South Coast
Added on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
The Southern coast of Ireland may not have the spectacular cliffs and bays of the West, but there’s usually more settled weather, loads of history to absorb, not to mention the wonderful city of Cork and the quaint port of Wexford, which is where our route starts..
The Route
Anyone in Ireland should stop a day or two in Wexford, even though many people simply pass through as they utilize the regular ferry service from nearby Rosslare to Fishguard (plus a summer service to France by the way). Wexford has a great little High Street, with loads of unusual shops and superb pubs and restaurants. The meal we ate in Tim’s tavern there was simply the best food we had in Eire all week.
Leaving Wexford, pick up the main N25 road, signed for Cork and Limerick, which leads pretty smoothly to New Ross. Anyone with a passion for nature can stop a while at the John F. Kennedy park, which is just South of New Ross, or stop off for a break and look around the Dunbrody emigrant ship, which shows the sort of vessel people sailed across to America in over 150 years ago - and you thought bikes were scary!
A short blast will have you in Waterford, which has usually got a bit of a traffic jam going on around the bridge over the River Suir. Waterford of course if famed for its crystal and it also has a recently renovated quayside, which is a good place to chill out for a little break, as the roads into the town centre are confusing laid out, poorly signposted and there’s not much parking even for a bike in town.
Out of Waterford and onto the N25, signed for Dungarvan and Cork. Now the road really opens up nicely, with some unusually smooth sections for Ireland allowing you to get a bit of speed up. If you are taking it easy however, here’s a tip to make life safer; it’s an unspoken tradition in Eire that if the road is wide enough, or has a hard shoulder, then you move over to let the faster traffic past.
After about 10 miles or so, you’ll find the road goes down one side of Dungarvan bay and up the other side, with some awesome bends along the way. There is a 40mph speed limit on the uphill section however, but great fun nevertheless. You might want to stop and just admire the view however, which is stunning. There’s more great scenery at Youghal, a little further along the N25 and its worth a detour to visit the superb beaches, just Southwards, both of which are signed off the main road.
After Youghal, we took a little sideways excursion down the village roads, along the R633 to Ballymadog, then wriggled along the coastline on backroads. In truth, we didn’t see a great deal of coast you have strike off onto the little tracks to get access to bays as and when the mood takes you, but the Western edge of this little peninsular gives you great views of the Cobh island and the bay around Cork. You finally re-join the N25 and head into Cork (Ireland’s second biggest city) on busy dual carriageway.
Cork is a city full of bikes, compared to many places in Ireland, although mostly they are small scooters and commuter machines. For some reason the Honda Joker import scooter seems very popular. We did also spot a real rarity a Bimota YB7 of all things. Cork is another place worth spending time in, making an especially good base for trips West to Skibereen and Bantry Bay, or North to the Ring of Kerry, or the Galtee and Nagles mountains it is quite simply beautiful country around this part of Ireland.
Speed Traps
Minimal, spotted a few marked cars on the main N roads, no Gatsos anywhere en route.
Pit Stops
Obviously Tim’s Tavern in Wexford High Street gets the thumbs up, as does the chippy just across the road from there. The O’Brien’s chain of sandwich shops are also top class. We found at least three gas stations on the main N25 that sold hot pies, baked spuds, hot chicken baguettes etc, some also had a few picnic tables outside. Any bar will always sort you some lunch out, never fear.
