Ireland 2026 - Day 4: Dingle to Clare
None of us got much sleep in the battering wind and come 6am it was getting worse so we had a decision to make, and pretty quickly.
It had been a noisy and blustery night with heavy rain and high winds and a 6am check of the weather forecast showed that the highest winds hadn’t even hit us yet. So I quickly got packed up and loaded my bike before saying to the girls that I’m going to help them pack up although we needed to do that now. Because the winds were so high we carried stuff into the toilet and shower block for shelter from the elements and packed up in there, clearing the camping field quickly. Although not before two of the group’s tents had been damaged by the wind; suffering snapped poles!
Although it was clear that there had been damage across the site as one tent was completely flat and another larger tent had a snapped pole too.
After a pretty frantic pack-up we went into the nearby guesthouse for breakfast to make some decisions and plan what would be next. Clearly with two tents damaged we had to think about repairs but for now we had to make a decision if it was actually safe to ride far today. Originally the plan was to loop around the Dingle Peninsula, then up to Limerick, and then over to our campsite in Co. Clare. However we needed to change plans and while staying at the site we were currently at would have made sense if it had been sheltered, it was very exposed and the winds were set to get higher. It was clear we needed to move on to somewhere more sheltered and push through the weather.
While I hadn’t been to the next campsite before it was clear that there was a good amount of shelter from the elements so I thought we’d be much better there, and given it was early in the day and we didn’t have far to ride we could get there and repair tents etc. Also one of the bikes in the group needed some attention to the chain and another had a screw stuck in the tyre! But the weather forced our hand and we decided to take it easy to the next campsite where we’d be in a much better position to effect all of the repairs we had to make.
So instead of riding around via Limerick we decided to make straight for the Shannon Ferry from Tarbert to Killimer, a short ride across the estuary, but cutting off a lot of miles to travel.
The ferry is quite a quick trip and cost around €12 and gave us the chance to get out of the weather for a while.
The trip over was pretty calm really, given the wind, and we had the chance to use the facilities and have a stretch. Also because the rain had eased off a couple of us decided to risk it and take off our heavy rain gear, especially as we’d only have 35 minutes or so to ride on the other side. During the trip one of the girls had called the campsite ahead and they’d told her that there were some glamping pods available if we didn’t want to camp!
The road from Killimer to the campsite in Miltown Malbay was pretty rugged with lumps, bumps, and potholes and with the wind blowing was a bit exciting. Although I have to admit this was one of my favourite rides of the week as it was rough and fun to power the bike through the elements. But fairly quickly we arrived at the market town, in an area famous for the Irish music scene there, and we were keen to experience a session!
Arriving at the Eco Camping Glamping, where we’d be staying the night, we quickly decided to book into the glamping pods instead of pitching our tents—a decision that was exceptionally good! Our hosts gave us advice that the local Friel’s Pub (called Lynch’s on the signs outside) was the place to go for some pints and to experience the session, and also a recommendation for The Old Bakehouse for some dinner later that day.
The campsite was lovely though, with chickens, ducks, and a dog running around who spent most of the time barking at crows! Everything is oriented around being environmentally-conscious with the reed-beds processing the waste from the facilities, and willow planting all over the site. The hosts told us that the site was just a field when they arrived but 9 years later it’s a beautiful site with great facilities.
Having a night of shelter away from the weather was a great idea and after getting settled I had a nap—but rather longer than I expected, so I had to meet the girls in the restaurant!
Dinner was really welcome though and thankfully I woke up from my nap in time to get some food! I’d have been pretty sad to have missed the chance for some dinner as I was starving by that point. We then headed to Friel’s for a few pints and listen to the Irish music session which was absolutely amazing to experience. It’s a lovely bar, cosy, great craic, and a fantastic pint of Beamish! We also bumped into the campsite staff there too and had a nice chat with them.
Eventually we walked the 5 minutes back to the campsite and headed to bed, listening to the wind outside of our little huts. We’d think about the repairs of bikes and tents in the morning, for now we all had some sleep to catch up on!
Stage Distance: 120 km (75 miles)
Overall Distance: 1076 km (669 miles)
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Next: Ireland 2026 - Day 5