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Malin Head to Mizen Head: Day 1

Malin to Iskaheen 53kms

*Malin Head 23rd July 2021. Mary, Hannah, myself and Ronan*. *Thanks to Ronan and Hannah for dropping us off!*

Ireland’s most northerly point is Malin Head on the Inishowen Peninsula of Donegal. Ironically the most northerly point is in the south and not in the north, kinda proves this is one island with a silly boundary. Inishowen is virtually the same size as County Carlow but only a small part of County Donegal! On its own it’s a fantastic place to visit with stunning coastal views, beaches to compare with anywhere else on the planet, headlands, walking and cycling routes. And it’s steeped in history, with lots of heritage sites to visit too.

Our plan was to cycle the 700kms from Malin Head to Mizen Head using the network of quiet local roads (‘L’ roads) and bóithríns as much as possible and try avoid busy Regional and National Roads. The road less travelled and a journey to the remoter, quieter parts of this beautiful island. That meant packing 15 ordnance survey maps and still getting lost occasionally! Sticking to the local roads would help us avoid the car mad drivers that seem to exist north of a County Louth – County Sligo axis, where many seem to speed between car washes as they attempt to show off their gleaming set of wheels! There’s a definite difference in driving habits above that Louth Sligo axis! The safety campaign promoting 1.5 metres distance when overtaking cyclists is making an impact down south but we found many drivers up north ignoring this vital ‘shared road safe practice’.

It’s a five hour car journey from Carlow to Malin Head and of course we ran a bit behind schedule, meaning a very late start on our first day. It was close to 5pm on a sweltering hot summers evening when we pointed our front wheels south of the start line and rolled down the hill in the direction of pretty Malin village and our first ice cream stop!

Our senses were being overwhelmed by the idyllic views unfolding around every turn in the road and led us into a false sense of achievement – this was going to be a picnic in the park or so we thought for a while!

You can lead a horse to water…

Why go on a 700km cycle? For me it is about stepping out of the banal, the brutal boring reality of 365 day living on a journey that is full of inspiration in the scenery surrounding us, in the magic of nature, in the delving into our past and not least in the sense of accomplishment when completed. You can’t do that so well in a car but on a bike every point of interest is a stopping off occasion. It might be a spectacular view, it might be a heritage site and Inishowen has plenty to whet the appetite.

There are so many unheralded heritage sites dotted on our landscape and there is a real danger of them disappearing through neglect. I love to visit as many of the less known ones when I am out and about on the rothar. These crosses are at Carrowmore, not far from Culdaff. I had planned to visit the Cloncha High Cross but we took the wrong road out of Malin and missed that one so it was nice to take a small diversion to Carrowmore instead. Our Christian past speaking to us today…

We headed south on our local road to Gleneely, and in keeping with our desire to stay off regional roads we had of course the delight of a serious climb (gradient 14%) up to a fantastic viewing point at Cnoc and Uininn. On November 30th 1941, a RAF Spitfire was just 3 minutes flying time away from his base at Eglinton Airport when 23 year old Roland ‘Bud’ Wolfe (he was from a unit made of completely American personnel) had to bail out of his aircraft before it crashed into the bog half a mile away. Seventy years later that Spitfire was located by a team led by avation historian, Jonny McNamee. Marking the location today is a memorial plaque with a panoramic view.

*14% gradient.. a little pushing is allowed!*

At least we had now crested the climb and it was downhill all the way to Redcastle; tough work but we prefer that to facing busy roads. The road from Redcastle along the shore of Lough Foyle was busier but tolerable and we had the benefit of a good level surface until the turnoff for our first accommodation in the download of Iskaheen.

Along the shore of Lough Foyle

In this time of pandemic most of our hospitality sector is struggling and a bike tour is one way to support local businesses. Its hard to book ahead when cycling – you never know what way a day will unfold but we did get the first three nights booked and we brought a tent just in case we got stuck. Many b&bs away from tourist areas have not reopened as it would cost too much. Luckily we booked a small little apartment in Iskaheen from Catrina Kyle. What perfect hosts, they went out of their way to be helpful which rounded off the perfect start to our cycle to Mizen.

Summer Cycling Series

Route: Sleaty Lower Killeshin River Barrow

Whether we like it or not Covid restrictions are with us in the medium term and we need to adapt or we will all crack up! With the long summer evenings now is the best time of the year to really get to know your own locality.

I’m going to post up some my favourite local routes using Carlow Town as the starting and end point for my evening routes. The routes will follow the local road network and mostly avoid regional and main roads.

We had a terrific easy 24kms cycle this evening on traffic free roads all within 5kms of Carlow Town Centre!

I’m a firm believer that the local road network is not promoted enough for safe cycling; there should be some investment in good signage and in identifying loops that can be connected up to provide an extensive safe network of dedicated shared cycle routes – it could be done at a fraction of the cost of developing greenways!

May Bush

With county wide travel allowed in recent weeks, it was nice to be able to visit beautiful South Carlow and enjoy cycling routes along the Barrow and under the Blackstairs.

I noticed a revival of an old tradition with the decoration of the May Bush. It seems to have been revived in County Wexford in recent times and is now catching on in the south of the County. Below are a few of the examples I came across in the past few days.

As with much of our traditions, it appears to have its origins in Pagan rituals as much as Christian traditions and some suggest they are to provide sacred protection against the fairies who are very active around May Day! Another theory associated it with the start of summer and in more recent times are linked to honour the Virgin Mary.

Here is a great post about the traditions on The Fading Year blog which I just came across: https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/101579329/posts/5845

Stay in Your County!!

Hard to capture it all!

I struggle with the logic of travel within your own county given the disparity in sizes between the smallest and the largest but at least it gives us a little more freedom! Today after months of 5kms restrictions today was the first day to seek out new horizons and to get out into the south!

What a joyful 30kms cycle in the Deep south of Ceatharlach! We really have a beautiful little county and we don’t even know it too well ourselves.

If you want to spend an afternoon or a day away from crowds, in splendid isolation, look no further than Rathanna as your base. I always approach it coming from Killoughternane side and the view that hits you as you round the bend at Tomduff matches anything in Ireland. It compares favourably with the views across to the Three Sisters from Slea Head in my books. Its a patchwork of 40 shades of green underneath the heathered slopes of The Blackstairs Mountain Range.

Its always nice to know the local place names; each county has its own unique landscape and the descriptions are often in the place names. Irish place names are so poetic – Ballyglisheen, Rathgeran, Slievedurda, Rosdellig, Rathanna, Ballymurphy, Knockymulgurry, Knock, Gowlin…

Traffic free narrow lanes make this route a smashing cycle route with a nice bit of climbs along the way to keep you honest… nothing major but a few nice pulls. And did I mention the scenery? Ah my God…

*Traffic free laneways – just keep an eye out for the farm animals!*

Or the hurlers? Down every by road are the famed Rangers and St Mullins camán wielders, territories marked out by red and black or green and white flags.. there must be great banter here around County Final time…

The more I cycle the more convinced I am that instead of investing millions in greenways, we should concentrate instead on creating dedicated cycle routes using the extensive local road network that links our isolated villages and parishes. It would cost an awful lot less and would not entail further damage to our biodiversity or result in the creation of more hard surfaces than we need.

Video link https://youtu.be/T4wmF1syKJQ

Old Carlow Walking Trail – Where were we?

What else would you be doing on a Bank Holiday Monday only going for a ramble. Seeing as we can’t leave our 5kms zone, we decided instead to indulge in some time travel. What was the town like in previous centuries?

I wonder can you identify where we were? If I have wrongly identified old names forgive me! Most of the detail here was from some articles my father had put together while researching the location of the old walls of Carlow Town..

I’ll pop in some visual clues as we make our way to help identify where we went.

We confined ourselves to the Town Centre, starting in Tullow Street with our first place of interest, a licensed premises and hotel since 1768, still bearing the same name! Formerly known as ‘The Farmers Inn’.

Across the road is the premises, ‘The Plough’, only in existence since 1829! There was a hotel in Tullow Street called the Plough Hotel, presumably on the same site.

I’ve often been in Lowrys Lane without realising it as I called to the family run hardware opposite the ‘Beehive Hut’ ….any takers?

*A window looking near Lowry’s Lane.. or thereabouts!*

Passed quickly by the Old RIC Barracks and then tried to book a room in the Commercial Hotel but couldn’t find the entrance! Anyone got an idea where this hotel was once to be found? Served as a famous ballroom for many years in a later life..

We took a small u turn to bring us around to Cockpit Lane….

In 1986 Éire Óg produced a great local history ‘Friends and Neighbours’ that researched over 500 families that lived along a number of streets in Carlow Town. At the heart of it all was Bridewell Lane and Brewery Lane. Bridewell Lane, so called because it led to the Gaol, was largely demolished and sadly there is no trace of Brewery Lane. But folk memory is great and thanks to interviews with many of the families a great picture of the area can be ascertained from the descriptions and family photographs.

All the houses were whitewashed and had half doors with lots of music and singing.

We are now in the heart of old Carlow; Bridewell Lane was formerly known as Somers Lane.

Leaving Bridewell Lane we pass by the Sessions House – used to be the Crown and Record Courts and we slipped onto the Strand!

*Windows on The Strand…..*what is the current name of this street?

From the Strand we strolled down Coal Market , where once coal was sold …. and much more besides; Swans Electrical started out down here..

The Moneen was an area between the old Town and the Castle, prone to flooding at the time of the building of the Castle. In more recent time and, for many years, locals visited John Flynn for a cure for warts on this laneway which brought us towards Skinners Lane and Wellington Quay..

Leaving the east bank of the Barrow we crossed over Wellington Bridge

and continued onto Batchelors Walk…

It was a short hop onto Barrow Street and Morrins Lane

When Cromwell came to Ireland he ordered the Irish to ‘hell or to Connaught’… I wonder did he mean Connaught Lane?

*Is the entrance to the Town Park Connaught Lane*?

Back on the east side of the Barrow we made our way up North Cotts Lane towards Dublin Street…

We retraced our steps back to South Cotts Lane and Fairy Lane / Templecroney Lane…Templecroney commemorates Naomh Croneybeg..

Surely the most unusual name of any street in Carlow must have been ‘Labour-In-Vain Lane’, which took its name from a sign on a tavern representing a person trying to wash a blackman white….I kid you not! From there we made our way back onto Dublin Street where we sought to find The Bear Inn which was located at no 64 Dublin Street. The Red Cow Inn which was located across the road at no 2 Dublin Street…

Further up the street we sought out the Blackamoor Inn, 58 Dublin Street and the Crown and Sceptre, 59 Dublin Street – taverns from the 1700s….

It was time to start making our way back home and we took a peek at the house where The Globe Inn was located in the 1600s and where, wait for it, King James stayed briefly after the Battle of the Boyne.. a wall plaque displayed the initials of WJR (though it looks like WIR to me) 1699 which reference the then owners Jonathan and Ruth Watson..

We then went via Cuckoo Lane, or should I say Hunt Street, and tried to get a meal in the Imperial Hotel but there was no one serving..

*Hunt Street, formerly known as Cuckoo Lane and now known as …?*

A right turn on to Mass House Lane and back into Tullow Street to finish a lovely afternoon walk with a difference..

*An image on Mass House Lane…. now known as …?*

I referenced the ‘Friends and Neighbours’ Booklet earlier. Sadly it is out of print but it is a brilliant example of local history which was complied by a FÁS teamwork scheme back in 1986. The Committee overseeing the publication was Dermot & Kathleen O Brien, James Brady and Nancy O Brien. Researchers were Adel Delaney, Karen Doran, Nuala Foley, Joan Gaffney, Robert Hayden, Sandra James, Jo Kirwan, Esther Moore, Karen O Hagan and Eithne Ware. I wonder could it be reprinted? I’m sure lots of people would like to have a copy.

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Posts from the ‘Posts’ category

Malin Head to Mizen Head: Day 1

Malin to Iskaheen 53kms

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Summer Cycling Series

Route: Sleaty Lower Killeshin River Barrow

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May Bush

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Stay in Your County!!

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Old Carlow Walking Trail – Where were we?

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Malin to Iskaheen 53kms

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Route: Sleaty Lower Killeshin River Barrow

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