Posted on

At home on a bike

kingfisher-shot-optIreland’s first National Bike Week starts tomorrow (14-21 June), which not only gives us the excuse to dig our bikes out from the back of the shed, but also to see where we can enjoy riding them.  At last, the wheels of change are in motion for Irish cyclists, as National Bike Week is part of a new National Cycle Policy Framework, the aim of which is to get as many of us as possible back in the saddle again. For details of this week’s events see  http://bikeweek.ie.

 

I am using National Bike Week to celebrate Ireland’s first long-distance trail, The Kingfisher Cycle Trail,  a must for anyone who wants to discover the hidden gems of the North-West.  The Kingfisher is an appropriate name for it – this elusive little bird is associated with lakelands, and the 370kms trail twists in an out of the extraordinarily endless lakes of Cavan, Fermanagh, Leitrim and Monaghan,  giving the Kingfisher (and us) a superb choice of shores to rest upon. 

 

The Trail is designed as a figure of eight, divided into two loops. The northern loop circles Lower Lough Erne, then moves alongside Loughs Melvin and Macnean, stretching out as far as Ballyshannon in Co.  Donegal.  The lower loop is bordered on two sides by Upper Lough Erne and Lough Allen. A good starting point for the southern loop is Carrick-on-Shannon, from where you can travel east, along backroads through the patchwork quilt-like landscape of tiny lakes. On this route, an ideal picnic stop is at Newtownbutler where, if travelling anti-clockwise, you have to phone the ferryman to help you back on your journey across the lake to Crom in Co. Fermanagh. For the northern loop section, hire bikes at eco-friendly, family-run Corralea Activity Centre (www.activityireland.com), or base yourself here for a few days. Then go further north, and check out the extra Atlantic mini-loop from Belleek or Ballyshannon to the sandy beach at Rossnowlagh. Creevy Cottages, overlooking the sea, are the perfect stop-off for this bit (www.creevyexperience.com).

 

The Kingfisher Trail’s map is excellent (€6, www.cycletoursireland.com), offering several different ways to break up the Trail, as well as day routes and attractions along the way. It also points out some of the busier sections of road, warning cyclists to take caution, but there are few of these. Other fine eco-friendly places to stay along the Trail, which either offer bikes free of charge to guests, or arrange bike hire, include The Old Schoolhouse, Meenaslieve, County Cavan (www.theoldschoolhousecavan.com), or tie your bike up beside the tipi at Orchard Acre Farm (www.orchardacrefarm.com).   Two lakeshore accommodations which offer bikes and a boat free of charge are Little Crom Cottages on the shores of Upper Lough Erne (www.littlecromcottages.com), and Trinity Island Lodge, at a beautiful island hideaway near Killeshandra, County Cavan (www.trinityisland.com). You can have a superb massage after a day’s cycling if you stay at the Blaney Spa and Yoga Centre overlooking Lough Erne (www.blaneyspaandyogacentre.com), and you can reward yourself with some of Donegal’s finest fare at Ard Na Breatha, which won Georgina Campbell’s Best Guesthouse this year (www.ardnabreatha.com).

 

The new Cycling Framework also aims to integrate cycling into the public transport network, and not before time. At present, there are only certain rail routes which cater for bikes, and for details of these see www.irishrail.ie. If you want to leave the car at home, you can also think about taking the bus, as both Bus Eireann and Ulsterbus will take bikes in the boot, if there is room, on a first come first served basis.

 

For some more excellent cycling options abroad, check in with me in a couple of weeks time.

 

(This article was first published in The Irish Times, 13 June 2009)

Posted on

Food and tourism

cliffs-of-moher-resize “All this pasta is no good for keeping me regular”, an Irish colleague once told me on a work trip to Rome. We had to spend an afternoon looking for an Irish pub, just so that he could rebalance his digestive system with some ‘real’ food – a pint. Some people just aren’t meant to travel together. I recalled this story after reading a recent press release from The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, one of my favourite places to visit in Ireland. Their Director had recently been to a travel exhibition in Shanghai, as part of Tourism Ireland’s plan to encourage more Chinese visitors to visit Ireland. Tourism Ireland predicts 10000 Chinese visitors in 2009, which is great news. However, apparently these tourists have one big concern about Ireland. The food.  

Tourism Ireland’s chief representative in China, Susan Li, stressed the need for Irish accommodation providers and restaurants to start considering Chinese tastes.  “Chinese people like to have some familiar dishes available on their trips abroad – noodle and rice dishes, seafood, light soups, fresh fruit etc.  Hot food at breakfast is common but not exactly an Irish breakfast – rice porridge, hot rolls or even stir fry is a typical Chinese breakfast” explained Li, adding “It would be a good idea to provide green tea as well as the more traditional Irish cuppa”.

I almost had to check that the press release wasn’t dated 1st April. How wonderful that we can now welcome Chinese visitors to our shores, but I think we might be in danger of patronising them by assuming they all want stir-fry for breakfast on their travels. I thought that tourists had generally moved beyond expecting bacon and eggs on the Costa del Sol, a Sunday carvery in the Caribbean or asking ‘Can we have chips with that lasagne?’ in a Tuscan trattoria?.

The press release must also have had our long list of talented Irish chefs screaming à la Gordon Ramsay, many of whom have succeeded in putting Irish cuisine (and produce) at the top of the list for global gourmands. Guess what, lots of Irish tourist providers already have green tea on the menu! They may even stretch to fresh fruit these days. And let’s not even go there on seafood.

 Of course I know that there will always be tourists who freak over food. I travelled to Morocco with an English woman, whose case was packed with Pot Noodles and PG Tips. She had heard everything was ‘a bit spicy over there’, and had come prepared. I had a French friend who used to visit Ireland regularly, bringing most of the contents of a French hypermarket with him. Du vin, du pain, et du Boursin. Not as gifts, but just because he couldn’t go without ‘proper’ food when he was away from home.

Last year, we had the honour of hosting a Maasai elder in our home. It was his first trip out of the Maasai Mara, and he tried everything we ate, despite his normal, healthy diet of milk and herbs, and a monthly portion of meat. The only thing he didn’t understand was salad. He couldn’t see the point, which delighted my kids no end. He also said that the most exciting aspect of his trip was experiencing a new culture, and that understanding our food, and eating rituals, was the best part of that.

 It is a fantastically exciting prospect for Irish tourism providers to host Chinese guests, and attractions like the Cliffs of Moher are rightfully proud to show off our natural and cultural heritage. But food is a big part of that package, and it is surely time for them, Tourism Ireland, and all of us, to shout about that from the clifftops.

This article was first published in The Irish Times, 2nd May 09