Ireland 2026 - Day 7: Connemara to Dublin
With our adventure almost at an end we headed for Dublin for one last night.
With one of our group already en route back to London we awoke to a stunning sunrise over our campsite in Connemara. Although we’d only had one night in this campsite it was great to get there because it’s in such a beautiful location and was quite busy but not too busy.
The site is settled in the machair dunes and is a carbon-neutral site with a private beach on which you can have fires in firepits, a sauna, and beautiful views.
We had a leisurely breakfast at camp and started to pack up. The campsite were very strict about checkout times so we had to be away by 11am at the latest and in fact the campsite owners were spotted up on a hill with binoculars overlooking the entrance to the site making sure that people had left when they’re supposed to. Human ANPR in action.
Before heading back to Dublin we decided to head around the lower peninsular and ride the Sky Road [1] which is a stunning road, threaded around the rocky outcrop with a view of the Atlantic Ocean and the offshore islands.
As a last stop this was a fabulous place to end our tour from Wexford all the way around to Connemara and—while we had more of this wonderful country to explore—that would have to wait for next time.
We flew along the N59 through the vast open plains of Connemara, bounded by stunning mountains. After a brief stop in Oughtered for a coffee and sandwich, we pressed on towards Dublin, now following the M6.
Arriving mid-afternoon the bikes were parked in the secure carpark, I checked into my favourite hotel in Dublin, had an incredible shower, and being careful to not fall asleep on the comfortable bed, went out to my favourite pub in Dublin Cassidy’s. As it had been quite a hot day the pints of Guinness seemed to evaporate before they hit my stomach so I really did need the three pints!
After a burger for dinner it was all I could do to head straight back to my room and collapse into a deep sleep, but not before setting my alarm for the morning to catch the ferry back to the UK.
Stage Distance: 314 km (195 miles)
Overall Distance: 1631 km (1013 miles)
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