[This was my second go at riding from Barmouth to Yarmouth. My previous attempt, in August 2010, was aborted when rain stopped play at Shrewsbury.] So here we go again. After four changes of train from York, I rolled into Barmouth at noon today. The weather wasn’t promising: low cloud meant nothing was visible, not…
Author: Rob Ainsley
Birmingham: Christmas and canals
German Christmas Markets seem to be everywhere these days. We’ve been visiting a few – Leeds, Sheffield, York, Birmingham – in the echt German way. That is, on bikes, and not spending more than we can afford. Which means not spending anything, when they want four quid for a sausage. The Birmingham trip was an…
Cramond Island: Rebel with a causeway
Cramond Island, five miles or so from central Edinburgh along the coast, is a kind of mini-Lindisfarne: a small isle connected to the mainland by a narrow concrete causeway. Most of the time the causeway is under water. But for a couple of hours at low tide, when the waters recede, it’s perfectly cyclable. Go…
Ireland 13: Buncrana to Malin Head (to Derry)
Grey, damp, lonely roads spattered by drizzle and swathed in cloud this morning, but I was happy. I was heading to the end of the End to End, at Malin Head, somewhere I’d only ever heard mentioned on the shipping forecast. This horse was evidently trying to hitch-hike north (pic). The drivers were having none…
Ireland 12: Ballyshannon to Buncrana
There was a chance I could make it to Malin Head and its convenient hostel today, given good weather. That was a big If, and an even bigger Probably Not, but I got off well before seven to maximise my chances. Another sunny, clear, blue but cold morning. I tooled along a chilly back lane…
Ireland 11: Ballina to Ballyshannon
A super cycling day of fine weather and finer scenery. Ballina has salmon fishing right in the centre, and a few chaps this morning were wading in the clear waters angling for a fat ’un (pic). Their waist-length waders would have come in handy for me over the last few rainy days. What a fab…
Ireland 10: Letterfrack to Ballina
Si, Sue, Paul and Chris bade their farewells after breakfast. They headed off to Cong and Galway and then home, but I carried on north through this sort of scenery (pic) to complete my End to End. As Magnus Magnusson used to say with such determined finality when presenting Mastermind, I’ve started so I’ll finish….
Ireland 9: Doolin to Letterfrack
Better weather this morning enabled our ferry to the Aran Islands, from where we’ll hop north into Connemara. Various companies ran boats across to Inishmore, like this one (pic). We chose on a carefully-weighted algorithm taking into account factors such as price, bike spaces, and whisky on the breath of the crew. With the last…
Ireland 8: Doolin
Our plan to go to the Aran Islands was stymied by the wind: ferries weren’t running. They were more, kind of, lurching up and down and side to side in the harbour. So our Plan B, a recommendation of our top-man hostel warden Karl, was a day cycling round the strange wasteland of the Burren….
Ireland 7: Kilrush to Doolin
A short day in prospect today, as we headed for the trad-music hub of Doolin. A lively session of folk fiddle, flute, guitar and accordion, with Guinness as accompanist: it doesn’t get more Irish than that. Well, unless it rains. Which it did, as soon as we set off from our accomm of Crotty’s pub…