Pretour - Dublin/Belfast Ireland 🇮🇪
This big fish is on the Lagan Weir. It is a people friendly walk around pump houses and giant gates that divide fresh water from salt water and controls the rivers flooding. In any case, it was a pedestrian friendly way to get to the Titanic Experience. We enjoyed the tour of the Experience but somehow didn’t take any pictures.
We had an easy morning and checked out at noon and headed to the Cruise Terminal to board the Star Pride. We checked in, assembled the bikes, and made a reservation at the Candles Restaurant on board. We sailed out of the harbor just as we sat down to dinner. It’s a working port, and looks like a lot of Guinness is ready to sail also!
We enjoyed our dinner as we made our way out of Dublin, setting a course for Douglas, Isle of Man.
Day 1 Isle of Man 🇮🇲
We returned to the ship and with time to spare, headed to the hot tub for a little recovery time! When we returned to our room, we were already on our way to Scotland!
Day 2 Scotland 🏴
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Great weather brought out all the cyclists so we stopped here at the end of the first route segment. There was a crowd so we broke out some sandwiches we brought along until the traffic cleared.
We selected the long route and pretty soon had the roads to ourselves. This is Fred, he was hanging out at this gas station/convenience store helping direct that tanker truck into position. While we enjoyed a coffee, he told us he had led 45 Irish Paratroopers teamed with the 101st Airborne during the Korean War. Only 17 returned home! He was a delightful gentlemen.
Half of the route was on smooth country lanes in rolling farmland.
The other half followed an old tow path along the River Lagan. The path was paved and other than one short set of stairs, very flat!
Getting ready for Ireland Independence Day celebrations, this bonfire stack is about 1/3 complete!
The river flows here..
…and the boats go here! A restored lock on the trail.
Low traffic, shade, smooth pavement, and flat. What could be better
Here is a restored barge sitting in a pool covered in lichen. A tour of the Titanic Experience was arranged for those interested, but we skipped by and headed back to the ship. No need to see it twice in one week!
More heavy wind today, luckily we are in a major harbor and could dock at the cruise terminal. It was a short ride to a ferry to the Wirral Peninsula where the riding would take place. Santana chartered the first ferry of the day and it was only a few hundred meters from the ship. Except the wind was blowing so hard through the downtown buildings, many people had to walk their bikes!
It was a rough crossing but soon we were on country roads with huge hedgerows that protected us from the wind.
The long route would take us to an old rail line that was converted into a multi-use trail.
This train station at Hadlow Road was adopted by a historical society and fully restored. There is a cafe at the far end that we took full advantage of!
Even the interior has been restored with old train schedules and notices!
That’s solid rock on either side of the trail. That’s a lot of work to get a flat rail bed!
We rolled into West Kirby and this street festival was going on. People were running/dancing through the tunnel, one of the guys yelled out ‘ let the cyclist through!’
So I lined up and rode through, much to the delight of the crowd!
This is the back of the Liverpool golf club. The wind was still ripping at about 25-35 miles an hour. We couldn’t imagine playing golf in that wind!
Soft pedaling along with a 30 mph tailwind will bring a smile to anyone, especially after working headwinds for the most of the day!
When the tide goes out, these boats just settle into the mud. They are not going anywhere until the tide comes back in.
On the ferry back to Liverpool. Not enough time to take the guided Beatles bike tour and get to the 5pm Mass, so we decided to head back to the ship and get cleaned up and head back out for Mass.
The very modern and cold Liverpool Cathedral. It was a huge church, and we attended Mass in a ‘small’ chapel within the building that was larger than many churches we’ve been to!
Neapolitan style pizza at Rudy’s in old town was delicious. We decided to stay in town for dinner since the ship will not be leaving until 9 pm.
This place was already rocking at 6 pm on a Saturday night. It was great to walk around, and with the loud music pounding from the bars, and the reveling patrons (some literally falling down drunk), it had a late night vibe of Memphis or New Orleans!
We spotted this old church as a large group of cyclists from our group were approaching from behind. We decided to duck inside and check it out. It is St. Marys of Llanfair yng Hornwy.
The door was propped open and we saw someone working inside. We asked if we could come in and look around and she invited us in. Rhian Hof is the warden of the parish, which means she is in charge of the grounds. She said this is the oldest church in Wales. The exact date of its founding is unknown, but parts of it date from the 11th or 12th century. She was delightful to visit with.
We headed back out through the main door which emptied into the parish graveyard.
This is the Monastery located 500 meters from the church, there used to be a tunnel that connected them. 
Back on the road we saw what looked like a very colorful crop. As we got closer we could see that it was tents on the hillside, that was part of a huge music festival.
The traffic picked up around the festival but soon we again had the road to ourselves.
The last segment of the ride was on this trail that was described as ‘scruffy,’ it was a fun way to end the day.
Arriving at the port we waited 15 minutes or so before the group became big enough for a security escort. Much better than riding the bus!
We love cycle touring on a cruise ship. But where high winds on a van supported tour are just annoying, on a cruise ship they can be destination changing. Today we were scheduled for a second day of riding in Wales. High winds again precluded tender operations (riding boats to shore) in Milford Haven so we headed to Cork Ireland instead.
Overnight the Santana team came up with a great selection of routes in and around Cork. Since our last day was planned to be in Cork, we will be here two nights. The cruise terminal is actually in Ringaskiddy, about 15 miles south of Cork.
The new route would take us to Blarney Castle and back to the ship. Basically an out and back to Cork with a lollipop loop to Blarney Castle.
I suppose I could say this is the famous Blarney Castle. It’s not. It’s the Blackrock Castle and observatory on the way to Cork. We continued to Blarney and did a little souvenier shopping in town. Blarney Castle was not visible, and we had no real interest in kissing the lipstick smeared stone so we had a coffee before heading back to Cork.
There was a Circle K on the way back and we were a little hungry so I ran into to see if they had my favorite road meal; a yummy fresh hot dog. Well they didn’t have the kind I was expecting, but they did have the sausage rolls that were even more delicious. Debby enjoyed hers as well.
This old convent is now part of the University of Cork and is quite beautiful.
St. Vincent was on duty watching over the car park!
This is the Lee river that feeds into Lough Mahon and eventually the Irish Sea.
We rolled into the old town section and found The Old Town Whiskey Bar. We ordered these Irish fries and some recovery beverages.
We still had 15 miles back to the ship, but most of it was on great bike paths along the Lee river.
Well that went fast, today is the last day of cycling of the cruise. Because we had an early ‘all aboard’ time of 3:00 after packing the bikes we could either ride the short or medium ride at our normal pace or ride the long ride at a fast pace. Deb already had nearly 280 miles over the last 6 days and was game to take a rest day and ride Sergios Coach (the non-riding option each day on a Santana tour) to Kinsale.
With the plan set, I was all dressed and ready to go during the first route talk, and when it was done, I rolled down to the bikes and headed out to Kinsale on the long route. I didn’t realize we were on the Wild Atlantic Way. I think we will see this Way again when we return to Ireland in August for our self-guided tour in southwest Ireland.
It was 18 miles into Kinsale and the town was very quiet. It felt like riding through a Disneyland street.
The route looped out of town a couple of miles to get a view of the harbor then back into town. I stopped for a few photos then rolled back into town and started seeing other riders also on the route. I texted Deb and she had just rolled into town on the bus.
We met at the visitor center and decided I should get going to get back in time to pack up the bikes. She was able to stay and do a little shopping in this great little town.
As I rolled out, I tacked onto this group of fast riders. The couple with the packs are from Colorado and were on our flight to Dublin. The two guys up front are retired and guide Italian bike tour guides.
They were a strong group and we made great time, but about here I realized I was missing out on some great views and photos concentrating on riding with a fast group. So I dropped off here and rode into Ringabella alone.
I stopped into this coffee shop right on the shore of the bay and had a triple cappuccino and some snacks, at Angela’s Coffee Dock. This is Angela and she makes a great cappuccino!
These crows were very interested in my Pringles. One tried to fly off with the can! I had some grapes in a baggie from the ship and tossed a couple out in the road and it caused quite the commotion!
The Ringabella Bay and a very rocky beach.
Still a few hills to overcome to get to the town on Camden.
Joining the bike path that leads to Ringaskiddy and eventually Cork.
I noticed this church on the way out of the port and didn’t stop. I had time now so stopped to check it out.
I had seen many of these repurposed phone booths in Ireland. I took this photo right outside the cemetery, coincidence?
I arrived back at the ship at about 1 pm and was able to repack the bikes at a nice leisurely pace. I borrowed a packing blanket from the bike rental guys and settled in with a Diet Coke and a sandwich from the ship to get the task done.
Our second night on board we had dinner at the Star Grill. An outdoor buffet on the top deck of the ship. Great food, fast service, and easy portion control (plenty of protein) made it a great choice for dinner. We simply grabbed our meal and sat indoors in the Yacht Club adjacent to the Grill. Debby would head up during the evening route talk and stake out this table, and I would join with drinks until the grill opened. We ended up here for dinner for the rest of the trip. This was our last dinner on board.
We followed one of the Rick Steve’s walking tours of Dublin and saw the City Hall and Christ Church Cathedral.
Next stop was the Guinness Storehouse tour. It was not a brewery tour, but rather a museum experience describing the process, ingredients, and advertising history of this great brew. It ended with a tasting. At the end Debby was wondering; ‘ and what am I doing here!’
Our last stop was the book of Kells and tour of Trinity college. No photos allowed of the actual book of the Gospels that is estimated to have been written in 800 AD!
One last walk through the Temple Bar and we were ready to pack up. Next stop will be Salzburg Austria to visit with Mark and his family!
Day 3 Belfast Northern Ireland 🇮🇪
Day 4 Liverpool England 🏴
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The ship was moored at a location about a mile from the port gate. For security and safety reasons we were led out from this location through the busy port by a port agent in a van. It felt like riding a neutralized start at a stage race. We positioned our selves near the front and got through without incident.
It did not take long to get outside of town and into beautiful rolling hills, farms, and pastures.
Our first stop was this windmill and coffee shop. We were still at the front end of the group and got in and out before the place was over run by cyclists. We skipped the yummy doughnuts and had one of our pre-made sandwiches with our coffee.
We decided on the long route and soon we again had the road to ourselves.
This farm is mostly in ruins, but still looks great!
All the signs were in Welsh and English.
Cemaes fishing village on the long route. We rolled into the harbor area and finished our sandwiches with a coffee.
Day 5 Holyhead Wales 🏴
We forgot to take a photo of the church from outside. I grabbed this one from Google Maps 😂
After dinner we returned to our cabin and the steward and made this cool towel sculpture with Debby’s sunglasses!
Day 6 Cork/Ringaskiddy
Some old fishing vessels in an inlet only a few miles from the port. We ended up completing the long route for 44 miles and 2000 feet. Considering that Santana put these routes together at the last minute, it was a very impressive ride!
Day 7 Cork/Ringaskiddy
This pub looked inviting but I was on the clock and after lingering at Angela’s I needed to keep moving!
The last stop of the day was Fort Meaghe guarding the entrance to Cork Harbor. There were cannon and fortifications from many eras.
It was a great tour, and we were able to ride our bikes in each of the 6 realms of the British Isles: Ireland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, and England. This was the first trip that Santana was able to deliver all 6 realms; rough seas and tides precluded touching all 6 on the previous two versions of this tour!
Post-tour
We had a day in Dublin before catching a flight to Salzburg Austria so we checked our bags at the hotel and set off on foot for a day in Dublin.
Hope you enjoyed riding along with us.
Steve
