Best stretch of road in Ireland?

tuxy

Ok not driving long enough to answer this myself. If you had just bought an expensive sports car what road would you head for to test it out? Or if you own a sports car what road do you enjoy driving on?

positron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrburgring

Hal1

positron wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrburgring

What!?, did they open a replica Nurburgring track here in Eíre or something else I missed. :rolleyes:

Dr. Loon

positron wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BCrburgring

Idiot.

Beady

tuxy wrote:

Ok not driving long enough to answer this myself. If you had just bought an expensive sports car what road would you head for to test it out? Or if you own a sports car what road do you enjoy driving on?

Ahh, there's two reasons you'd buy a sports car, some, if not most people buy one to impress their friends and then brag about the theoretical top speed. Some may even try to prove this by doing a Vmax run late at night on a motorway and consider themselves to be great just because they can keep their right foot on the carpet while driving in a straight line!

Then there are car enthusiasts, generally people who can drive. By that I mean people who have a genuine love for driving and cars, they can read the road they're driving on and will adjust whatever car they may be driving to deal with the bumps, camber and general conditions of the road they're on.

As for your question, I'm not about to tell someone who admits to being inexperineced where the best driving roads are, gain some experience, go driving and you'll find them;)

Please don't kill yourself trying though!

JHMEG

Mondello? Pretty much the only place in the country to let a sportscar stretch its legs.

Robbo

Molls Gap.

Curse Youtube for not having the in car when Bertie Fisher broke 10 mins on the Gap for the first time.

mike65

Lemybrien to Carrick on Suir, not a well known road but quite good with a mix of undulating windy stuff and some potentially fast straights.

Mike.

Seth Brundle

There are several roads around the country that provide great drives.
Bob Montgomery did some great write ups in the Irish Times - one particular favourite he covered is the one from Rathfarnham, passing Sally Gap into Laragh and then on towards Blessington.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/motors/2007/0711/1183751812328.html

more in here... http://www.ireland.com/search/?rm=listresults&filter=datedesc&keywords=bob+montgomery&submit=Search

bauderline

Some very good stretches on the N3 between Virginia and Cavan, early morning run would be best.

bauderline

Note, whilst it may be easy to find a straight bit of motorway and floor it up to the top speed, it is not without hazard.....

One of my favourites this, fair play for him bring the car to a safe stop !

http://www.yuretz.ru/Vstrecha_s_kuricej_na_skorosti_250_km_chas_p510.html

Baud.

positron

Hal1, I know its not in Ireland, but OP asked 'if you had just bought an expensive sports car...", and thats where I would want to take it. And yeah, another reason is that I don't really fancy anyone "testing" a new car on public roads that I am likely to be on, you see!

Dr. Loon, STFU!!

tuxy

positron a threads topic is directly above the main body of text.
I never said anything about breaking the speed limit or driving dangerously

positron

Fair enough tuxy, I thought you wanted to "test it" as in testing performance, handling etc on a track like environment!

tuxy

Ya I can see why you would think that, my post wasn't very clear. What I meant was, what is a good bit of road for people who enjoy driving.

impr0v

bauderline wrote:

Note, whilst it may be easy to find a straight bit of motorway and floor it up to the top speed, it is not without hazard.....

One of my favourites this, fair play for him bring the car to a safe stop !

http://www.yuretz.ru/Vstrecha_s_kuricej_na_skorosti_250_km_chas_p510.html

Baud.

Rofl, he must have been picking feathers out of his teeth for a while.
Commiserations to the pheasant.

ninty9er

tuxy wrote:

Ya I can see why you would think that, my post wasn't very clear. What I meant was, what is a good bit of road for people who enjoy driving.

There's a nice hilly windy stretch for a good few miles between Ennis and Miltown Malbay

Hal1

Woa, that was some force that bird hit to penetrate the windscreen, good job the driver maintained control. Im not sure where the best stretch of road is as I rarely venture outside of Dublin heh. Sure when they have finished the transport 21 development there may be several nice long stretches of new motorway.

Altreab

impr0v wrote:

Rofl, he must have been picking feathers out of his teeth for a while.
Commiserations to the pheasant.

not to mention his seat might need extra valet attention

mikemac

Maybe try Corkscrew Hill near Lahinch, Co. Claire.
Good way to test the braking and acceleration of the sports car.
I don't know another road in Ireland like this and it's very aptly named!

unkel

kbannon wrote:

one particular favourite he covered is the one from Rathfarnham, passing Sally Gap into Laragh and then on towards Blessington

My favourite too. I haven't driven that one in a few years now, but I used to go for a spin thereabouts nearly every weekend. Some lovely roads in Co. Wicklow!

Wishbone Ash

The R251 Church Hill to Dunlewey in Co Donegal used to be a great driver's road 25 years ago. It was narrow, twisty and very undulating requiring hundreds of gear changes and ideal positioning. But what made it great and relatively safe was that there were no hedges so one can see around the bends. It it is also built on a bog and has plenty of 'give' meaning that there are no pot-holes.

Progress however, has meant that it has been constantly widened and straightened over the past 20 years so it's relatively 'ordinary' now.

TwoShedsJackson

micmclo wrote:

Maybe try Corkscrew Hill near Lahinch, Co. Claire.
Good way to test the braking and acceleration of the sports car.
I don't know another road in Ireland like this and it's very aptly named!

The drive from Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan is pretty enjoyable and includes Corkscrew Hill, the bit before the hill as you come from Lisdoonvarna is enjoyable, rally-like if you're going fast enough

AdrianII

M4 lucan to mullingar - put the foot down, great road

Dish

Outside monaghan between der and meath i think it is! Thwer is a huge stretch of straight road! Unreal for speeding! But watch for cops! Get a detector! Ya neva know!

Wishbone Ash

Dish wrote:

Outside monaghan between der and meath i think it is! Thwer is a huge stretch of straight road! Unreal for speeding!

I presume you are referring to the 3 mile straight north of Carrickmacross? A straight road is not a 'drivers' road. Anyone can drive in a straight line!

tuxy

Dish wrote:

Outside monaghan between der and meath i think it is! Thwer is a huge stretch of straight road! Unreal for speeding! But watch for cops! Get a detector! Ya neva know!

Tard, let me guess you do this while wearing your Celtic jersey,baseball cap and you have your seat tilted at a 90 degree angle.
Do you think you are the new drdre or something?
Every post you talk about idiotic boy racer crap and use as many exclamation marks as possible.

Wishbone Ash

tuxy wrote:

and you have your seat tilted at a 90 degree angle

That would be very straight! :eek:

(45 degrees )

unkel

Dish wrote:

Outside monaghan between der and meath i think it is! Thwer is a huge stretch of straight road! Unreal for speeding!

Was it there those boys did the chicken run?

bauderline

Motorways and big straight roads have their purpose, which is generally getting from A to B quickly without too much hassle. Also handy for the occaisional put the foot down if there is no traffic about, just to open up the engine a bit a blow out cobwebs. But you are correct, no driving skill involved in this whatsoever, just a bit of common sense of when and where to do it, and when to take the foot off again...

There is a stretch of road that runs over the South Armagh mountains from the far side of Castleblaney to Newtownhamilton. A very testing stretch of road that has been recently resurfaced, lots of really tight bends and a couple of good long straights. There appears to be a couple of local boys with Mk2 Escorts that do an occaisional "stage" along it. It will really test the handling of any car, get to know the road first though as a few of the corners are much tighter than you would think.

Panda Moanium

Glad to see that nobody has mentioned my favourite piece of road yet.

Great surface, flowing bends you can see around, and best of all, next to no traffic.

Hope it stays that way (no traffic) as long as possible which is why I have no intention of saying where it is on here. You'll just have to find it for yourselves

Although the aforementioned Mr. Mongomery is aware of it...

BTW, why do so many so called motoring enthusiasts on here seem to think that straight roads and motorways represent the ultimate in driving roads?

Seth Brundle

AdrianII wrote:

M4 lucan to mullingar - put the foot down, great road

It must be nice to be easily satisfied!

Dish wrote:

Outside monaghan between der and meath i think it is! Thwer is a huge stretch of straight road! Unreal for speeding! But watch for cops! Get a detector! Ya neva know!

It took me a while before I could understand this!
Oh and apart from them being unreliable, detectors are illegal to own, use, install, buy, etc.

Wishbone Ash wrote:

...A straight road is not a 'drivers' road. Anyone can drive in a straight line!

Exactly!

unkel wrote:

Was it there those boys did the chicken run?

I was thinking the same myself.

Panda Moanium wrote:

Glad to see that nobody has mentioned my favourite piece of road yet.

Great surface, flowing bends you can see around, and best of all, next to no traffic.

Hope it stays that way (no traffic) as long as possible which is why I have no intention of saying where it is on here. You'll just have to find it for yourselves

You think that because it is mentioned here it will suddenly become like the M50 during rush hour?

Maxav

Here's a couple...Sligo to Enniskillen, great driving road but easy to get stuck behind something cause as with all the best driving roads IMHO overtaking opportunities are limited!
Sligo to Dromahair and back to Sligo around Lough Gill, doesn't matter in which direction, 25 miles and almost nothing straight. Fun road but Dromahair is a sleeper town for Sligo so avoid 8-9am and 5-6pm, almost empty otherwise.
One more thing, the world rally in November will be in and around these roads so it's not just me that likes them LOL.
Also the short run around Mullaghmore is a spectacular drive and incidentally the final stage of the rally, can't wait to see a helicopter shot of a WRC car at full pelt 10 feet from the cliffs!!
One last suggestion I would make, a rear wheel drive two seater or a two wheeler make all the above even better.

RainyDay

mike65 wrote:

Lemybrien to Carrick on Suir, not a well known road but quite good with a mix of undulating windy stuff and some potentially fast straights.

Ah happy memories. I worked in Dungarvan for about 9 months so I was driving this road about 4 times a week. I got to know every bend & straight like the back of my hand. I remember giving a lift back to Dublin to a guy who asked me when we got to Carrick if I was into rallying.

ninty9er

There's a nice windy road up from Patrickswell to Crecora (fairly short though) off the racecourse exit on the N18 south that brings you back in towards Patrickswell on the old road. I've a freind that lives on it...great at night because you can see lights but a lot more care needed during the day with the places some idiods park on it!!

Dish

tuxy wrote:

Tard, let me guess you do this while wearing your Celtic jersey,baseball cap and you have your seat tilted at a 90 degree angle.
Do you think you are the new drdre or something?
Every post you talk about idiotic boy racer crap and use as many exclamation marks as possible.

Nothing wrong with wearing a celtic jersey for a start! 90 degress and i wudnt be able to see! I have it 75 degrees. **** off are words that come to mind for u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<- Like my exclamations!

Yea im dre. Thats right! U seem to be like a 60yr old cranky shyt!

dave2pvd

Any road that was a Rally of the Lakes stage.

Caragh Lake. Ardroom. Molls Gap. Healy Pass..... And some of the connecting roads, like Gap of Dunloe.

wet-paint

I like the road from Kilcolgan through Kinvara, and up through the hills to Carron and Kilfenora, and on to Lahinch. Especially after turning off the main road after Kinvara through the Burren.

tuxy

wet-paint wrote:

I like the road from Kilcolgan through Kinvara, and up through the hills to Carron and Kilfenora, and on to Lahinch. Especially after turning off the main road after Kinvara through the Burren.

Is this the one with many very sharp hairpins right after each other or am I thinking of a different road in that area?

Wossack

Dish wrote:

Nothing wrong with wearing a celtic jersey for a start! 90 degress and i wudnt be able to see! I have it 75 degrees. **** off are words that come to mind for u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<- Like my exclamations!

Yea im dre. Thats right! U seem to be like a 60yr old cranky shyt!

geez, they let anyone onto the internet these days

Dades

kbannon wrote:

There are several roads around the country that provide great drives.
Bob Montgomery did some great write ups in the Irish Times - one particular favourite he covered is the one from Rathfarnham, passing Sally Gap into Laragh and then on towards Blessington.

Thirded for the Sally Gap!

I drove to Blessington this way in my old Fiat Spider and was the best fun you can have with your clothes on.

mike65

RainyDay wrote:

Ah happy memories. I worked in Dungarvan for about 9 months so I was driving this road about 4 times a week. I got to know every bend & straight like the back of my hand. I remember giving a lift back to Dublin to a guy who asked me when we got to Carrick if I was into rallying.

Sadly I have'nt had any reason to be on it for quite some time - about two years but I guess I could just drive it for the hell of it some time!

Mike.

wet-paint

tuxy wrote:

Is this the one with many very sharp hairpins right after each other or am I thinking of a different road in that area?

TBH I'd say there's more than one road like this in the Burren, but this is going up a fairly steep hill, and has AMAZING views over Galway, tour buses often stop here (you'll also meet them on that road, so keep an eye out, the drivers like to bomb it down in my experience) and let the yanks take a gander.

It's a fantastic drive once you turn right at Kilcolgan with the sun going down, and you know you've forty odd miles awaiting you, and I only drive a Festy. Really loving driving at the minute, and the fact that I blew the amp in my headunit is making long journeys a killer.

tuxy

Ya the one I am thinking of is very steep. Not sure of it's exact location though.

Andrewf20

Last months Top Gear magazine had a big section on some of the worlds greatest driving routes. One of them was in Ireland, and it was the main route (I think) from Galway city to Clifden.

I was mountain biking in Donegal 2 years ago and there were some great, almost deserted driving routes west of Letterkenny which were like driving on mini Nurburgrings. See 1 pic attached!

Carawaystick

The roads from Leenan to Westport are pretty good, windy but good visibillity and surface. Either around Killary and north from Delphi or the more direct route.

My favorite is the N65 for about 3km north of Kilimor, large winding road with hard shoulders. you can take a racing line most of the time.

In Wicklow, ther's a road that goes over the south shoulder of Croughanmoira,couple of tight bends over bridges. take the road south out of Greenane and then it's a right turn half way to Macreddin.

If you're in cork city, Lovers walk is a bit of fun. 50kmh limit but very steep and very tight.

Robbo

Carawaystick wrote:

My favorite is the N65 for about 3km north of Kilimor, large winding road with hard shoulders. you can take a racing line most of the time.

I absolutely love that stretch. I nearly had a fit one day when I came up behind a tractor at the start of it. The nerve of the agrarian brute to ruin my driving pleasure.

Most of the trip around Lough Corrib (Galway-Headford-Cong-Cornamona-Maam Bridge-Maam-Cross-Oughterard-Galway) is great, in particular the twisty hill section between Cornamona and Maam Bridge.

mike65

A rather challanging road runs from Lismore in Waterford to Clogheen in south Tipp over "the Vee", the section on the high ground is esp fun in winter being shouded in mist and fog. The road is narrow with dry stone walls either side and plenty of sheep to slalom through

Mike.

Rowley Birkin QC

mike65 wrote:

A rather challanging road runs from Lismore in Waterford to Clogheen in south Tipp over "the Vee", the section on the high ground is esp fun in winter being shouded in mist and fog. The road is narrow with dry stone walls either side and plenty of sheep to slalom through

Mike.

Met two yellow reg M3's up there the last time I went for a spin that direction. Looked like they were having fun! Theres a "magic" road up there too as far afaik.

Theres the 5 mile stretch of motorway I drove at about 90mph friday evening, hasn't been opened yet though so its all nice and legal. Tar was about 4 hours old!

Pherekydes

Laragh to Rathdrum, anyone?

My kids call it the rollercoaster road. You can push yourself and your car without exceeding the limit.

Another spectacular driver's route is Portmagee to Ballinskelligs, though living in Dublin I can't get to drive around Kerry as much as I'd like.

Wishbone Ash

Andrewf20 wrote:

I was mountain biking in Donegal 2 years ago and there were some great, almost deserted driving routes west of Letterkenny which were like driving on mini Nurburgrings. See 1 pic attached!

Andrewf20 - I think the road in your pic is the R251 that I referred to in post no. 22 .

(You should have seen it years ago! ).