Edinburgh to Dublin - Scenic and Slow!: Over the hills

Somehow in yesterday's post I forgot to mention the Mourn mountains. They had been a presence for a good few miles before Newcastle and the town itself sits at the base with many trails starting just at the edge of the town.

Up at 7am I had spent some time rejigging my route for the day (more on that in a moment) before gong for a look around, the morning had again dawned bright and clear, and for a while at least it seemed that I would be cycling in the sunshine again, I went for a walk along the beach, the tide was out and it was a bit of a walk out to the water, finally getting the paddle I had missed since Irvine, I looked back at the town and the beach front with the mountains behind presented a stunning view! After taking in the quiet of the morning for a few minutes and enjoying the peacefulness of the beach - likely to be full to brim by the afternoon if the day before had been anything to go by, I headed back to the hostel to pack up and check out.

I had been looking at accommodation options for the past couple of days for tonight and tomorrow, and hadn't really had much luck. Ideally I had wanted to find something cheap in or around Dundalk, and then something else around Skerries, alas there does not seem to be much in the way of budget accommodation in these 2 places. I widened my search and realised that the nearest option was probably Drogheda, which happened to be in between the 2 places. If I kept to the plan to overnight in Dundalk, it would I mean a pretty short ride the following day, followed by a longer ride into Dublin, meaning less time in the city, and I was already spending less time there than I would like.

Another option presented itself, could I make Drogheda tonight? It would mean the longest day cycling yet (and in fact the longest I had cycled in one day ever), as well as the most climbing of the trip. But might be possible. Alternatively, from Dundalk I could get the train to Drogheda depending on when I arrived there and how I felt. That would mean missing the road down past Castlebellingham, which was supposed to be very pretty, but on the plus side, it meant that I would be in Dublin on Wednesday night instead of Thursday lunchtime, and get a full day in the city before coming home on Friday. I checked the train times and it looked like it ran every 2 hours at 20 past the hour. Great.

Decision made I booked my accommodation and looked at my route. The original miles once through Tollymore forest park cut across to Newry and then down to Dundalk, but now it had been confirmed that the ferry between Greencastle and Greenore was open, I could cut down to the coast past Warren Point and Rostrevor instead and shave some miles and a climb off the route.

Plan in place and refreshed from my walk, I said farewell to Steph and got back on the bike. The road out of Newcastle climbed for a bit as expected - the map showed the first 10miles or so being almost completely up hill with another good climb a few miles further on. At least it would all be over with by lunchtime. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be however, and soon turned down again undulating a bit to the entrance to the park, because I wanted to enjoy the park, and because of the climbing while going through it, I expected to take a good couple of hours to traverse the first 10 miles.

The park was beautiful, the avenue leading in was full of fantastically shaped trees that looked ancient, and soon I was following the river along earth and gravel paths with trees and forest foliage on either side. The river had worn itself a gully and was mostly heard more than seen given the thick foliage around it. I was walking along the trails as much as cycling - partly because of the changing gradient, partly because of the rough terrain, and partly because I was just enjoying the experience. I could easily have spent a full day exploring the forest and might make my way back there in the future. I had taken the red trail, wanting to see the cascades, and thinking I might detour to the white fort, marked on the map. As it was I caught glimpses of the cascades, and completely missed a turn. The map only showed the marked trails, not any other paths of which there seemed to be quite a few. My signal was dropping in and out and I kept trying to check my location on Google maps against the park map to see where I was. I thought I was at the path to the fort and followed it, only to find myself at a junction. I gave up and turned back, as I rode back down the track to continue back on the path I had been following before the detour 2 tiny spotted deer crossed the path in front of me. I wished I had the action cam running - it really was a blink and you miss it moment!

Sure that at least this way I was heading in the right general direction to come out the other side, eventually I came to a viewpoint and stopped to admire the sweeping tree filled glen below me, with fields and farmhouses on the opposite slope. It was here I finally worked out that I was just coming out of the park - but not on the road I had planned to use! I was on Trassey road, it started out as an unpaved farm track, and soon became a paved road - uphill of course. Where it came out there happened to be a campsite with a cafe called Meelmore lodge. I waivered about going on but checked the time and it was half 11 - perfect timing for a cuppa.

On walking through the carpark to the cafe I was doubly glad of my decision. The mountains rose up just ahead of the campsite and the view was spectacular. The early morning sunshine had begun to be obscured by cloud cover as I was leaving Newcastle and by this point the sky was pretty much all clouds. They shrouded the peaks and produced a blue haze in parts. It was stunning, and lifted my spirits a bit. While I loved the forest and had enjoyed the journey so far, I had at the back of my mind all the climbing involved today. As mentioned previously I am not a lover of hills, and despite quite a bit of it having been through the park and so done already, in my mind I had built it up to be far worse than the actuality, and it had me feeling a bit blue about the next part of the ride. The fabulous backdrop, a slice of carrot cake and a rare cup of coffee while I decided on my next direction was just what I needed.

Because I had come out of the park on a slightly different road than planned, I had 2 options, head to Hilltown to rejoin the route to Warren point and then head down the side of Carlingford Lough, to get the ferry, or cut down through Attical and Kilkeel, which looked a bit shorter, and had been recommended by one of the guys on the forum. I decided to take the cut through, and don't regret it. There wasn't a huge difference in climb and it cut a couple more miles off the journey. And it was fantastically scenic.

The first little part was uphill, but the gradient wasn't too steep, I was resolved to relax and just enjoy the journey without worrying too much about what lay ahead. By this point I was passing though mountainous scenery, and could almost imagine myself in the Scottish highlands. The hills around me were covered in scrub grass and gorse, with the occasional grazing field for cardstock thrown in. I could see where streams had cleared the earth and vegetation away leaving rocky gullies in their wake. The main difference was the lack of heather on the hills. Closer to the road there were reed beds and marsh cotton (not sure what it's really called!) here and there mixed in where water off the hills had created biggy patches, and along side the road, wild grasses gone to seed, clover, buttercups and thistle were growing in abundance. And if I was only moving at 3/4/5miles an hour, at least I was moving! I felt much better, and chided myself - in the end today the mental challenge was harder to overcome than the physical one. Just goes to show how important your mindset can be when you are doing something you find difficult.

It was along Slievenaman road that I met Michael a farmer who lived locally. We chatted for a bit and I told him about my trip. He admittex for all that he had lived locally all hid life he had never been to Greenore. He was a lovely man, and told me that I was over the worst of the climb before we bade each other farewell. I took this with a pinch of salt, seeing a long slope ahead, and knowing from experience that drivers don't always realise the extent of the ups and downs they cover in a car. I was surprised to see a bus stop on coming towards the top of the slope, turns out there is a ramblers bus route that stops at the start and end of walks. Fab idea! There was also a car park and what looked like the start of a trail, obviously a well trodden walk.

Once over the top I found that in this case Michael had the right of it. I had 8 easy beautiful miles to Kilkeel, with stretches of water in the near distance, some natural and some that looked like dams or reservoirs, I could soon see the scenery around me changing from mountains to lowland farms, passing many farmhouses and hamlets, I must have at least doubled my average speed with all the coasting I was doing. I was soon going down the hill into Kilkeel.

It was bigger than I had expected - a small town rather than a village, and the time now being just after 1 I decided to stop for lunch - Greencastle where I was to get the ferry wasn't even marked on the map without zooming right in and looked like a landmark rather than a village, and since the ferry service had only started a week or 2 ago I didn't expect much in the way of amenities. I stopped in at the Steaming Mug coffee house and refuelled with some very tasty vegetable soup and wheaten bread. It turned out one of the ladies there was from Perth and had visited her sister in Edinburgh just a couple of weeks back. Small world.

Setting off again, and it was an easy 5 miles to the ferry. The new service isn't very well signposted yet, but I followed the signs to Greencastle and found it ok. I realised on the way that I never had gotten round to buying euros, and hoped they took pounds as well or I might have an issue! They did, but in the end it was moot as I barely had any cash on me, and bought the ticket online instead. Thank goodness for technology and a working internet connection! I did need to sort the euro issue though. I remembered that I had a prepaid euro card which just lives in my purse, transferred some money on to it and was good to go. On the other side of the ferry waited the Republic of Ireland.

The people crossing seemed to be a mixed bunch - there were 2 other cyclists, a man and his grandson, just nipping across to Carlingford for an ice cream, they both had what looked like pretty decent roadbikes and i wS jealous of their lack of luggage! A lady who had taken a day trip with her mum, and people who were obviously on holiday, or just visiting, as well as a few I took to be commuting. The ferry was bearly full, and the man directing cars back at Greencastle had told me it was so far very popular.

Once on the other side it was back on the bike. The change in countries hit home when I saw my first roadsign. 24km to Dundalk. For someone used to dealing on miles, I always have trouble doing the conversion in my head. I worked out this meant around 15 miles or so, and started pedalling. I stuck to the main road rather than detour round the coast, the flapmash (if you dont know, dony ask!) Was starting to make itself felt and i wanted to get to Dundalk. It was mostly easy going on fairly flat, if fast roads with cars whizzing by, but with a lane for slow vehicles for most of the distance I felt safe enough. The mountains had completely fallen away and it was rolling green farmland and small villages for the most part. I missed an opportunity to turn on to R132 which would have given me a quieter run into Dundalk itself, but caught the next one and made it into the town just before 5pm - just in time for the 5.20 train if I wanted to catch it. I knew I wasn't going to cycle the rest of the way, but I kind of wanted to see a bit of the town itself. I made a deal with myself. If I walked down the mainstreet, saw a sign for the train station, and made it in time I would get the 5.20 train, if not I would have dinner in Dundalk, wander about a bit and get the next one at 7.20.

Needless to say, I got the later train! I really liked the town and the main square has a water feature for kids to play in, as well as an installation of art prices telling the story of the 2 old men of Ireland. I won't tell you it, but you should go Google it or something. It explains how many of Ireland's places got their names. I had a bite to eat at a cafe looking over the square, (taco Tuesday's anyone?) And had a slight moment of panic when I couldn't remember the pin for the prepay card and had to use my normal card, but checked online and all i had to do for a reminder was phone up and answer some security questions. The cafe started closing up about 6, and I decided I should probably find the train station just in case it was difficult or far away.

In the end it was a fairly easy journey through a lovely park called ice house hill park - a beautiful space to have near the centre of the town. After checking directions with a couple of locals and chatting for a bit, I made it to the train station for 6.30.

I think it may be one of the prettiest stations I have ever been to. It had been restored to it's original character, had a ladies and a gentleman's waiting room, station masters office and other original features. Warm yellow bricks, and hanging baskets of flowers all in bloom throughout finished it off nicely. I settled in to wait and began writing today's post.

When the train came I had to put the bike in the guards carriage at the front and run down past the first class carriages, and then the same in reverse when getting off! I was slightly worried the train would be off with the bike, but in the end all was well and the bike came with me instead of stranding me pedalless in Drogheda, and making its own way to Dublin.

Tonight's stay is in the Spoon and Star literally 2 minutes downhill from the station, and it's the busiest hostel I have stayed in so far. After a good chat and some ideas on what to do in the morning (checkout is 11, so I thought I'd spend an hour or so here before heading off again) it was time to finish the post and get to bed!

Night ya'll...