advice: travelling from scotland to Ballyhoura

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rapiddescent
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advice: travelling from scotland to Ballyhoura

Post by rapiddescent » Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:33 am

seeking a bit of local knowledge!

It's the 2011 singlespeed mountain biking championships in ballyhoura, between mallow and Limerick in August - just about to book ferries and plan how on earth 2 bongo's and a vw van full of disorganised mountain bikers are going to get there from central scotland

+ any top tips for routes to avoid?
+ which is the best ferry crossing (I'm assuming troon to larne and then drive over the border?)

(http://www.sswc2011.ie/)
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Re: advice: travelling from scotland to Ballyhoura

Post by munroman » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:38 am

The Troon ferry is better for travel from the Central Belt, though there is a little more driving in Ulster compared with the Belfast one.

I would go to Dublin, then use the new motorways south west, I used to visit Athlone and surrounds and have tried the cross country routes before, not recommended.

If you can imagine the road up to Aberfoyle where it bounces up an down over the peaty areas, but going on for miles, it makes for very uncomfortable travel, so though the mileage may look less, the time and effort is much more.

Towns are more like old British towns, rather than Tesco Towns, so keep more 9-5 hours, so make sure you get supplies in this time , rather than assuming 24 hour shopping.

Other tips, there is a Toll on the M50 round Dublin, so have euro coins handy, Irish driver's in the south west are used to very narrow roads, so are not fazed as much as you will be by meeting them at 50mph head on, and they usually give you a wee wave as they fly past you.

Many of the older roads have a white line on them, you drive to the right of that line, but if someone wants to overtake then indicate left and pull across to the left of that line, kind of like using the hard shoulder, then pull out once you have been passed.
Usually there is no-one parked on this 'hard shoulder'. :shock:

There are many Fuschia hedges in that neck of the woods, so visiblity can be limited.

And it's very green because when it rains, it rains big time!

Oh, and listen to Irish radio, when I was last over there was a phone in programme discussing the introduction of postcodes, one guy phoned in very agitated that in his neck of the woods it was really bad, some people had forgotten the name of the fields!
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