A day of different parts: first, the three hour ferry trip across the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dublin. Then, an exciting urban cycling experience right through the centre of Dublin along the banks of the River Liffey – past modern dockland redevelopment and classical Georgian streets – and on through the vast open spaces of lovely, leafy Phoenix Park.
And then the real ride began – with a long cycle across half of Ireland. I was heading north west into County Cavan, across mostly quite low lying and rural countryside, as far as an overnight stay by the side of a large lake outside the town of Virginia. It turned out to be a long, hot and full afternoon and evening of cycling, but overall it was another very enjoyable and memorable day.
Phoenix Park is home to Dublin Zoo and the Irish President’s official residence. Its genteel green avenues and grassy expanses stretch for miles. Beyond its exit gates, Google Maps took me out through large, comfortable, suburban housing estates and on into satellite towns. Dublin is big, and it took until mid-afternoon to get beyond its reaches. It feels like what it has now become: a modern European capital that is home to people from many countries. This was clearly reflected by the groups of young people in the tea gardens by the zoo entrance, all enjoying the warm weather that is never to be taken for granted here! It is quite a dynamic and cosmopolitan place.
The scenery was not especially remarkable today, but the smaller roads served up colourful Irish villages, and everywhere had a confident and prosperous feel to it. Modern Ireland is enjoying a level of prosperity like never before, and it shows.
It was nice not to be in a particular hurry, and I took the opportunity to explore the ruined Bective Abbey (founded in 1147) that my road took me past. Some families had gathered there for a picnic. It felt like a fine way to spend a summer’s evening, with plenty of walls and passageways for the children to safely explore and clamber on.
I enjoyed dinner tonight at my overnight hotel, outside on the shores of a lake filled with sailing boats. The staff were friendly and the Guinness was excellent, as I knew to expect in Ireland. I spent a lot of time working over here before the Covid pandemic, and it was always a welcoming place to come. I hadn’t been back south of the border since 2019 and it was good to return.
I would be heading right across to the other side of the country tomorrow. All of this journey was to places I didn’t know despite my many previous trips across the Irish Sea. Beyond Dublin, this wasn’t a well known or heavily touristed part of the island, but it felt very authentic. I was glad to be here, as I so often am when my cycle adventures give me excuses to explore uncharted territory. These are rewarding trips into the unknown, and the variety of these islands rarely fails to deliver. Tomorrow – like today – would take me between different countries and across borders, as I pursued my next extremity; but seamlessly and without fuss, as the ongoing hot summer weather required.
