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Glens
of Antrim
(round trip to and from Belfast) |
Ref:
ICSGA |
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August
2, 16
May, June & September €635.
(US$902 / Stg£438 approx.)
July & August €665.
(US$944 / Stg£459 approx.)
Please
see booking information)
Tour includes seven
nights in good quality guesthouses
and small hotels, bike hire (
21 speed Trek T30 ), guide & luggage
van and all route details.
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This
tour offers you some of the most spectacular
coastal scenery in the country, with
cliffs and rolling green fields sweeping
down towards the Irish Sea along a coastline
dotted with ancient forts and castles.
We also cycle inland up into the famous
Glens of Antrim with some wonderful
highland cycling on quiet backroads.
Finally you visit Bushmills the oldest
licensed whiskey distillery in the
world and finish off the week with
a visit to the Giants Causeway
, the most famous landmark in Northern
Ireland with its amazing basalt roach
formations.
We meet up in the centre of Belfast and after an introductory
meeting we have dinner together.
A Sustrans Cycle path guides us out of Belfast along
the coast to Carrickfergus and its famous 12th Century
castle. We then head inland to avoid the Sunday drivers
and up into the mountains before descending to the first
of the Antrim Glens with beautiful views of the ocean
below. That night we stay in the quiet seaside village
of Glenarm.
In the morning we cycle back up into the hills and see
Sperrin mountain. It is here where legend has it that
St Patrick spent his youth in captivity as a pig farmer
before escaping back to England only to return as a Bishop
to convert Ireland to Christianity. We then return to
the coast for lunch in a seaside Hotel. The days cycle
takes in the beauty of Antrim not only in its coastline
but also in its famous and stunning Glens. Slowly but
surely we make our way along the coast to the village
of Cushendall where we base ourselves for two nights.
Heading inland again, we cycle through two of the most
spectacular Glens of Antrim before returning back to
Cushendall for another night in this lovely village.
In the morning we explore the pretty and less visited
Glenaan more thoroughly and then return to the coast
for lunch in Cushendun. In the afternoon comes one of
the highlights of the week, a breathtaking cycle along
the coast road to Ballycastle passing along green fields
dotted with sheep, while you look out over beautiful
views of Scotland and the Mull of Kintyre, just across
the sea.
One attractive option on the rest day is to take the
ferry to explore Rathlin Island, which is some five miles
out in the Atlantic.
We cycle along the coast where we can visit the famous
Carrickrede rope bridge and then along to view the hexagonal
rock formations at the Giants Causeway. From there we
head to the village of Bushmills where we can visit the
famous Whiskey distillery. The tour finishes off with
a transfer back from Coleraine to Belfast city for a
final night together.
After a hearty breakfast, like all good things the tour
ends!
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