Commuting: Bangor to Belfast

Yi Harr

So I've recently moved up North for work. I'm currently staying in Downpatrick and commuting to Belfast (Dundonald). Despite having dealt with Dublin and Wicklow etc traffic there's no way I would feel safe commuting on the roads I drive in to work.

My plan is to move somewhere more conducive to bike commuting and so far the place that stands out seems to be Bangor.

I'm hoping someone can advise on either cycle friendly routes in to Belfast from Bangor or another place to consider moving to.

I've had a look at the Sustrans and Cycle NI websites but both are quite lacking. So far it seems Bangor/Newtownards/Dundonald seems the easiest way (using the Sustrans route).

Any advice will be gladly welcomed.

PersonalJesus

Hey,

It depends where you are in bangor really, its a pretty sizable townland. The road from ards to dundonald isnt necessarily the most cyclist friendly, despite some cycle lanes.

There is a cycle lane/path all the way from bangor to belfast. It runs up along side the main A2. On the stretch from bangor to holywood it is along a shared usage pavement. from a place called knocknagoney into belfast city centre there is an on road cycle lane which is pretty good and rarely has car traffic in it.

Bear in mind, both those routes are along 60 mile and hour roads. In fact i think the A2 is has some daft statistic about being the busiest road in europe at rush hour. Your commute from bangor to dundonald will be around an hour.

I'd suggest holywood as an option to live in (im from there, and its a lovely place to live), your commute to dundonald would be shorter if you want it, or you can go over the hills and make it tough. you can also get out on longer spins into the country side very handy from there i.e. down the ards peninsula. Id avoid ards if i were you. Its, erm, not very welcoming.

clog

Years since I rode it but the route from Bangor to dundonald I would go would be Ballymoney road and then Dunlady road into dundonald you can also go up Ballysallagh road If you want to completely avoid the A2 coming out of Bangor. The route via Newtownards is really busy and pretty featureless tbh. There are loads of different routes if I remember right there is also a road that goes across behind the hospital that they used to use for hillclimbs.

Ole Rodrigo

There's a cycle path from Comber into Belfast, about 11 km long, if you thought about basing yourself out that way.

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/sustrans-near-you/northern-ireland-and-the-republic-of-ireland/recent-projects-in-northern-ireland-and-the-republic-of-ireland/the-comber-greenway.

I went up to Belfast from Killyleagh last year , from there into Comber was quiet enough on minor roads, then the cycle path into the city made it pretty enjoyable.

You're right, the roads around Downpatrick are something else. The A25 in from Newry was as traumatizing as I've ever experienced on a bike.

el tel

I know a couple of people who commute from Bangor to Belfast but they work flexitime and go before 7 am and return before 4pm. The road has a short (couple of miles max) section of dedicated cycle lane from Clandeboye to Ballyrobert. It's covered in **** and stones from the adjacent fields. Then it's the carriageway to Hollywood (most cyclists use the pavement along this long stretch; I've tried that once and it's a nightmare. A minority chose to use the road and IMO this is not appropriate for cyclists at rush hour as it causes an obstrction and is plain dangerous). Following that is the hardshoulder of the dual carriageway to Belfast.

Alternatively, you can go via Newtownards. Again this has it's issues though I've never ridden this on a weekday.

If you want to commute to Dundonald, move to Belfast.

el tel

clog wrote: »

Years since I rode it but the route from Bangor to dundonald I would go would be Ballymoney road and then Dunlady road into dundonald you can also go up Ballysallagh road If you want to completely avoid the A2 coming out of Bangor. The route via Newtownards is really busy and pretty featureless tbh. There are loads of different routes if I remember right there is also a road that goes across behind the hospital that they used to use for hillclimbs.

This ^

RobFowl

It's been a few years ....
but I used to live in Bangor and commuted to Belfast (Mater Hosp). It was ok but even still got "nudged" by cars and buses fairly often.
I also comutted from Bangor and then Conlig (between Bangor/Newtownards) to Dundonald and the backroads are perfect for an enjoyable and pleasant commute.
Go for it

(PS have worked in Newtownards Hosp, the Ulster Hosp and Mater Hosp and well as a GP practice in Bangor as well as sessional stuff in NTA's as well, lovely part of the world and would go back in the drop of a hat)

ktz84

It's not really that bad - the commute that is - though Downpatrick woudn't be my favourite place

I'd rather be based Downpatrick direction rather Bangor direction simply because I have much easier acccess to the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob though it is nice up there and down round the Ards Pinsuala. Bangor direction will mean 100+ mile rides to take in the Mournes whereas mid down would only be a 50 mile loop.

During the non frosty mornings there are loads of backroads that you can take to avoid traffic anyway so I've never found it a particular issue but then again I have no problem riding in the rush hour traffic. My problem isn't the stream of cars but simply the start stop nature of the the commute at that time. That gets on my wick.

Yi Harr

Cheers for all the input. I'm planning on heading over to Bangor on Saturday to check out a few of the routes.

Traffic I can deal with. Traffic at around 96 kmph on narrow country roads not so much.