle is only open for a very limited time, and this wasn't it. A signposted indicated a coffee and gift shop at the end of the road. Perfect. Walking up I realised this must be one of the main entrances as it is patrolled by armed police officers. There was indeed a coffee shop that did a very nice Cappucino. The gift shop had the usual rubbish but I bought a fridge magnet and a pin badge for the collection. After coffee, back on the bike, but as the rain was starting I figured I might as well put on my suit as I will be needing it eventually, then set off to Culloden. More excellent roads, but also more rain meant I couldn't really do them justice. Arriving at Culloden, I stowed my gear and headed in. I'd bought a timed ticket and was early, but it didn't seem to be a problem and I noticed several people purchasing tickets so clearly the time limited entry system has more or less ended now.

The exhibition is really interesting and gives a full lead up to the battle and also the battle itself, which rather incredibly was all over in 45 minutes! It takes longer to see the exhibition. From the history, it was easy to see why Prince Charlie thought he could win - many previous wins over the English had given him and his men confidence, but they hadn't changed their battle strategy and the English had learned how to deal with it. Also, he'd not let his men rest properly so they were at a disadvantage straight away. I took lunch there which comprised my favourite soup and a roll. Including a cold drink, it was just £6 which I thought was good value. The actual battlefield is outside and worth a look, although the rain was coming down harder which put a bit of a dampener on it. I would have liked to have spent longer, but I saw the main bits. Back inside for a final coffee - it was only just 4pm, and a look round the gift shop where I spied a hip flask for my collection.

Back to the bike I got ready as quick as I could as it was still raining and headed off to the B&B. It was about 7 miles and I located it first time. The owner allowed me to put the bike in his garage which was a nice touch, although he did have to clear a lot of rubbish out of the way first! Once inside I took a shower as I was hot from the baggage carrying (still in my oversuit), then walked over the road for some cold drinks. Spying croissants, I decided to buy a couple for breakfast as it isn't included. Dinner was a kettle meal (Chicken satay) and a couple of twirl bars. I used their small breakfast room to eat which was nice and meant I could get out of the room for a while.

Total Mileage: 123

Hotel Summary: The Kemps, Inverness. Can't fault it. Danny let me park my bike in his garage which was a nice touch. The room, whilst small, was big enough for what I needed. A nice touch was mints and chocolates - snaffled of course! Comfortable bed, good working shower.

Thursday 12th August 2021

I was away just after 8am. The sun was shining so I wanted to make the most of it. As soon as I left Inverness, the road became superb. Nice weather so no need to worry about water on the road. Mile after glorious mile of straights, bends, up and down, incredible views the whole time. My first stop was the viewpoint at Struie Hill, known as millionaires view and you can see why - it's incredible. Rather sadly, no sooner had I arrived than two coaches pulled up and disgorged tourists by the dozen - viewpoint spoilt! I took a few photos, then got on my way. More glorious roads until the second stop at Whaligoe Steps. Parking was easy for the bike but very limited for cars and I noticed many residents spaces being taken - much to the annoyance of a resident who complained he couldn't park! Being down a lot of steps I decided to change into shorts and trainers and I'm glad I did, it is a long way down. On the way down I met two bikers on the way up in full kit - they didn't look happy. It's well worth the trip down to take photos of the bay and the rock formations, but unfortunately very popular. Back up, I set off for Wick. It is a very disappointing town with most of the shops closed. I found a cafe and had a bacon and egg roll with coffee which was okay, but nothing special, although the staff tried hard. Back at the bike I got chatting to a guy who turned out to be from Birmingham - small world!

After lunch I was off again, this time to Castle Sinclair. It is quite out of the way but worth the trip. Right on the coast, it is a feat of Engineering and how it hasn't slipped into the sea I have no idea. Entry fee is £1 via an honesty box which of course I paid. It is possible to go inside parts of it but not much as it looks very unsafe. From there, back to the main road and up to John O'Groats which is a huge anti-climax! Lots of tacky souvenir shops, coffee shops and ticket offices for tours to the Orkneys which are well in view off the coast, and for some reason, surprised me. Tiring quickly, I took the obligatory photos and headed for Duncansby Head to see the sea stacks which were worth the walk. The sun was still warm, but the wind had got up and was blowing hard. I'd put on my under jacket so was protected against the wind.

My final destination was Dunnet Head, the most Northerly point, but I think I was tired as I couldn't be bothered to walk up the hill to the viewpoint. Getting there and back involves about three miles of single track road which can be slow going with oncoming traffic requiring the use of the passing places on several occasions. Deciding I'd had enough, I headed for Thurso, about 15 minutes away and quickly found the hotel. No one was there but a key had been left for me so I was able to get in. Quick shower and off to the local fish n chip shop for supper. Well, it was around 6:30. A walk along the beach and back to the hotel for some admin and hopefully a reasonably early night.

Total Mileage:171

Hotel Summary: Murray House, Thurso. In a word, Dreadful! The curtains in the room were hanging by a thread, literally, the bedside light didn't work because it wasn't plugged in, but the nearest socket was too far away. The shaver light smelled awful - I think there was burning dust inside. In the morning there was no-one around and breakfast consisted of a couple of choices of cereals, some croissants, no orange juice and DIY coffee. Despite the note in the bedroom asking for cash, there was no-one to pay, so as soon as I'd done, I left. Let them chase me!

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Friday 13th August 2021

First stop today was Strathy Point. The weather was pretty good, although I had my rain suit on as it was drizzling in Thurso, but no sooner had I left than the sun came out! The point was down a dead-end lane but it was a walk for the last half mile or so. Changing into my walking shoes I set off to the lighthouse and the point. I had a bit of fun scrambling over the rocks right to the end and sat a while watching the sea. I was rewarded by the site of a couple of seals who surfaced for a while before diving down again. Back at the bike, the sun was out, so I stowed the rain suit and set off for Bettyhill. On the way I realised I hadn't filled up with fuel, but no worries, I still had 100 miles, although it would soon go in this part of the world. Checking with the Sat Nav there was a petrol station in the village so no worries. The station was part of the general store and obviously not suited to motorbikes as the ground was uneven and it was hard to get close to the pump but I managed. I'd passed a cafe back along the road so decided it was coffee and cake time. Good choice; a nice Cappucino and a millionaires slice! All whilst sat in the sun. Bettyhill has little to offer unless you are a beach lover so I left, stopping briefly at the Tourist Information to enquire about an artwork called 'The Unknown'. Directions given I set off and about six miles later arrived at a sign leading into Borgie Forest and also a sign for the 'Unknown'. Riding down the forest track, I got quite nervous as it was vey uneven and full of pot holes, so decided to park and walk.

Mildly annoyingly, the track improved and within about 5 minutes I came to the actual car park. Oh well, I wasn't in a hurry today. The statue is about five minutes walk uphill from here and I soon arrived. It is a statue of a skeleton of a man, standing about 8 feet tall looking out to the mountains. It is quite eerie, but impressive and the views were stunning. The usual photos taken I headed down and back to the bike. Feeling peckish, I considered raiding my food supply, but figured I could hang on a bit and ride into Tongue to find somewhere to eat. Tongue is something and nothing. No real village, no shops, a hotel (closed) and no cafe, although I had passed one a mile or so back up the road so decided to return to that. It was very popular - clearly because it was the only one open! Service was slow to say the least and it took about 20-25 minutes to get a bowl of soup! Whilst waiting I noticed one of the staff bring lunch out to a couple, walk back, then a couple of minutes later return and take the food back - wrong order. The recipient had looked at the food and also handled it - presumably checking. The food went back into the kitchen, then back out again without being changed (I could see right into the kitchen) and given to the correct table. A minute later the recipient suggested that the bread at least be changed. Quite right! After my lunch, which, to be fair, was very nice, I rode down into Tongue again, parked up and took a walk to Castle Varrich about half a mile away and visible for most of the walk. It was worth it for the view, but not for the castle itself which was just an empty shell of a four square wall building.

Finally back to the bike to quickly change - the rain was coming! I dressed before the rain started and headed off to the hotel, 16 miles distant and along a very thin road across the moorland. Visibility, despite the rain, was excellent and I could see the few oncoming vehicles for a couple of miles before encountering them. The hotel is quite pleasant and the room big enough. Some washing admin, a shower and a kettle meal settled me for the evening. Nothing much to do. I did meet a couple of guys doing John O'Groat to Lands End - one was walking, the other in a wheelchair! I chatted to them briefly and invited them to stay if they are passing close to Tewkesbury. Who knows, we might meet again.

Total Mileage:72

Hotel Summary: Altnaharra Hotel. Nice hotel, very remote and looks old. The room was adequate for one. Shower was excellent and also the hot towel rail ideal for drying clothes. Didn't have a meal so can't comment on the food, but I expect it would be expensive given the price of the room.

Saturday 14th August 2021

I left by 8am to what looked like a miserable day so started in my banana suit. After about 10 minutes I was far too warm so stopped and removed it. To my horror I was attacked by midges! The first of the tour. Helmet back on and I got off as quickly as possible. Back down the same road as yesterday to Tongue then off to my first stop which was Smoo Cave at Durness. The roads were generally quite thin, but there were plenty of passing places, so many in fact that I wondered why they hadn't just built the entire road wider! Smoo Cave was a bit of a disappointment, yes it's big, but there's not much of it and the interesting section can only be reached by a (paid) tour. I didn't bother. Back up I looked around for a coffee stop but nothing to be found so headed off for Balnakeil where I knew there was a Coco Mountain, who, I know from previous experience, sell the best Hot Chocolate. It is easy to find, being at the entrance of the Craft Village. Just like the other one I visited, there is nowhere to sit so I employed my bike cup holder. This Hot Chocolate was the best I have ever drunk! It had marshmallows, thick chocolate and several other ingredients I couldn't identify but made it just incredible. I also had a piggy chocolate croissant, totalling about a million calories. After that I took a tour around the craft village, paying a trip to the Art Shop which was mostly pretty rubbish, comprising some pictures made from local flotsam and jetsam. I did spot a nicely painted stone so bought that as a souvenir of my trip. The rain was doing its best to put in an appearance but I braved riding off without my suit. 10 minutes down the road, I spied a huge rain cloud so pre-empted the rain by putting on my suit. As it turned out, there wasn't as much as I thought but I wasn't too hot so left it on.

Next stop was Drumbeg, but other than a small store, there was nothing of interest. I purchased lunch and sat on a seat outside the local hotel. Lunch today was a herby bread, crisps and a drink. Settting off on more thin roads I soon came to Clashnessie Falls. Thinking I'd find somewhere to park and have a walk, I spotted the falls - even with all this rain, they were unimpressive so gave them a miss and continued to Stoer Lighthouse for a walk to the 'Old Man'. It is a good walk of at least two miles along the coast, and somewhat damp in places, but my waterproof shoes coped admirably. On arrival I saw four or five climbers on the summit - impressive. The return was via the hill summit trig point for the excellent view, then I picked my way back to the car park, trying to avoid the worst of the damp patches. Finally back, I dressed and headed off. A couple of miles back to the 'main' road, then off on a stop-start ride to Lochinver where I elected a coffee break. Most places were closed but eventually I found a cafe. Tiring of narrow roads, I decided to ride back up to the main road and take the direct route to Ullapool and boy I'm glad I did! This section of road proves the existence of God! It was incredible, fast sweeping bends, good tarmac, fabulous straights and sweeping uphills. I loved it. Obviously I keep to the speed limits, but even so.

Finally I arrived at the Motel in Ullapool, glad to be there but sad to end the ride. I could easily pop over to Lochinvar tomorrow for another coffee! Check in was easy and quick, although I did have to listen to a Covid lecture on the way to my room, which I noticed, he gave to several people during the evening! Quick shower and sort out and I was in for dinner. Burger and chips hit the spot nicely.

Total Mileage:106

Hotel Summary: Morefield Motel, Ullapool. The room was a good size, although if there were three in it, then maybe not so big. Handy being able to park right outside. Bathroom was very small. Good food and reasonably priced.

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Scotlands North Coast 500

Sunday 15th August 2021

I was away by 8:30 for the 30 minute ride to Corrieshalloch Gorge. On arrival I immediately noticed midges so reached for the 'skin so soft'. It seemed to work, although I did have some pestering me but not actually biting. The gorge promised a lot, but just as I was about to enter it I noticed a sign saying the bridge was closed. That was disappointing as I was looking forward to walking over it. It is a short walk from the car park along a good trail, but with the bridge being out, was something of a let down as it wasn't possible to see the gorge properly and the main viewing platform was on the other side with no way to get to it!

Back up to the bike I headed off. Today was all about the ride with few places to visit, Applecross being the main one. Turning off the main road I was on very thin roads with passing places as previous days, but this time I had about 35 miles to ride. The rain looked like it would start anytime soon so I kitted up in my rain suit in preparation and I'm glad I did - it hammered down. The roads were great but it was quite frustrating not being able to ride at any speed as there was always something coming in the other direction. Finally after an hour and a half of riding I came to Applecross. It was the first village of any size offering refreshment and I took advantage, having chips and Diet Coke from an outdoor vendor. Very nice too. After lunch I set off down the road. The Sat Nav kept trying to turn me around but I presumed it was trying to take me back the way I came so I ignored it. Finally I came to a dead end! The Sat Nav was right! I took a couple of photos of the Loch so that it wasn't a totally wasted trip and also took off my rain suit as it was quite warm and not actually raining.

Back through Applecross and taking the right turn I headed up the Bealach Na Ba Pass which I think is what everyone comes for - it is amazing. Lots of twists and turns to the top, then even more on the way down. It is possible to see a long way ahead so there is plenty of time to find a passing place and not get surprised. I doubt anyone wants to reverse here. Finally I reached the bottom and some decent wide roads, although they were short-lived and it was soon back to narrow roads again, one of which really caught me out, combined with badly broken tarmac and oncoming traffic - I had a narrow escape which shook me up a bit. Continuing at a slower pace the road eventually becomes the A89 and much wider and better and I was able to make good progress all the way down to Fort Augustus. On the way I passed the Eilean Donon Castle which is the famous one on all the pictures - it is beautiful and I couldn't help stopping for a photo.

Passing the hotel I continued into the town to get fuel rather than mucking about in the morning as I would be on a tight timescale to get the early ferry. The fuel was one of those automated machines where you enter a payment limit. Not having my glasses I pressed the £80 button. No problem I thought, It's only an upper limit. I filled up and went back to the hotel to check in. My room was huge! Electing to have a bath I settled in and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep for a while! After the bath I dressed and thought I'd check my bank account. The petrol station showed a pending payment of £80! Oh bugger, I'd have to go down and sort it out. On arrival I asked the young girl who told me that's what it does, then refunds 'several days later'! Conning gits.

Back at the hotel I then discovered my toilet wouldn't flush! I told reception who came to confirm. He told me I could use the toilet in another room - that will be fun in the night! I did consider moving rooms but the other room smelled badly of cigarette smoke so I didn't bother. Maybe I'll use it, maybe I'll try the Himalayan method! Dinner was a kettle meal, it was okay, but I did realise that they are only really for camping as the taste is a little bland, but I didn't want a full sit-down meal as I wasn't that hungry. Rest of the evening was spend doing admin and watching TV, oh and checking the ferry times for tomorrow. I figured I'd need to leave by 7am if the Google Map timing is to be believed (just under two hours). I am a little surprised as it is the main 'A' road and only 75 miles. Never mind, if I'm there early that's fine, just don't want to be late as the next ferry is an hour and a half later.

Total Mileage:216

Hotel Summary: The Inch Hotel, Fort Augustus. Pretty good hotel apart from the toilet problem. The bed and the room were both huge. It would have been great for several days, shame it was only one. I didn't take advantage of the dining facilities so can't comment. Views from the hotel were fantastic.

Monday 16th August 2021

Early start and I was away by 7:15. The ride down to Oban was fast and nice, passing through Fort William but no sign of Ben Nevis! I arrived in Oban in good time at about 8:50 and made my way down to the port. Tickets purchased I headed for the queue for the ferry, but happily discovered I could go right to the front as I would load first. The ferry trip over is a real treat with lots of islands to watch go by and Mull getting ever closer. It is a lot bigger than I thought, with mountains into the distance (and into the cloud!). Dourt Castle is passed which was my first destination. Disembarking I headed off to the castle along a good road which became a single track for the final mile to the castle itself. Luckily I didn't meet anything coming the other way and I was soon parked. The sun was shining but there was a strong wind blowing so I took my coat, not that I actually needed it.

The castle is really interesting and well worth the visit. There is loads of information and a couple of guides giving lots of help and answering questions. The castle is the home of the MacLean family and has been for hundreds of years. Renovations are taking place and have been for many years - time and cost being the main issues. At the top of the castle, the views are impressive in all directions. I was there for about an hour and a half, including a visit to the shop and tea rooms for coffee and cake.

Eventually leaving I set off on my tour of the island, very quickly onto single track roads and whilst there was not a huge amount of traffic, progress was slow but I did keep stopping for photos so I can't really blame the roads. The far side by the Ben More Car Park is really impressive and I decided to stop for some food and drink, so raided my collection of nuts and biscuits. Deciding I was running short of time, I rode straight back to Salen then turned North to ride up to Tobermory. I only had about half an hour before having to leave to ride back down to the port 20 miles away. It wasn't as bad as I thought, being mostly good roads with only a relatively short section of single track. Back at the port the same story - head of the queue and first on. Back in Oban, it was just a mile to the B&B and I found it straight away. Nice room. Took a shower then headed into Oban for Fish 'n' Chips. Got a little lost on the way back but soon figured it out.

Total Mileage:169

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Scotlands North Coast 500

Tuesday 17th August 2021

Today it was the long awaited trip to Iona. It kind of completes the circle from Lindisfarne. Monks from Iona went to Lindisfarne to found a monastery there so it was good to see where they came from. The ferry from Mull was the same as yesterday although several cars had their alarms going off continuously due to the movement of the ferry which became very annoying. The ride over to Fionnport on mostly single track roads. Being on the island early meant there was little traffic in the opposite direction but of course it couldn't be guaranteed so care was needed. Over the high pass the rain or mist came, not quite sure. I didn't bother with my rain suit and figured my legs would stay dry if I kept moving.

Soon enough I arrived at the ferry port just in time to see the ferry depart! What timing but I couldn't have got there any quicker. There was a long wait of just over an hour for the next one, rather frustrating. The crossing itself takes just 15 minutes so I was soon walking up towards the Monastery. My ticket was for 1pm and it was just mid-day so I figured I had time to scale the highest point on the island. At 101m it is not much of a climb, but I managed to increase the interest by finding the hardest way up! Views from the summit were incredible. The whole island was in view as was a big part of Mull and one or two very small islands. Well worth it. Back down I arrived at the monastery at 12:45 but they were very conscious of the numbers already there so I had to wait 5 or 10 minutes. I'd thought it was a guided tour, but actually it's self-guided. The tour time mentioned is the amount of time allowed on the monastery grounds.

I must confess to a certain cynicism about the whole thing. For monks that preach humility and poverty their lifestyle seems out of all proportion. Attracting rich pilgrims (deliberately) boosted the wealth of the monastery, as it did on Lindisfarne. When St Columba was buried it was with great wealth! Some of the miracles attributed were comical. One mentioned that St Columba had predicted that a certain book created over many years would contain no spelling mistakes, save the omission of the Islands name, which is abbreviated to 'I'. Given the painstaking time and effort spent, being correct is not really surprising! Another mentions that he correctly predicted that on his death, pilgrims would find it difficult to get to the island due to the weather - hardly a miraculous prediction off the coast of Scotland! An hour is plenty of time to see the monastery and all its buildings and I was soon off to look in the various shops for souvenirs and food.

There is a small 'Spar' on the island where I purchased a sausage roll and crisps - a fine lunch which I took down to the beach. Trying to find a pin badge took me in just about every shop in vain. Eventually I returned to the 'Welcome' Shop by the monastery which has something close enough 'Iona Community'. Not wanting to return to Mull too early I walked along the beach south of the port for a while, planning to head towards the quarry. Of course this was when the rain put in an appearance and I found myself getting quite wet, so brolly out I headed back. A few minutes from the Port it stopped and the sun came out! Doh! I decided to sit a while and wait for the next ferry - there was one docked.

Eventually I left Iona and back on Mull had the 35 mile ride back to the port which actually went quite quickly - I think everyone was going in the same direction more or less so didn't encounter much traffic. I figured I had an hour to wait for the ferry, but was told the one currently docked was leaving early and I could take it. Happy Days! I got food on board to save having to go out again once I got back to the B&B. The car park at the B&B was full so I parked in a corner. As I was sorting my gear, the owner came out and saw where I'd parked. It wasn't in anyone's way, but there was a really badly parked car, so he went in and made the owner move it! It was actually more trouble than it was worth as I then had to move my bike again.

Total Mileage: 91

Hotel Summary: Glenview Guest House, Oban. Very pleasant couple of night stay. The room was big enough and everything worked just fine. Breakfast was a full cooked affair and very nice. There was no set time so the first day was early because of the ferry, second day more relaxed. When I left, they kindly allowed me to leave my bike in their car park whilst I explored Oban.

Wednesday 18th August 2021

An easy start to the day as I had no real plans. Decided to explore Oban so, leaving my bike and gear in the B&B car park I walked down into the town and found my way up to MacLeans Tower, an impressive large circular tower overlooking the town and islands. From there, down again and into Dunollie Woods, owned by the Woodland Trust, of which I am a member. Very nice walk along to the castle, which was closed, then back and uphill in search of the summit of Battleship Hill which I eventually found by following some way mark signs. Superb views from the top and well worth the climb. Back into town and a coffee and croissant in the local Costa. Suitably fed and watered I went shopping to buy last minute souvenirs, then back to the B&B to get changed to leave, which seemed to take an age. Eventually I was on the road down to Stirling. I'd decide to take the direct route as it was only 85 miles, so 60 miles shorter than my original 'scenic' route. Locating the B&B was easy enough and I was soon in and showered. Off into the town for dinner I spied a 'Weatherspoons' type pub/restaurant which would do the trick. Had chicken burger and a couple of beers before back to the B&B for admin and bed.

Total Mileage: 87

Hotel Summary: Lost Guest House, Stirling. Warm welcome from the owner. Off road car parking and about 5 minutes walk from shops and pubs. The room was a good size and clean. Bathroom was good. Breakfast was extra but only £4 so well worth it for a full cooked.

Thursday 19th August 2021

It was just a ride down to Preston today but I remembered that 'The Kelpies' was close by, so detoured to see that. They are well worth it, comprising two huge horses heads made from steel plates. Parking is quite close by and there is a coffee shop, not that I bothered having not long had breakfast.

From there it was just a ride down the Motorways, stopping a couple of times for a break, once at Gretna Green - tacky and not worth it, and also at Tebay for lunch, which was also barely worth it - a simple sandwich and crisps was beyond them!

The hotel took a bit of finding as the postcode took me to the wrong place and when I finally got the right road, I had to do a U-turn to get in - there is probably an easy way, but obviously you have to know it. I took a bath in probably the smallest bath ever, which clearly had not been cleaned properly as there were hairs on the taps - definitely not mine! I then went over to the local garage to get food - the hotel restaurant was closed!

Total Mileage: 217

Friday 20th August 2021

A final ride down the M6/M5 to home. Nothing exciting and I was pleased to be back.

Total Mileage: 140

Page 1

Republic and Northern Ireland Tour 2022

For a list of Sites in Ireland that I have visited, click here

Day 1: Home to Holyhead. 22nd August 2022

I decided to take the scenic route over to Leominster and then up to Shrewsbury via Church Stretton. It was a good ride, but there was a lot of traffic which slowed the pace somewhat. Once on the A5 I made good progress and soon found myself in Llangollen. From there it was 30 miles to Betwys y Coed where I had planned to stop. Up until now I'd had good weather, not hot but not cold. On arrival in Betwys I felt a little dampness in the air but no problem, I was off for a coffee anyway.

My favourite cafe looked very busy with tourists so I decided to go over to the Hotel. Also the cafe toilets weren't working and the car park toilets charge 30p. I don't have a problem with 30p per se, but I do object to paying to use the toilets!

The hotel turned out to be inspired. After a 'visit' I settled down to enjoy a Cappucino and scone with jam and cream - awesome.

On leaving, it was raining properly now so out came the yellow suit. Riding up through the Ogwen Valley was nice, although it was properly raining so not much in the way of views. Down through Bethesda the rain came heavy and I was pleased to have the suit on.

Soon enough the rain stopped but I kept the suit on so that it might dry.

Holyhead Terminal was a very efficient check in, only requiring my name. I was soon in the motorbike queue. It was warm now so I stripped off and packed away the suit and enjoyed the sunshine until loading time.

The journey across was nothing special, I spent most of the time reading, eating my lunch and wandering around aimlessly. As the ferry pulled into the port, people started heading for the stairs. I waited a while as there was little point getting down too early, but eventually I decided to join them. Standing by the exit door, I leaned back and felt my head touch something. Thinking nothing of it I moved away, but suddenly the fire door began to close and the sirens went off! I'd knocked the Fire Alarm switch by mistake! One of the crew came over to deal with it and I thought it best to confess. She told me that I wasn't the first! Fun ending to a ferry crossing though.

Dublin to Bettystown

Exiting the port was straightforward, customs only wanted to know my nationality and that was the formal stuff done.

Exiting Dublin onto the M50/M1 was a bit slow with lots of traffic and seemingly hundreds of traffic lights. The motorway section was fast and easy and I soon pulled off for the remaining few miles to Bettystown.

The apartment took some finding as it was in a block with many similar apartments and the entrance as I finally found was around the back. It took me a while to find the right floor - apartments beginning '4' were in fact on the third floor! Once located I then had a long chat with the owner about where to leave the bike, finally agreeing that the underground locked car park would be best - that also took some finding but we finally got it sorted and I bought my bags up. Ray took some time explaining that the caretaker was a bit of a pain - not the words Ray used, but they can't be repeated! He said that there might be some issues with the bike parked in the garage but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The owner was very friendly and accommodating - the AirBnB shares his home which is a first for me, we'll see how it goes.

Once settled in and showered I went out in search of food, having had the local hotel recommended, but as I stepped out, the rain came. Change of plan, I'd get something from Tescos instead so came away with a microwave meal, dessert and a couple of bottles of Diet Coke, finally eating just after 9pm.

Day 2: Newgrange. 23rd August 2022

After the discussion last night about the motorbike I wanted to get out early to make sure all was well - it was.

Newgrange was about 30 minutes drive away and easy to find, being well signposted. The car park was almost empty but there was a special parking area for motorbikes so I used that. It was still quite cool so I changed into long trousers and my jacket. I was very early, arriving just before 9am with my tour time at 9:45am. I figured it would give me plenty of time in case I got lost and also the faff of getting changed.

Walking down I got my Nikon camera out to take some photos, but it refused to work. Investigation showed me that I'd not put the battery in! How that happened I have no idea. I'd charged the main battery and the spare but obviously forgotten to put it back in. I'd even left my Canon camera back at the B&B as I 'knew' I wouldn't need it!

I returned the camera to the bike and walked back down, annoyed with myself for not checking. Oh well, it would have to be phone photos. On arrival all I needed was my name - much more efficient than the British! My tour time was 10:30am. As it turned out, they get you to the centre 45 minutes early anyway!

I had plenty of time therefore for a look around the visitor centre and the exhibitions which I have to say, were very impressive. I broke off to get coffee and a something to eat (sausage roll) which seemed expensive at €8 but I guess about par. That done, I started walking up to where the bus would collect us. It takes a leisurely 10 minutes along a nice walkway.

Soon enough the bus arrived and the 20 or so visitors piled in. The journey was about 10-15 minutes only down some very narrow lanes. First stop, Knowth where we were met by a very pleasant tour guide who took us on a very informative tour around the site, then gave us 30 minutes or so to explore on our own. It's a very impressive site with numerous satellite mounds around the main one. This one cannot be entered but there are steps onto the top, which commands an excellent view all around, including over to Newgrange itself. There are quite a few man-made sections to this, mostly to support the structure and to show it off how it might have looked all those thousands of years ago.

Walking back to the pick up point, we were shown a short film, giving details of the site and how it developed and why, then onto the bus for the trip to Newgrange, another 10-15 minutes away.

Newgrange is much bigger than Knowth, although I suspect the overall size of the site is pretty much the same, but Newgrange only has one burial mound rather than the dozen or so at Knowth.

Again we were met by a guide who gave us some detail but very cleverly avoided repeating what we'd heard earlier which I thought was good.

The walk up takes just a few minutes and we arrived at the entrance. As it is narrow we had to leave our bags in a locker which was fine, no photos could be taken inside anyway. The walkway is less than 20 metres, but very narrow and very low in places requiring some serious ducking. It is fascinating inside and incredible to think at what you see is completely unchanged from when it was built. The talk even includes a simulation of the Winter Solstice with the light entering the tunnel.

Back outside we were given a little time, not really enough in my opinion, but time to explore around the outside. It would have been nice to have sat and soaked in the atmosphere for a while.

The bus back was quick and I had time to finish my tour of the centre and grab a couple of souvenir pin badges, although at €14 for one it was a bit expensive. To be fair, it was bronze and it was a souvenir of a place I'll probably never visit again.

Back at the bike, it was still early, only about 1pm. I'd not got anything else planned for the day so I had a look at my list of places to visit and found that the Hill of Slane was quite close. That would do for the next stop.

It was only about 20 minutes ride, but rather than parking in Slane and walking up I rode, mostly because Slane seemed to be a one road town and by the time I realised I'd gone past and on my way to turn around, noticed a sign for the Hill of Slane.

It's quite impressive for what it is - a ruined church and ruined very small monastery, but interesting, especially the graves in the churchyard which were incredibly well kept. Half an hour was plenty to see it and I was soon back at the bike wondering what to do next. I'd remembered that Mellifont Abbey was close by so set my Sat Nav to that and headed over. It's a matter of 4-5 miles and ends down a very narrow lane. The Abbey itself is free to visit, but has no refreshment facilities of any kind. Also the visitor centre has a fee which I decided not to bother with as it didn't look all that interesting. I'd recommend the Abbey as, whilst it is mostly ruin, there are some sections reasonably intact and a lot of effort has gone into information boards around the site.

It was time to leave for the B&B now. I planned to go back for a shower, then walk down to the beach and investigate Bettystown.

No one was home when I got back and after a very nice shower, headed down to the beach which was only a short walk away. I walked down to the beach and back, then sat on a stone and read for a while until I decided I needed to eat. Undecided about what to have I walked back up and on the way, voted myself Fish n Chips. Once purchased, I walked back to the beach again to eat them. Good decision, they were excellent and filled me to overflowing.

A detour to Tesco again for drinks and lunch for tomorrow and back to the apartment for coffee and cookies.

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Republic and Northern Ireland Tour 2022

Day 3: Tara and Trim. 24th August 2022

Most places seem to open around 10:00am so I was in no desperate hurry to leave. First stop, however, was Skryne or Skreen depending on which Google result you read. I'd programmed it into my Sat Nav but it stopped me short and I wondered whether I'd got it wrong. Out with the phone to check. No, it was right, but I needed to carry on up the road a short way to reach the Metropolis. It is a one pub town, well, actually a hamlet and seems to have two pubs!

I parked up by the Hill of Skryne which seemed to be nothing more than a ruined church. Not bothering to change, I wandered up, took a couple of photos and was away in no more than 10 minutes. Poor start to the day.

Next stop was the Hill of Tara which promised much more and indeed, delivered. It is clearly a popular destination with its own car park, already almost full and it was only 9:30am. The hill itself is open access so no worries about opening times, but there was a visitor centre.

Deciding what I really needed was a coffee I wandered down in search and soon located MacGuires Coffee shop. I'd promised myself just a coffee as I had plenty of food on the bike, but couldn't resist a croissant - well, I am on holiday! Both were excellent and suitably full, headed off up the hill. It was still quite cool so I put on my jacket. The hill itself requires a considerable amount of imagination to bring it to life and as I walked around I tried to imagine the burial grounds of ancient times.

Eventually I figured I'd seen it all so walked down to the visitor centre which was actually a church. They show a 20 minute video, free of charge, which explains the full history and is well worth spending the time. It also shows computer generated imagery of how the hill might have looked which really bought it to life.

All that done, back to the bike and on to Bective Abbey where I decided to have lunch. The ride over was fairly quick, although the final road was closed due to resurfacing so I had to go a long way around, only to find the other end closed for the same reason! Asking a workman, he said it would be okay to ride down the road, which, end to end was less than a mile and it would have been quicker for me to park the bike at the first blockage and walked! Oh well, the good news was that I had the entire place to myself. Finding a suitable spot I tucked into my lunch, comprising a meat pie and cookie with a Diet Coke. Very nice and by now the sun was out and it was warm.

Lunch done, I toured the Abbey which took around 20 minutes or so then headed back the short distance to the car park. Another free ruin to visit.

Geared up, I was off to Trim for the highlight of the day which was Trim Castle. It is easy to find, being in the centre of the town and has a car park right next door.

The grounds are free to enter but the tour of the Keep is €5. I elected to do the tour which was due to start about 20 minutes later.

The grounds of the castle are about 3 acres which is impressive and the Keep is on several floors which were added over time. Apparently it was used in the Braveheart movie which means I'll have to watch it again to see if I recognise anything.

The tour took around an hour and was extremely informative and interesting. We made our way right up to the roof which had superb views all around, including the home of Jonathan Swift and the School that the Duke of Wellington attended.

That over I completed my walk around the grounds, then wandered around Trim which was uninteresting, but I did stop for another coffee and failed to resist a huge cream cake! My diet is out of the window this week.

It was around 3pm so too early to go back to the apartment really but I decided to go anyway with the intention of a shower and walk on the beach. On the way, I changed my mind and headed for Drogheda to visit the museum and tower, arriving there just before 4pm.

I did the tower first which was very interesting but the guide talked at 90 miles an hour which made keeping up tricky. There was a model of the battle of Waterloo and I never got to the bottom of why it was there except the guides were bored during Covid lockdowns and someone had donated a load of toy soldiers. The tower itself could easily take an hour but I did a whistle stop tour in 30 minutes, then over to the main museum.

The main museum is not huge but I was running out of time anyway, so managed to see it in a quick 30 minute tour - they both close at 5pm. The museum was less interesting, being a history of the town with very little from outside so a bit lost on a tourist really. Never mind, it was worth seeing.

From there, back to the apartment for a shower and food, which again was a take away from Tesco - at least it is cheap!

Accommodation: AirBnB in Bettystown

It was the first time I'd used an AirBnB so I didn't know what to expect. I had a room in the owners home which was a good size, but had to share a bathroom rather than having my own which obviously had issues during the night, otherwise fine as the other occupants kept different hours to me. Some of the time the owner was at home, other times not which worked well, although he was quite a talker so it was sometimes hard to get away, especially when I'd just returned from a day out and needed a shower and change. Overall happy and an experience I'd probably repeat.

Day 4 Four Knocks and Kells. 25th August 2022

I woke quite early and decided I'd leave as soon as I was ready which was just after 8am. I collected the bike from the garage and loaded up. First stop today was Four Knocks Burial site which was not too far away and easily located. It is very close to the road so I decided not to bother getting changed, but locked the helmet onto the bike and grabbed my camera. Just as I started up the path, there was a notice saying that the key could be obtained from the seventh house down the road just a mile away. Back to the bike, gear away and off I went in search. Initially I followed the actual road which is wrong! The actual directions are first left at the T-Junction then straight on at the 'Y' turning. Including the house immediately on the corner, it is indeed the seventh house, a small white bungalow. A €20 deposit is required for the key and I was soon back at the site.

A car, that had been at the house pulled up shortly after me, turns out they too were after the key. We walked up to the site and unlocked. Four Knocks is a single Burial Chamber with a short, low entrance that soon opens up into the main chamber, with three side chambers as is usual with these sites. The driver of the car turned out to be a local guide and I listened in as he told his clients the history of the site. There are some quite intricate carvings on the rocks which are not obvious until pointed out.

I'd allowed an hour at the site, but 30 minutes is plenty, including the brief climb to the top to look at the view, which is pretty impressive, as far as the Wicklow Mountains in one direction and the mountains of Northern Ireland in the other.

All done, I returned the key and set off for my next destination, which last night I'd decided would be Dowth as I'd not seen it when visiting Newgrange a couple of days ago. The Sat Nav couldn't find it so I'd written paper instructions but had no way of displaying them so I had to stop a couple of times and made a couple of errors before finally getting on to the M1 going North. One of the detours took me to a Petrol Station so I took the opportunity of filling up. Onto the M1, which is a Toll motorway, charging the very reasonable sum of €1 for a motorbike I was soon pulling off again and down the N51 to turn down a very narrow lane which led to Dowth. I missed it initially but realised when I recognised the road we had driven down from Newgrange a couple of days ago. Despite what the driver had said, there were no signposts indicating the site.

Changing into my shorts I grabbed the camera and headed up. I quickly realised why it is not on the major tour! It is a great disappointment, being very overgrown and barely recognisable as anything more than a mound of earth. Suitably disappointed I returned to the bike, dressed and headed off to Kells.

Some small lanes and some reasonable roads bought me to the town and I found a parking space close to the Round Tower, one of the highlights of the town. Unsure whether I needed a parking ticket I invented my story in readiness which was that I bought a ticket which must have blown away! The Round Tower was inaccessible but in the grounds of St Colmcilles church which proclaimed to be open - it wasn't! Disappointed I decided coffee was needed so rode the short distance down to what seemed to be the town but joined a long queue of traffic so pulled into a parking space and walked over the road to the nearby hotel. The coffee here was very nice and I enjoyed the break. Consulting my phone for Kells attractions I spied St Colmcilles house. Further Googling claimed it was closed! It was on my way out of town so I figured I'd take a look and see. Finishing up I headed out, returned to the bike and rode the short distance up the hill. The house was not only closed, but so were the grounds surrounding it!

That was Kells. Next stop Loughcrew Cairns, a late addition to the itinerary and hopefully the saviour of the day.

It is well signposted once on the right road. As I rode along it started to rain. I tried to ignore it but it got heavier so I stopped and put on my suit which of course, caused the rain to stop! Not bothering to stop again I continued and I soon arrived at the good sized car park. A small welcome hut informed of the basics which were that the car park was free, access to the Cairns was free and there were guides at the top who gave free tours!

Lunchtime first though comprising a meat pie and cookie I purchased a couple of days ago. That done, I set off on the 15 minute walk to the top. It was nice weather again so it was shorts and T-shirt. There is a great view from the top. I wandered over to the guides hut and enquired about the next tour. Ten minutes I was told - perfect.

It turned out I was the only one doing the tour which was nice. It was very comprehensive and we had a nice chat about other sites I'd visited and how it all stitches together. Unfortunately, it started to rain, so we took shelter by the main Cairn entrance until the other guide bought us an umbrella! Luckily it was only a shower and we were soon able to continue. There were a lot of similarities between this, Newgrange and Four Knocks which bought it all together. On the top we were also able to see other Cairns on other hills, plus hill forts dotted around and some other notable markings. Also the view was amazing right the way to Northern Ireland in one direction and the Donegal area in the other, where the rain clouds were gathering unfortunately.

The tour took an hour which flew by and I headed down to the bike, promising myself a warming coffee at the local shop which was actually only a minute or so down the hill on the bike - I probably should have walked. Ho hum.

Coffee done, I set the Sat Nav for the B&B and set off. A mixture of roads and just under an hour I pulled into the drive, it being exactly where the Sat Nav said it would be. It was 5pm.

The owner suggested I park in the garage which I was happy with. Unpacked, I had a coffee and biscuit, then caught up on messages and news, then had one of my boil in the bag meals as I didn't feel like going out, even though there was a pub just a few minutes away. I'll save myself for Donegal tomorrow.

The rest of the evening was spent diary writing, sock washing and reading.

Accommodation: Fortview House.

Very nice welcoming host, put me at my ease straight away. The room was a good size, although in addition to my single bed, there was also a double so it might have been tight for three. En suite was good, but the shower was small. There was a guest sitting room with cake available which I took advantage of. The Wi-Fi didn't work in the bedroom but was fine in the sitting room. Apparently there was a pub just down the road but I'd had a good lunch and wasn't hungry for too much so just had a boil in the bag meal. Breakfast was huge and awesome and I felt very fat all day.

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Republic and Northern Ireland Tour 2022

Day 5: Donegal. 26th August 2022

Breakfast was huge! A full Irish filled me to overflowing.

I left around 9am and got to Crom just before 10:00am which was perfect as it didn't open until 10:00am. Changing and stowing my gear I walked down to the visitor centre for a look around. Despite being NT I don't think the girl on reception really wanted my card, perhaps I should have shown it somewhere else?

The centre was interesting, telling the story of the Castle and its owners, who by all accounts were very wealthy people but ultimately tragic as several died in the First World War.

That done, I took a map and went for a walk around the grounds and to the old castle which is a ruin. Along the edge of the lough I eventually came to a bridge over to a small island, but there wasn't much there so I decided not to bother and walk back the long way to the Visitor centre. The return was walk pretty dull as it soon came onto the Estate road which it followed back. I should have retraced my steps.

Not wanting anything to eat or drink I set about putting on my biking gear and heading off for the next stop. It was 11:30 and my Sat Nav claimed 13:45 arrival time in Killybegs which was actually about 10 minutes short of my actual destination of Largy Waterfall, also known as the Hidden Waterfall for reasons that will become apparent shortly. It is on the beach and access is tide dependent. I'd already checked the low tide time which was 12:15, so it would have turned and be rising by the time I got there, but would it be too high?

The ride over was again on mixed roads, some thin and some good but from Eniskillen the roads were very good. Dipping in and out of Northern Ireland happened almost invisibly, the only tell tale sign was whether or not the signs were in Miles per Hour (North) or Kilometres per Hour (South). Whilst in the North I decided to fill up with fuel, not that I needed it, but I could use Sterling, thereby saving my Euros.

Donegal came and went as did Killybegs and after about 10 minutes, the time that the on-line guide reckoned, I found myself riding up a hill to a car park and view point with a coffee seller, as described.

Stopping, I enquired and was told that it was the place but as the low tide was some time ago, I might be too late. I decided to give it a try and after quickly changing, headed back down the hill for a couple of hundred metres to a gate and followed the path down to the beach. There was some activity to my right so I figured it was the direction (it was) so walked over, jumping from boulder to boulder and onto the rocky section.

As I approached it got more difficult to make progress but luckily I was helped up some of the steeper and wetter sections by lads coming the other way.

Realising time was short I quickly made my way into the cave, took a few quick photos and beat a hasty retreat out. It had probably only taken 10 minutes from the bottom of the path to the cave but I'd moved quickly.

The return journey was actually easier than the outgoing journey as the steep climbs up could be jumped down. Even so, I still needed a hand at one point, although a girl in front of me needed a push as her boyfriend couldn't pull her up so I found myself with my hands on the buttocks of a total stranger! Neither of us seemed to mind! He then helped me so teamwork won the day. Soon back on the beach I headed back up to the car park and had a well earned coffee and cake.

Next stop was Slieve League cliffs another 10 miles or so distant. I'd wondered at one point whether I was going in the right direction as there was no sign of the cliffs, but they are hidden. Following other traffic to a car park I was told by the parking attendant that motorbikes were allowed to ride right to the top, whereas car drivers had to park and walk. It is probably a mile or so and all steeply uphill. On the way I got some interesting looks and I couldn't work out whether it was because I was riding up and they had to walk or whether they just objected to a motorbike riding up and disturbing their walk.

When I got to the top there were several other bikes there so I didn't feel so bad.

There are a few 'gift shop' vans there which I managed to ignore and after changing took a walk to the viewpoint and then up the hill a way for a better view. In all I was probably there for an hour before setting off for Donegal which meant retracing my route out. It's less than 30 miles and all on good roads so I was soon at the B&B.

The day had been good, with no rain and I'd only got a bit cold at one point so all in all, no complaints.

Showering and changing I headed into town for a look around and some dinner. Several restaurants had menus and price lists and they all look to be similar prices so I picked one and went in.

Chicken burger, chips and a pint of Guinness did the trick nicely and I came out feeling very fat. There was a festival on over the weekend so I thought I'd see what was going on. A few guys were giving speeches but then there was a cookery demonstration which was interesting and gave me a few ideas to try out when I get home. After that, I watched some Fire Breathers doing a presentation which was really good, but I was beginning to feel cold so decided to walk the mile or so back to the B&B.

Accommodation: Farmleigh Guest House

The owner didn't live at the property but was there to meet me. He told me there was food in the kitchen for breakfast even though I'd not paid for a breakfast which was a nice touch. It took about 15 minutes to walk into the centre of town. Nice room, not huge but big enough. There was a good sized kitchen, a dining area and a sitting room. Good bed and nice shower, although it took a while to drain and I thought the bathroom might flood!

Day 6: Glenveigh. 27th August 2022

Starting out it was a bit dull and overcast, but I decided to wear my jacket liner and see how it went. Not far into the ride and I stopped to change out of that and into my yellow suit as the rain was coming down heavier. The first destination was the Errigal Mountain, although at over 750m I had no intention of climbing it, but it seemed like a scenic way of getting to the North of County Donegal. Riding towards it, the mountain stands out and, if not for the cloud, would be very impressive indeed. I did think about stopping for photos but there was nowhere suitable so I rode on until I found a lay-by which seemed to have been designed as the only place with no view of the mountain!

Riding on I passed the obvious car park for the mountain but continued. My first actual site of the day was Doe Castle which took some finding as the Sat Nav took me down a road, then made me do a U-turn! There were some very thin roads and I'm pretty certain I didn't take the best way, but eventually I arrived. Doe Castle is a ruin with not much to see, but it's free and there was a decent car park, plus as I discovered as I was thinking of leaving, a coffee shop. Unable to resist I took advantage.

I'd stayed in my biking gear as the car park is right next to the castle and it wasn't that big, plus it was still raining.

Next stop was Glen Veigh Castle some 7 miles away. Easily located I pulled into the large car park and found a spot. It was still raining so it was a race to get out of the biking gear and into clothes without getting wet. Some serious faffing about deciding what to take and what to leave and I headed off to the Visitor Centre, then realised I had bought a brolly with me so went back to get it, but had to open every bag to locate it. Suitably annoyed with myself I set off again to the Visitor Centre to see what the deal was. It turned out that the castle was closed, but there was a shuttle bus that took visitors the 4km down to it. I decided I would walk as I needed the fresh air and although it was still raining, it wasn't too bad. There was a cafe at the centre and I promised myself a meal on my return.

The walk down is on a good track with a nice view of the Lough and took about 40 minutes. The rain persisted the entire walk!

The castle itself is quite small and looks relatively modern. It has some good facilities though, with a small shop, toilets, some walking trails and another cafe. The name of the cafe amused me greatly; 'Synge and Byrne'. I decided I was too hungry to wait until I got back to the Visitor Centre so went in for a Chicken Ciabatta and drink. Very nice it was too.

A quick look around and I made the decision to walk back. It was still damp, though not raining now, but midges were making their presence known and I regretted not bringing my spray! The walk back seemed easier and quicker, I guess because I could see the destination, but also it wasn't raining and I kept a good pace as the midges were now becoming a serious irritation.

Back at the car park, it was a race to get changed before being eaten alive, the midges seemed to be attracted to my bike for some reason and there were hundreds so I grabbed my gear and moved away to get dressed.

The ride to the B&B took about 20 minutes or so and I was checking in just after 4pm. I'd had enough for the day anyway.

The room was huge and very well kitted out so I was pleased with that. I then set about making a mess trying to reorganise my gear which had been thrown into the panniers in my hurry to get gone.

Accommodation: Bridgeburn House

Really nice house, huge bedroom and huge bathroom very well laid out. The sitting room was huge and the sofa comfortable. Breakfast was awesome. Best overnight stop so far.

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Republic and Northern Ireland Tour 2022

Day 7: Coleraine. 28th August 2022

After a huge breakfast I set off for the first site of the day; Beltany Stone Circle. To get to it required riding some more thin roads. The car park is very small and at the end of a lane, but I was the only one there so no worries. I parked up and decided to walk up in my biking gear as it was still quite cool, not walking in biking gear, but the air temperature!

Having researched it, I knew it was only five minutes or so up a narrow track and there was a signpost so no navigation issues to worry about. The path ascends the small hill to the entrance on the left. The circle is a little way across the field and to be honest, as far as stone circles go, fairly unimpressive. I walked around hoping for something of interest, but was disappointed and soon left. I was back at the bike within 20 minutes.

Next stop was Doagh (pronounced Dough) Famine Village which I hoped would be better. It was quite a long ride, but mostly on good roads so enjoyed the ride. The roads get very narrow on approach and I felt I was going right down to the beach, which I kind of was as the village was a fishing village and very close to the water.

Pulling in to the huge car park, I found a good parking space and got changed. Deciding to have coffee first I headed into the cafe and was told that purchasing a ticket to the Village qualified me for a free coffee and scone! The scone was lovely, but the coffee pretty average even though I'd asked for a latte, it seemed to be an ordinary coffee with milk.

The guide arrived and we walked over to the village. He took us into several buildings, giving us a very comprehensive history of the site and telling us the origins of many sayings, 'away with the fairies' being my favourite. It turned out that he actually grew up in the village, or at least gave the impression of growing up in the village, showing us pictures of his parents on the wall of one of the houses. We also saw the kind of food they would eat, mostly sea food based, not surprisingly given the location so close to the sea. The tour took about thirty minutes and was very interesting, then we were left to explore. I initially thought it was quite small, but then wandered down a tunnel with an exhibition on one side which then opened up into a much bigger area with life sized exhibitions of all aspects of both the village and Irish life in general. I was amazed how big the site was and I could have spent much longer there but had an itinerary which was optimistic so sadly had to leave.

Next stop was Malin Head. I elected to ignore the. Sat Nav and follow signs to Malin and then onto Malin Head. It's a real tourist attraction with cars parked everywhere. I rode most of the way to the top and parked up. The top was only a few minutes away so didn't bother to get changed and walked up in my biking gear. The view from the top is stunning, being able to see all the way to Scotland.

Having had my fill and taken lots of photos it was time for the big ride to Port Stewart. I'd included Dunluce Castle in the itinerary but there was no way I was going to make it in a reasonable time, so set the destination to the hotel.

It's a long ride back to Derry. There was the option of the ferry from the top of the head, but the time would have been the same and there was no timetable for the ferry and no guarantee it was even running!

About an hour and a half later I rode into the town and found the hotel quickly. It was obviously popular as the car park was full, but I found a slot for the bike and parked up.

The hotel is a (not so) cheap and cheerful one and the room basic. I showered and changed, then walked down to the front to get fish and chips. There were hundreds of people around, clearly it is a very popular destination. The food was nice and I felt fat afterwards.

The rest of the evening was spent chilling and sorting my gear ready for an early start tomorrow.

Accommodation: Ramblers Inn

A basic no nonsense hotel catering for one or two night travellers, almost a poor mans Premier Inn, although it was as expensive so hardly poor mans. The room was adequate but small and the bathroom equally adequate but small. There were no facilities in the room but in the communal area a kettle and free coffee. The beach and seafront were about five minutes walk away so very convenient for cafes etc. Okay for one night.

Day 8: Tour of the North. 29th August 2022

Having booked a slot at the Giants Causeway, I was on a time schedule, although given that there was no breakfast and not much in the way of facilities, I made do with a coffee and a couple of breakfast bars which I figured would keep me going for a while.

The Giants Causeway was about 25 minutes ride along the coast and I was soon pulling in. My entrance time was 9:30am and I'd arrived just after 9:00am which would give me plenty of faffing time. As with most NT timed entrances, it is notional only to try and avoid busy times.

I was given a wrist band immediately and allowed in even though it was only 9:15am.

The visitor centre is huge, clearly this is big business and judging by the number of foreign looking people and American accents - why are they the loudest - it is quite the money spinner. For me though, free.

I picked up an audio guide and headed down the 500m or so walk to the water level, listening to the various audio tracks as I went. The Giants Causeway itself is massively over rated! Yes, it's impressive in itself, but it's not very big. I was surprised when it came and went so quickly and continued walking, looking for the huge causeway that I'd been expecting and quite surprised and disappointed when I realised I'd seen it all. I would have been really disappointed if I'd paid £13.50 for it.

The walk continues to a point and then stops due to erosion but there is a higher level walk to return which I took. Actually, if I ever went there again, which is doubtful, I'd probably walk along the top first, then drop down and return via the actual causeway.

I was hungry by now so went into the visitor centre and decided to put up with the extortionate NT food costs. As it turned out, a sandwich and drink was less than £6 which in todays climate is not that bad.

Finally I decided to leave, having been there a surprising two hours. Probably less than. 20 minutes of which was looking at the Causeway.

Next stop was the Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge. On arrival I was asked if I had a ticket, I didn't, so was told that I could possibly get one on line but 1pm would be the earliest I could get. Rather amazingly, they are not allowed to sell them there! It was mid-day so I decided to try.

I managed to get a ticket for 1pm so walked back to the entrance to tell the young lady I had it and ask what I should do. She gave me a ticket and marked it 12:00 so that I could go down straight away! Very nice I thought.

The walk down to the bridge takes about 20 minutes and as I approached I got a very bad feeling as the gap to the island seemed to get narrower as I approached. On arrival there was a queue but I could see that the crossing was indeed very narrow and the whole experience had, like the Causeway, been massively over sold. If I'd had to pay for this one, I think I would have demanded my money back! Anyway, I was there so went across. It's popular so they allow one way traffic a group at a time.

The island is very small so after a few photos I returned and walked back to the visitor centre and dressed for the next part of the journey which was the Coast Road ride.

I'd got a couple of places to visit en route, but I decided to ride on and stop at Carrickfergus Castle which would get a large part of the journey done. The coast road is a nice road but does disappear into towns frequently which slows the journey. Finally I arrived in Carrickfergus just in time to miss the Castle activities which looked like they were quite fun. I was also too late for the castle. Oh well, I took a walk into the harbour to get some photos of the castle then headed back to the bike.

The final part of the ride seemed to take forever as I had to pass through Belfast and then some smaller towns on the way and finally down some very thin roads again to get to the lodge.

As I arrived, the staff seemed to be leaving for the night. I managed to grab one and enquire about the room and key - it was far from obvious!

My room was a twin room, quite small in what could easily pass for a Youth Hostel. There's a Lounge and Kitchen and that's about it.

I took a shower, eventually when the hot water finally got through but it was a poor effort for a shower. Down for something to eat, luckily I still had a couple of emergency meals so decided to cook the one that took the most effort as I don't know what facilities or diners will be available tomorrow night.

After that, a quick walk around outside I discovered there is a campsite but the ground must be at an angle of 30 degrees!

The rest of the evening was admin and a reasonably early night.

Accommodation: Meelmore Lodge

More like a Youth Hostel and way over priced for what it was. The shower quality was poor and the hot water took an age to come through. There is a kitchen and lounge area but the kitchen didn't seem very clean, some of the pans had burned remains of previous cooking. The room was a bit smelly and didn't feel fresh. There is nowhere to go nearby for food so be prepared to drive to Newcastle or bring provisions. The only upside was the view out to the Mourne Mountains which was spectacular.

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Republic and Northern Ireland Tour 2022

Day 9: Back to the Republic. 30th August 2022

I packed early and headed out to the Bistro for breakfast only to find it didn't open until 9:00am. I decided I wouldn't wait as I was so disgusted with the place I wasn't about to give them any more of my money.

Riding into Newcastle took around 10 minutes and I was soon parked and heading off to find a cafe. Almost immediately I found one and ordered a full breakfast which was superb.

From there I rode up to Tollymore Park. There is a parking fee of £2.50 for motorbikes but the warden just waved me in, so happy with that.

Changing I went back to the warden, grabbed a map and set off on the longest walk. All walks are very well marked on good trails. This one headed up to some excellent views of the Mourne mountains. A lot of the walking is in forest areas so not much to look at and I did think there would be some Game of Throne references as they filmed scenes in the forest, but nothing. There were some interesting old bridges dating back more than 200 years.

It was a great way to spend a couple of hours or so. Back at the car park I got a coffee as I figured I'd deserved it.

Eventually it was time to leave and I set off down the coast to Newry and then to a small Dolmen called Ballykeel. It was barely worth it but it occupied some time and it was on the way to the B&B anyway.

From there, it was just over 20 miles which soon went but as I got to the Sat Nav destination, I realised I'd set it to the centre of the nearby town (Kingscourt) and not the B&B. Consulting my phone I discovered I'd passed the road several minutes earlier so turned around and headed back. A few minutes later I arrived.

The room was a good size and the host friendly. I enquired about eating out but it seems that the nearest pub was some distance away and even then not guaranteed. Apparently everything in the local town would be closed and in any case, was a bit too far to walk. By luck or good planning, I'd saved an Emergency meal so decided to have that instead.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and trying, without success, to book tickets for the Book of Kells visit at Trinity College tomorrow. Oh well, I'll plan to go and hope I can get a ticket on the day.

Some slight repacking as I'm on the ferry tomorrow but otherwise standard stuff.

Accommodation: Plantation Lodge

Nice accommodation but a long way from anywhere. Kingscourt is the nearest town but according to the owner, nowhere to get dinner. Room and bathroom were a good size and well furnished. The dining room was available with kettle and microwave if needed. Parking was behind the house so nice and secure out of sight.

Day 10: Dublin and Ferry. 31st August 2022

Another early start today as I wanted to visit Dublin City before going to the ferry. The ride in started on thin roads but sooner opened up eventually to the Motorway for a while.

As I approached Dublin, my speed dropped dramatically and I found I was averaging just a few miles per hour. It would have definitely been quicker to walk. Dublin seems to be the home of the traffic light, there are hundreds and the sequencing is such that only a few cars are allowed through before they change again. I'm not one for running amber lights but on a couple of occasions I did it out of sheer frustration. Finally I arrived at the (free) motorbike park. Apparently it is illegal to park a motorbike in a pay and display car park, even with a ticket!

Trinity college was my intended destination to visit the Book of Kells which would round out my visit to Kells this year and Lindisfarne and Iona last year. The walk to the college took about 10 minutes and I was soon walking across the campus to the library.

Purchasing a ticket can only be done on line, how people without phones get on I have no idea! Anyway the process was simple and I got a ticket for the next admission which was 11:30, meaning I had time to walk around the campus and take some photos.

The tour starts with a full explanation of the history of the book and copies of some of the pages which was very interesting. Onto the darkened room to view the book itself. I have to say, it was something of a disappointment. Yes, it's impressive for its time and history, but it doesn't fill me with awe and amazement like I was hoping it would. It is open at a particular page which is turned every 8 weeks or so, not for the benefit of the visitors, but to give each page equal light and humidity, the whole thing being sealed in a temperature and humidity controlled display cabinet.

From there, next stop is the library, which I have to say was considerably more impressive with its thousands of ancient book lining shelves from floor to ceiling. Along both sides are busts of famous men, apparently no women were allowed, but in recent, more enlightened times this is changing and three will appear next year.

Finally downstairs to the inevitable gift shop and out into the campus again.

That done, I made my way slowly back to the bike, stopping at a Subway to grab some food. I sat in the sun to eat half the sandwich - I planned to have the second half onboard the ferry.

By 1pm I was on my way to the ferry, which was just two miles away but took more than 30 minutes to ride. where I joined the usual ferry queue and loading and I was soon sat down enjoying the second half of the sandwich and a cookie that was part of the Subway meal deal.

Arriving at Holyhead it took about 30 minutes to get to the hotel which I found easily and checked in. A quick shower and change as dinner stopped serving at 8pm and it was already gone 7pm. I had a steak which was awesome and filled me up. Usual rest of the evening, repacking in preparation for tomorrows ride home via a walk in Snowdonia.

Accommodation: Dinorben Arms

A nice hotel, probably in need of a facelift as the fixtures and fittings are very dated, but that might be the appeal. The room was a nice size as was the bathroom and the shower was excellent. Meals were spot on, the breakfast huge so I left feeling fat.

Day 11 Snowdonia and Home. 1st September 2022

I had an early breakfast as the plan was to ride to Snowdonia and do a route in the Carnedds which would bag me three new peaks.

Most of the ride over was easy but as I approached the more remote sections, the roads got very thin. I'd set my Sat Nav to the nearest place; Rowen which it duly delivered me to. Stopping to check the map I memorised the route up to the car park which basically went past the YHA. This I did up a really steep hill, thankfully not meeting any oncoming traffic, but when I got there, the road ended! Onwards was a rocky track that would be impassible in anything other than a Land Rover, so I had no choice but to turn around and ride back down. Luckily I only encountered one car who graciously reversed, spotting quickly that I could do nothing on the downhill slope.

I rode around to another road that I'd checked out, but still couldn't find a way up so decided to abandon and go back to my original plan of parking in Bethesda and walking up a different mountain.

Arriving in Betwys y Coed I decided to refuel, with my luck today I didn't want to run out! Whilst fuelling I hit on the idea of climbing two peaks in the Glyders that I hadn't done which would be much closer, much more easy to park and I'd bag two instead of one. Genius.

Off I went and I was soon parking just East of the foot of Tryfan. A quick change and off I went initially following a track but then broke off for some more entertaining climbing which bought me close to my first peak of the day; Foel Goch (805m). The initial crest is not the summit but that is not too far away and I was soon there. The views across to the Carnedds and back to Tryfan and the Glyders was amazing, it was a wonderful day with few clouds and great views.

Not stopping long, I headed off to Gallt y Ogof (736m) a half mile or so away. There were two similar summits so of course I had to do both to be on the safe side. That done, I made my way down over rough ground. Nuttall claims there are no decent paths and he is right! As it turned out, there was only one tricky section and I made good progress down to the track that runs parallel to the road and I was soon back at the bike, job done.

Changing, I ate some more of my remaining food and finished off the drink, then set off for the ride home. I made two stops, one for food and drink and another because I was seriously beginning to ache. Finally back home at 5:30pm.