NORTH OF IRELAND TOUR

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An MG on a
Northern Ireland tour

Description

This is another brand new tour exploring the northern part of Ireland that often gets neglected by other tours and tourists in general. The northern part of Eire and Northern Ireland have some spectacular scenery and fascinating places of interest that we think are worth having a closer look at. However, as we expect our customers to come from a variety of different places in England and maybe further afield, we felt it wasn't practical for us to specify a particular ferry. Therefore we have listed the various options and leave it to you to choose the most practical for your purpose. We are happy to make the bookings but as the costs will also vary we have not included this in the price of the tour.

Provisional Itinerary

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The dramatic coastline
of Northern Ireland

Saturday June 28^th

Travel to Ireland by your choice of ferry. (Accommodation can be arranged at the start hotel at extra cost if required or you may prefer an overnight ferry.)

Day 1 - Sunday

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Lough View

Our clockwise tour starts from a hotel near Belfast this morning when we head south onto the Ards Peninsula and drive along the shores of the renowned Strangford Lough. We cross the Lough by ferry at its southernmost point and head for the Mountains of Mourne. The route here is partly coastal and partly in the mountains as we head westward to Eire and the Slieve Gallion Mountains and Muckno Lake to spend the night at Castleblayney.

Day 2 - Monday

We continue west through Bellamont Forest to Upper Lough Eire. We literally cross the lough, by road this time and head towards the Iron Mountains. The afternoon is spent at the spectacular Marble Arch Caves, where, weather permitting, we will take and under ground boat trip to view this amazing spectacle. From here it is a relatively short run to our next hotel in Sligo.

Day 3 - Tuesday

Today we head further south through the wonderful scenery around Lough Arrow Lough Key and Lough Gara before turning west to cross the Ox Mountains. Then it is south via Swinford and Castlebar to the coast and our hotel for the next two nights at Westport.

Day 4 - Wednesday

Today we have a long drive out to the Atlantic Coast and back. The route starts in ‘Joyce Country' going via Lough Mask and the Partry Mountains. We then follow the dramatic coastline westward to Clifden where Alcock & Brown ended the first non-stop Atlantic flight. We return to Westport passing the stunning view of the fjord-like Killary harbour and continue along the beautiful shores of Clew Bay.

Day 5 - Thursday

We return north today to Sligo making a circular tour of the Corraun Peninsula and skirting the Nephin Beg Mountains. We pass through Glen Nephin to Lough Cann before following the shores of Killalee Bay.

Day 6 - Friday

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Knockalla Hill Climb

A long driving day as we head further north to the spectacularly beautiful north Atlantic coast and Donegal. First we cross the Glendoran mountains on the way to the Glen Veagh National park. We then continue to the northernmost point of Fannad Head before turning south towards our hotel near Letterkenny. On the way we drive the famous Knockalla Hill Climb which starts from the stunning sandy beach on the shore of Lough Swilly before climbing to the top of the overlooking cliffs. (Don't worry – it is now a wide two-lane road.)

 

Day 7 - Saturday

Our last but by no means 'least' day. We have saved some scenic gems to end the tour with. First we skirt Londonderry heading east via the Glenelly Valley and the Sperrin Mountains before returning to the coast near Portstewart. We now come to some of the most famous landmarks in Northern Ireland; The Giants Causeway, the world renowned basalt rock formation, then the hair-raising Carrick-a-rede rope bridge and finally the awesome scenery of the Antrim coast. We stay at a hotel north of Belfast tonight and have a farewell dinner before making our own way home.

Day 8 - Sunday

Catch ferries home!

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