So, Ireland then

[Etienne]

In May, we (me, Mrs Etienne and a 9 month old baby Etienne) will be going to Ireland for 2 weeks.

We will be taking the ferry to Dublin, and then travelling across to Mallaranney on the West Coast, for a few days staying with friends. What are things we should do en route? We're happy to make detours, but not massive ones - Cork is too far!

It's my first trip to the Republic, Mrs Etienne has been several times.

[Duncan Gardner]

So, Ireland then

Take baby canvassing, send Enda the way of Keith Barrow

(KB is the recently disgraced/ deposed Tory leader in Etienne's manor, replaced last week by a Green on a 14% swing)

Don't attend any high-profile sporting events.

[anton pulisov]

So, Ireland then

Ceide Fields might be worth a look, if you are into archaeology.

You could climb Croagh Patrick and get a good view of the drumlins in Clew Bay.

There's a nice beach just beyond Croagh Patrick, forget the name of it.

Trip to Connemara should be included. There are a couple of spectacular beaches just southwest of Roundstone.

All these things depend on the weather being OK.

[Duncan Gardner]

So, Ireland then

antoine polus wrote: Ceide Fields might be worth a look, if you are into archaeology.

You could climb Croagh Patrick and get a good view of the drumlins in Clew Bay.

There's a nice beach just beyond Croagh Patrick, forget the name of it.

Trip to Connemara should be included. There are a couple of spectacular beaches just southwest of Roundstone.

All these things depend on the weather being OK.

AP is the Sawdoctors' main songwriter and I claim my five Euros.

[Borracho]

So, Ireland then

I'd like to be of help, but Mayo isn't a place I have huge familiarity with.

Try and get to Galway if you can. It's a great town.

[Ek weet nie]

So, Ireland then

Likewise, Mayo is far from my specialist subject. I'd consider going to Newgrange which would be a detour to the north and then driving to Galway and overnighting. Then take the coast road from Leenaun through Westport to Mallaranny. Scenery is fantastic in that area.

For day trips from Mallaranny, Sligo has Yeats related things, nice beaches and surfing as well as a sprinkling of nice restaurants but I'd say your friends will know the best nearby spots.

[Ek weet nie]

So, Ireland then

One word of warning for driving is that some speed limits are completely unsuited for the minor roads. You will have barely paved roads with speed limits of 80km/h.

[anton pulisov]

So, Ireland then

[ursus arctos]

So, Ireland then

Jaysus

[Etienne]

So, Ireland then

Yeah, is there not a missing decimal point?

Thanks for this, very helpful.

We're probably not going to need much advice about Mayo as our friends can advise us there.

But place to stop en route, and detours are very welcome. Ek weet nie's itinerary looks promising!

[Sean of the Shed]

So, Ireland then

The Corlea Trackway isn't far off your route I would imagine, It's an iron age trackway across the bogs made from oak planks that has been preserved.

[Ek weet nie]

So, Ireland then

Your problem with en route is that the midlands is probably the least attractive part of Ireland. Athlone and Carrick-on-Shannon have the advantages of the Shannon flowing through them and walkways along the river but neither are towns you would like to spend a large period of time in. Birr is about the only large town I would recommend but that is a bit further south than you would ideally like.

[Sean of the Shed]

So, Ireland then

Castlebar is likely on your way, and is a "major destination for shoppers from all over the West of Ireland" according to the Wiki page on Castlebar that was probably written by a member of the town council.
I particularly liked the last sentence:

Castlebar is traditionally a market town, and it is still a major destination for shoppers from all over the west of Ireland. It boasts an increasing number of national and international chain stores, and several new shopping areas have been developed in the past 10–12 years on what were considered the outskirts of the town. The modern shopping precinct along Hopkins Road is now the commercial heart of the town, surpassing Main Street. Stores include Argos, Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Next, Lidl, Supervalu, Boots, New Look, Shaws, Heatons, Elverys, HMV and Penneys, as well as smaller names such as Paul Carthy menswear, Irwin Interiors and Liam Cannons Fruit & Veg.

[Ek weet nie]

So, Ireland then

The greenway is probably too obvious to have been referenced but it's very doable on a mountain bike - http://www.greenway.ie/Trail-Map-01.html.

[Uosdwis R Dewoh]

So, Ireland then

My girlfriend and her family did the Greenway cycle late last year and had a tremendous time. The weather is a bit pants for it at the moment, though.

If travelling by car, you should afford yourself a drive south into Connemara and take in the scenery. It's probably the most beautiful spot in Ireland.

If you're looking for a town to enjoy, Castlebar is ok, but Westport is nearer and much more fun.

How much time are you going to have to yourselves? And how are you going to get around? There are plenty of places both North and South of Mallaranney that would be worth a visit.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

So, Ireland then

ok, for a start I think you should call it mulranney, because that's what is on the road signs. I think mallaranney is some older transliteration from the irish.

How many days will you be spending visiting your friends. How many days do you want to spend in dublin at the end.

There's one good rule of thumb about Ireland. If you're less than fifty miles from the coast, then it's probably pretty nice, and there's some decent scenery to look at. beyond that 50 mile limit, and you're basically in the Midlands, and like the midlands of any country, it's a dreary void of nothingness.

Another helpful way to think about it, is that the west coast of Ireland is rather like the west coast of the UK, except it's on a much smaller more manageable scale. The relatively unique thing about Connemara is that it has four completely distinct types of landscape crammed into a tiny space. (Coastal/island, mountains, moorland, lakeland) Five, if you include Killary.

Ireland is also very small, and if you don't dawdle, you can go relatively long distances in a short time. My advice to you is get off the ferry, and drive directly to mulranny as quickly as you can, and get the longest journey over with. It's not that it's a particularly long journey by european standards, but you are essentially travelling to the ends of the earth, and it's probably the longest car journey you can make in ireland, starting from dublin. (unless you want to go down to check out luke skywalker on skellig michael. That way you can recover in the company of your friends. Most of that journey will be motorway through the midlands. (You're not going to be missing much)

depending on how much time you want to spend either visiting your friends, or in dublin there's a bunch of different options. There's quite a bit to do where you're staying. Westport is one of the nicest towns in the country, and where you are is a good place to explore northern connemara, which you would miss out on if you were to only take the coast road.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

So, Ireland then

antoine polus wrote:

That signpost could say 200 or 30 and it wouldn't make a difference. there's going to be no garda with speed gun sitting up a tree enforcing it, and if you can't judge what speed you should take that corner at, well that's your own great misfortune.

[anton pulisov]

So, Ireland then

Yeah, but only in Ireland would they actually erect that sign.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

So, Ireland then

we have a wry, fatalistic sense of humour

[Magik]

So, Ireland then

The Awesome Berbaslug!!! wrote:

There's one good rule of thumb about Ireland. If you're less than fifty miles from the coast, then it's probably pretty nice, and there's some decent scenery to look at. beyond that 50 mile limit, and you're basically in the Midlands, and like the midlands of any country, it's a dreary void of nothingness.

What do you make of Sligo? Been there to a pub where people were pisssing in the corner instead of using the actual toilet. Is this a local tradition?

[MsD]

So, Ireland then

The Awesome Berbaslug!!! wrote:
That signpost could say 200 or 30 and it wouldn't make a difference. there's going to be no garda with speed gun sitting up a tree enforcing it, and if you can't judge what speed you should take that corner at, well that's your own great misfortune.

Hate to be obvious, but what about the poor fecker coming the other way?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

So, Ireland then

I think you infested them with punk. Sligo is rather pleasant county. Knocknarea, and ben bulben look amazing. It's one of the european centres for surfing. And you can go to Drumcliffe and see the grave of someone who was buried in Pere la chaise cemetery at the time when they went looking for the bones of WB Yeats. The town itself is very pleasant, and it was a great venue for the All-Ireland Fleadh.

Hate to be obvious, but what about the poor fecker coming the other way?

the thing about those roads is either you know them very well, at which point they're very easy to drive safely on. Or you don't know them at all, in which case you drive rather slowly. Traffic on those roads is relatively light, but as long as you stay on your own side of the road at corners, then you should be grand.

[MsD]

So, Ireland then

My dad was from Sligo, btw.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

So, Ireland then

I had guessed as much.

BTW Mulranney is on the edge of Achill Island, so there's a good chance that everyone you meet is in some way related to Kevin Kilbane and Darren Fletcher.

[Calvert]

So, Ireland then

the thing about those roads is either you know them very well, at which point they're very easy to drive safely on. Or you don't know them at all, in which case you drive rather slowly. Traffic on those roads is relatively light, but as long as you stay on your own side of the road at corners, then you should be grand.

And that is why I love Ireland.

Pity you're not planning on venturing northwards, Etienne.
Donegal is incredibly beautiful and hilarious in equal measures