The plan was for a biking and camping weekend
with no particular route....just to go where the road took us. The last time I
had used my tent was at the Oxygen festival here in either 2006 or 2007! I had
taken the precaution of airing out the smell that was funkier than James
Brown’s cloak several days in advance though, although as things would turn
out, I could have maybe done with some form of smell as an insect repellent! My
mate, Kivi, arrived up after work on Friday night and we set about packing the bikes.
I had had to get soft Givi luggage that afternoon as the hard pannier on the
right side won’t fit with the new carbon exhaust (something I will have to
rectify...and I have been informed that it is the pannier that will have to be
adjusted, rather than the exhaust!). But the soft luggage happily took
everything I wanted and the tent was strapped to the seat all was well. We set
off around 8:00pm to an ABR Ireland favourite....Meelmore Lodge and campsite.
The drive down was a joy, that fresh excitement that it seems is so rare these
days, the noise of the dual port exhaust as I twisted the throttle only added
to the boyish grin already beneath my helmet. We drove through Bryansford after taking a
turning off before Dundrum, travelling on an arrow straight road with
undulations past the ‘rear’ of Tullymore Forest Park. Immediately past this you
are greeted with the mountains on your left, the brown hues of heater on their
slopes still visible with a more rural landscape to your right. We arrived just
in time with the light fading and the mist rolling over Slieve Meelmore onto
the site. It had been so long since I put the tent up it was a bit of a
faff....I could feel the midges crawling all over me as I began to sweat in the
humid conditions with my sweating made worse by my frustration with a tent
pole. Sure enough, I awoke to find I had, literally, been eaten alive. A shower
was no help, but I had one anyway…the bites swelling to those all too familiar
little red bumps. No matter though, we were off to Castlewellan (Caisleán Uidhilín or Uidhilín's Castle) for a morning
fry at Urban Coffee.
As we
sat and watched the world go by we shot the breeze, and several cappuccinos
later we realised that similar interests were ideal for a biking weekend. I
love National Trust(esque) houses and properties, and the roads to them are
usually fun on a bike, so we decided to go to Ardress House – a smaller
manorial site, but quainter as a result. The A29 road turned out to be a bit of
a peach; even the leaden skies could not constrain the grin within my helmet.
The road cuts through rolling drumlin countryside, pierced only by the
occasional farms and hamlets, with plenty of banked switch-back corners before
you pass through small to medium towns. We passed through my father’s hometown
of Dungannon....a place I haven’t been to since I was a boy, mores the pity. We
turned off for Ardress House, a rough stone laneway flanked by apple orchards
gives way to a more impressive mature tree-lined driveway, past the front
facade of the building to the farmyard at the rear. Here you can wander round
feeding the inquisitive chickens, avoiding the hissing geese and trying to pet
the baby goats, all the while Kivi (complete with his Fred Dibnah t-shirt)
marvelled at the plethora of period farm machinery; “by ‘eck it were grand” as
Fred would no doubt have said! The farm buildings are, unsurprisingly,
functional and ‘chunky’ in design and build. You get the sense of a working
environment, rather than there for ornament. Ardress is also a townland, thought to come from the Irish An tArdriasc (the high moor/bog) or Ardriasc (meaning height of the marsh/bog) clearly a reference to the ground and land type.
Kivi
has a ‘touring in the trees’ pass which enables him and his other half to use
sites all the year round that are off limits to other people. Springwell is
such a site. It sits atop the Coleraine Mountain with the ‘camping’ area
huddled in the middle of the trees. I think it is primarily for caravan and
campervan owners, rather than those pitching tents, but the whole area was in
sharp contrast to Meelmore as it was quiet, secluded and peaceful (which I much
preferred). There were also fewer midges! Having had the previous night to
practice I was a lot more proficient at erecting my tent and it was up in less
than 10 minutes, this time with my head at the top of the gentle slope. It felt
more homely, more solidified and all in all a better set up. I was able to
relax. That night, in contrast with the previous night, I slept like a log. The
next morning I was promised one of the nicest fries I would have (apparently)
in Rocca (Coleraine). The town centre was agreeably quiet on the Sunday
morning, and sure enough, the fry was rather special.
The Sunday route (the journey home) would take in the north coast road, but this time I was determined to take the Torr Head route, a more challenging twisty, undulating road that I had only been on once before. It didn’t disappoint.
The views were magnificent, the rugged landscape looked quite wild, with the occasional black headed sheep grazing obliviously. The riding was challenging but more enjoyable as a result. We overtook the Sunday drivers with
ease. The road consisted of blind corners and crests with the occasional 70 metre straight thrown in for good measure. The descent into the viewing area was quite steep, with small birds darting out of the hedges and ducking under the front wheel. The road eventually took us to the picturesque town of Cushendun. I have to say though, once onto the main coast route, I was disappointed. We
have done this road, I suspect like many other bikers here, many times. But I
am almost bored with it now...and there are usually a lot of a**holes on the road
and today was no exception....Kivi nearly being wiped out by a Citroën driver
who overtook on a blind corner. It seems it is either this or a Sunday driver pootling along at 20mph. I like to have the road to myself, I can take in the views without the crowds, which is something of a theme for me it seems. The next trip is planned for some time in
August with Tyrone mooted as the potential destination. I still dream of
heading off to the Black Forest or a similar location on the bikes, don't get me wrong.....but I see these mini ‘adventures’ and weekends away as not that dissimilar, and they will have to do in the interim.....I like them....they
aren’t so bad!!
