Cycle touring. The fifteen Signature Discovery Points of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Nearly finished planning a couple of weeks cycle touring in Ireland. All along the west coast is what's called the Wild Atlantic Way. A 1600 miles (2600 km) coastal route from the Inishowen Peninsula in the north down to Kinsale, County Cork, in the south. There are numerous Discovery Points. Of these fifteen are designated as Signature Discovery Points (SDP). These places are said to be especially unique and shape the image of Ireland’s west coast.

The prevailing wind direction is between south and west so I am riding my bike up from the south. I've booked a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin and a train down to Cork. Booking a train and bike space in Ireland was both a lot cheaper and easier than it is in England (or from Derry back to Dublin).

The route passes by each of the fifteen SDPs. From the Old Head of Kinsale all the way to Malin Head. The rides bar one are roughly between 100k to 150k. The longest is 210k. The shortest is the first from Cork (75k) and the last to Derry (65k). Each day ends at a bike friendly spot for camping, other than the night over near Malin Head which is hostel accommodation. Total distance is around 1800km. That includes the ride from Malin Head down to Derry for a train back to Dublin.

Finding places to pitch the tent at the end of each day was simple. I used cycle.travel to plan each section of the route. The app has a feature which highlights campsites (or hotels and B&Bs) near the route. When I contacted each potential site, without exception my inquiry was responded to quickly and a pitch confirmed for the night. The going rate was typically between €12 - €15.

The rides mostly don't follow the designated roads of the Wild Atlantic Way. I've not got time to cover the full distance and figured the appeal of the route to those on a road-trip in cars and camper vans may not be best aligned with cycling. The roads on this route are all paved and where possible follow scenic and quieter lanes suited to cycling.

I'm really looking forward to the trip. Never been to Ireland before. I have leave booked for the last two weeks in May. I was lucky at this time last year, I had sunshine and blue skies pretty much everyday riding from Kent to Orkney via Cape Wrath. Whatever the weather it's going to be an adventure.