Ireland the North 1. Dundalk

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Ireland the North 1 Dundalk
Still heading south today to Dundalk in light cloud and very brief shows of the sun. Luckily the wind is moderate and mostly not causing much stress. The countryside is undulating in cow country with beef and quite a few dairy farms plus the odd sheep farm. We notice some of the dairy herds are quite big as we wend our way around the spiders web of country lanes. For our mid morning break we stopped at Cafe Nero at the Quays Shopping Centre on the way out of the bustling city of Newry. This lead us out of town alongside the Newry Canal. The Victoria Lock is where ther is a brief history of the last ships out of the port of Newry almost 50 yrs ago. South if this is the Carlingford Lough Ferry which runs from Greenore at the foot of the Cooley Mountains in County Louth to Greencastle in County Down at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. As you approach Omeath there is a Ford Anglia 100e (pre 1958) on top of a chip shop. In Omeath there is a Greenway which hugs the side of the Lough, all the way to Carlingford which avoids the main road and the few hills. Carlingford is a nice little town with a castle, narrow streets and colourful pubs and shops. A good place for an early lunch. The route out of Carlingford takes us up into the hills ( where else would it go?) and then down again to the busy R173 at The Bush Post. The ‘Bush’ was at a junction of three town lands prior to it being uprooted to create a railway station here in 1876 which ceased in 1951.
From here it is about 18km into Dundalk on this busy road with occasional cycle paths alongside the road. Not very pleasant but there is no choice. Eventually after a long ride around the periphery of Dundalk the Crown Plaza looms up on your RHS as a big white tower block of 14 stories and 130 bedrooms. Time for a rest before the long final day tomorrow.

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Photos

Victoria Lock
Newry Canal