Giant’s Causeway coast (Northern Ireland)
20 miles (33 km), 40 min, beginner
Photo: Adam Bishop, CC BY-SA 3.0, resizedMotorcycle ride in Northern Ireland
Mourne Mountains: Spelga, Hilltown and the Head Road
48 miles (77 km), 1 hr 35 min, intermediate
The Mourne Mountains, whose Slieve Donard (850 m) is the highest point in Northern Ireland, are County Down’s great walking area, with the granite Mourne Wall winding over the twelve highest peaks. From Newcastle, the loop passes Tollymore Forest and the start of the Trassey Track towards Hare’s Gap. It then climbs the Slievenaman Road, one of the highest public roads in the province, to Spelga Dam. It races down the Spelga bends to Hilltown and reaches Rostrevor. It then returns by the small roads of Attical and the Head Road, which passes the entrance to Silent Valley park and the start of Carrick Little, before coming back along the coast via Annalong. The two Spelga hairpins are steep and heavily cambered, the wind can be violent on the plateau, and sheep wander on the road.
Stops along the way
- SStart: Newcastle
- 1Bryansford, after 3 miles (5 km)
- 2Spelga Dam, after 11 miles (17 km)
- 3Hilltown, after 15 miles (23 km)
- 4Rostrevor, after 22 miles (35 km)
- 5Carrick Little, after 38 miles (61 km)
- 6Annalong, after 40 miles (65 km)
- SFinish: Newcastle, after 48 miles (77 km)
Download the GPXTrack and stops as a GPX file, for a sat nav or another app.
Photos along the route
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Route planned by MotoLert with Valhalla on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons, with the author and licence under each image.