Round Ireland with a Campervan

[UFO]

Ferry booked - Birkenhead-Belfast-Birkenhead for four weeks in Ireland in April.

Looking at the usual POI websites / Apps there are plenty of options for overnight parking, H2O fill up and dumping toilet cassette. Has anyone used HomePage - Safe Nights Ireland There seem to be plenty of overnight POIs so I doubt it has got much to add. Part of the time we will be there it will be the Easter two-week holiday so I suppose it will be a bit busier.

Ireland seems to have a different approach to disposing of household rubbish, i.e. no putting this in public bins. Online I found details of 37 'List of Pay to Use Compactor Units' so I guess it is a matter of saving the rubbish and dumping once a week.

We were thinking about whether to go anticlockwise or clockwsie around the coast from Belfast. Just found a book 'Exploring Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way' by Eugene O'Loughlin - who did it on a Harley. Nicely written with a lot of detail about things that are probably not in most guidebooks. He started from Kinsale - so it looks like we will head south from Belfast. There is also Tony Hawk's book 'Round Ireland with a Fridge' which we read many years ago. The plan, such that it is, is to follow the coast but we will be thinking about how we can also experience some of the inland areas.

Any advice on hidden gems would be appreciated.e.g.
- overnight POIs with amazing views,
- pubs with traditional music
- coastal areas worth missing to explore inland, for example on the way south the Mourne Mountains and Wicklow Mountains

 

[QFour]

County Clare is a must. Lots of wild landscape and sea that crashes into the Granite Rocks. They do like their Guinness and Craic :lol-053: There always seems to be someone with a musical instrument thats joined by others and away it goes. Must say that the Guinness out there is far nicer than you ever get in the Uk. Have a great time.

 

[trevskoda]

I live here ,n/ireland and tour round republic a lot.
If i were you id head up antrim coast where there is lots to see and loads of places to wild not forgeting the glens.
Go up round the coast to magiligan and take ferry to republic or go on round to derry and head to letterkenny,from here go to national park and then on up to erigal mountain,what a vieu ,then into dunlewey centre.
From here you can go round the west coast atlantic drive,oh dont forget the dough famin village right up top ,do try and go to dunree fort,this is where the british first would war fleet left on there way to jutland.
From here on down to donegal town,the rest is up to you but i will tell you most of the best bits are of the beaten track and not the so called tour roots

 

[Deleted member 55987]

We sent a night at carlingford loch marina 8 euros for the night discount off meals at the local restaurant 20 minutes walk into town several nice bars, found the Irish coast to be stunning, not so pretty away from the coast as bonnie Scotland however following the Shannon is pretty awesome as well, they do have a lot of traveller problems in certain parts of Ireland so some counties can have lots of height barriers in the scenic carparks, regarding household waste we tended to book a site to stay at overnight every 3rd night just to clear our waste, have a good shower and take on fresh water etc.

 

[alcam]

Ferry booked - Birkenhead-Belfast-Birkenhead for four weeks in Ireland in April.

Looking at the usual POI websites / Apps there are plenty of options for overnight parking, H2O fill up and dumping toilet cassette. Has anyone used HomePage - Safe Nights Ireland There seem to be plenty of overnight POIs so I doubt it has got much to add. Part of the time we will be there it will be the Easter two-week holiday so I suppose it will be a bit busier.

Ireland seems to have a different approach to disposing of household rubbish, i.e. no putting this in public bins. Online I found details of 37 'List of Pay to Use Compactor Units' so I guess it is a matter of saving the rubbish and dumping once a week.

We were thinking about whether to go anticlockwise or clockwsie around the coast from Belfast. Just found a book 'Exploring Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way' by Eugene O'Loughlin - who did it on a Harley. Nicely written with a lot of detail about things that are probably not in most guidebooks. He started from Kinsale - so it looks like we will head south from Belfast. There is also Tony Hawk's book 'Round Ireland with a Fridge' which we read many years ago. The plan, such that it is, is to follow the coast but we will be thinking about how we can also experience some of the inland areas.

Any advice on hidden gems would be appreciated.e.g.
- overnight POIs with amazing views,
- pubs with traditional music
- coastal areas worth missing to explore inland, for example on the way south the Mourne Mountains and Wicklow Mountains

Used to go to Ireland several times a year but pre motorhome . I'm sure many on here will have lots of information . Still think best city is Galway , west coast , like Scotland , is best .
Beware Good Friday if you like a pint . Spent a few , mostly in Dublin , only bar you could drink in was your hotel bar . Restaurants that were open were dry too

 

[Deleted member 919]

Have a look at my trip from last year
Tour of Ireland June 2017 | Travel Blogs
and 2012
My campervan trips to Europe: Southern Ireland 2012
also check out
Motorhome Craic
and
Motorhome Parking Ireland

 

[trevskoda]

All depends on how long one is staying here,i find the futher down you go the more like mainland england,defo would not go any where near dublin,up norf lad if its wilding you want,roads are good to.
This is the worst rd which is over mountain short cut to kinnego bay from ferry where you can over night in carpark

 

[witzend]

Ireland seems to have a different approach to disposing of household rubbish, i.e. no putting this in public bins. Online I found details of 37 'List of Pay to Use Compactor Units' so I guess it is a matter of saving the rubbish and dumping once a week.

How do we get around this Trev

 

[trevskoda]

How do we get around this Trev

Some harbers and hotels have bins which for a small fee may let you dump,no such nonsence in the north,thing is we pay high rates up norf the republic do not have rates but must buy tickets to dump in refuge yards.
If it were me id use a hotel / bar bin and ask to pay or buy a meal.

 

[TeamRienza]

Safe nights ireland is not much used as far as I can see. Few have a good word for it. Motorhomecraic is the answer for questions and threads on all sorts of stopping places. For about £5 you can get the motorhomeparking app (linked to craic) it is an annual recurring payment but can be set for 1 year only. Loads of parking spots, wild, pubs, waterways, harbours and sites.

We live here in N. Ireland and as suggested visit a site every few days for stretch out showers, laundry and rubbish etc. when we go south. An excellent method of seeing some of inland Ireland is to follow the Shannon river from limerick right up to lough Erne in Fermanagh. Pretty much all of the public marinas operated by waterways Ireland can supply water, toilets and rubbish disposal, and can be stayed at overnight. Call at a tourist office or check their website for free publications on locations or you can buy the linear navigation map for the details. Particularly in the north you can buy a swipe card with 10 units which will access the showers and laundry on the Woodford waterway link between L. Erne and the Shannon river.

Loads of pubs and restaurants allow overnight parking in exchange for purchase of a meal or drinks and some charge €10 with no obligation to buy services. Many of these can be found on the app or trawling through craic.

Enjoy your trip.

Davy

 

[Deleted member 32902]

I live here ,n/ireland and tour round republic a lot.
If i were you id head up antrim coast where there is lots to see and loads of places to wild not forgeting the glens.
Go up round the coast to magiligan and take ferry to republic or go on round to derry and head to letterkenny,from here go to national park and then on up to erigal mountain,what a vieu ,then into dunlewey centre.
From here you can go round the west coast atlantic drive,oh dont forget the dough famin village right up top ,do try and go to dunree fort,this is where the british first would war fleet left on there way to jutland.
From here on down to donegal town,the rest is up to you but i will tell you most of the best bits are of the beaten track and not the so called tour roots

DERRY!!! feckin Derry, the chief goat humper down the lodge will will be on yer case trev, glad to see you refer to it as such, carry on.
seamus

 

[jagmanx]

Supermarkets !

Some harbers and hotels have bins which for a small fee may let you dump,no such nonsence in the north,thing is we pay high rates up norf the republic do not have rates but must buy tickets to dump in refuge yards.
If it were me id use a hotel / bar bin and ask to pay or buy a meal.

If you buy food in a supermarket then take off all the food packaging when you get back to the MoHo and put it in their Bins.
This significantly reduces the problem.
Crush beer cans etc
Keep large strong rubbish bag(s) to MT in recycling bins.

It is a bit annoying in that it is difficult to deal with rubbish properly but it can be done

I say annoying as an alternative could be to simply dump rubbish casually...Which is totally out or order and irresponsible

As I say we managed !

 

[Deleted member 34243]

Recommend ‘back roads Ireland’ from eyewitness travel.
Gets you to the best places and somehow seems to avoid the coach convoys.
Happy to lend the book if you pm your address.

 

[shaunr68]

I'd echo the advice from jagmanx above. In my experience Ireland is the most difficult country in Europe to dispose of rubbish while motorhoming. What we did is carry a supply of small pedal bin bags. It's much easier to dispose of small amounts of waste regularly, like every time you visit a supermarket or petrol station, than wait until you have a large bin bag full which will be impossible to get rid of. Recycling bins for glass, plastic etc will help too. There are also public bins and while disposing of household waste in these is, strictly speaking, illegal, again the key is small quantities dumped regularly.

It's a fantastic part of the world, we moved here two years ago. The monsoon season lasts from January to December so come prepared!

Sadly I can't offer anything in the way of water or toilet dump here, we're on a well supply and septic tank!

A few spots we found while touring the west coast during summer 2013, before we moved here:

https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forum...1-another-hi-sheffield.html?highlight=Ireland

Good luck!

 

[phillybarbour]

Lovin this thread really making me to go to Ireland in the van.

 

[Nabsim]

Lovin this thread really making me to go to Ireland in the van.

Ha ha, thinking the same thing. Have always meant to visit ex brother in law somewhere near tipperary (sp)

 

[delicagirl]

Ireland looks small on the map - it isn't. I have spent 2 months travelling each summer through the island and still run out of time. Many of the small roads are VERY small with passing places so the mileage you can drive each day can be very small. I would choose a smaller area for your first vist then go back next year and go to different areas.

I like Trev's advice re going north along the north coast, trundle through donegal (a truly magnificent place - but large vans will definitely struggle on some of the tinier coast roads - Doagh Famine Village HAS to be worth a whole day's visit) Sligo is mountainous and very overlooked when it comes to the tourist trail, Mayo is another county that is steeped in Irish history and has everything to offer in terms of scenery and beauty and wilderness, along with lots of Famine history, Galway and Connemara (where many signs are still in gaelic) are geologically very interesting and of course the west coast is in itself a thing of beauty.... If you follow the WWW road in the height of summer it will be crowded... if you have a smaller van take the smaller coastal roads. I would then come across the island in the middle and go back to your port, then return next year via Pembroke Rosslare and do the south coast, and SW peninsula.... tis a wonderful place and the Irish are very friendly.

I found wild places to sleep almost the entire time. As others have said - empty small rubbish bags daily into garage bins.

The Irish are now charged lots of money to have each of their bins emptied - that is why its so difficult.

 

[christine]

We only travelled to Donegal after a wedding near Derry so can't speak for the rest of Eire. The coast is spectacular, with plenty of wilding places.The hinterland, however, was not so stunning in places, with a lot of moor and bog. The one thing we did notice everywhere were the modern houses built absolutely everywhere. We could not get a view without houses in which we found very disappointing and many of these houses were empty.

As for disposing of rubbish, we bunt any that would, on beaches, slipped the odd small bag into a shop bin and found ourselves bringing home most of our recycling as we only ever found glass recycling facilities. A good, strong sack is required!

 

[trevskoda]

We only travelled to Donegal after a wedding near Derry so can't speak for the rest of Eire. The coast is spectacular, with plenty of wilding places.The hinterland, however, was not so stunning in places, with a lot of moor and bog. The one thing we did notice everywhere were the modern houses built absolutely everywhere. We could not get a view without houses in which we found very disappointing and many of these houses were empty.

As for disposing of rubbish, we bunt any that would, on beaches, slipped the odd small bag into a shop bin and found ourselves bringing home most of our recycling as we only ever found glass recycling facilities. A good, strong sack is required!

There english holiday homes and some our ones left when ireland was hit by depression in 2008.

 

[delicagirl]

We only travelled to Donegal after a wedding near Derry so can't speak for the rest of Eire. The coast is spectacular, with plenty of wilding places.The hinterland, however, was not so stunning in places, with a lot of moor and bog. The one thing we did notice everywhere were the modern houses built absolutely everywhere. We could not get a view without houses in which we found very disappointing and many of these houses were empty.

As for disposing of rubbish, we bunt any that would, on beaches, slipped the odd small bag into a shop bin and found ourselves bringing home most of our recycling as we only ever found glass recycling facilities. A good, strong sack is required!

what did you expect? the geology of Eire is just that.... moor bog and rock..... so you polluted their environment by building a fire on their beautiful beaches ?? shame ......

there are MASSES of glass recycling places in Eire... almost every small village has a small recycling area with a set of huge bins which the local population use all the time for glass paper clothing etc....


like someone else suggested i use small freezer food bags for rubbish and cut up and/or squash rubbish such as milk plastic cartons etc so that a small bag holds a lot. I have very occassionally asked a householder if i might put this tiny bag into their bin and they have never said no.. These tiny bags can be emptied fairly unobtrusively into the few remaining street rubbish bins or garage bins.