By Sean Fagan
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While cycling around the Burren I came across this curious cow. Note the fantastic, 7th century monastic ruins of Kilmacduagh Abbey in background (complete with a high tower to the right) - (Photo: Sean Fagan).

Where It all Began

Since I was quite limited in my travel options aboard throughout 2021 due to Covid restrictions – I decided to go exploring the home soil of my native country of Ireland - on a bicycle!

I’ve been very interested in bicycle camping for years but never got around to giving it a proper go.

So, how did it go? It was great, it really was...

My trusty Dawes bicycle - suspended from a tree branch. Why? because I was camping near a herd of curious feral ponies. My sleeping area was surrounded by a thorny thicket of unforgiving blackthorn but my bicycle was not - so I suspended it from a tree, free from trampling ponies (Photo: Sean Fagan).

From May to October of 2021 I went on multiple bicycle-camping trips throughout different parts of west Ireland (the best part of Ireland in my opinion).

For the first time, I got around to exploring the small but amazing county of Sligo, in northwest Ireland.

I also returned to some of my favourite camping haunts of county Kerry (southwest Ireland) and to the stoney landscape of the Burren (west Ireland) – but this time I explored these places with my bicycle.

It was often challenging, occasionally anti-climactic but overall - I had an amazing time.

My morning view, while camping in Kerry, southwest Ireland. My main means of keeping dry while sleeping outdoors on my camping trips was under a tarp. (Photo: Sean Fagan).

When I launched myself on my first bicycle-camping trip last May, I was nervous. Even though I’ve camped in many wild, isolated places over the years, I had never centred a camping trip solely around a bicycle.  

Will I be able to fix a tyre puncture in the middle of nowhere? Am I fit enough to cycle the hilly, country roads of west Ireland for hours? Will I be able to find my planned camping spot and will it be suitable?

I’m so glad and proud I parked my fears to one side and got on with it. When I finished my last cycling trip in October…I couldn’t be prouder. My best achievement of 2021, by far – because achieving that goal meant a lot to me.

Far more valuable than a sense of achievement are the memories I now possess. So many great moments will return to me in years to come. They will often bring on a smile, even a sense of peace. Some memories will even make me laugh out loud. Such memories are precious and everlasting.

In the New Year I’ll go into detail about what I learned about bicycle-camping (which was a lot).

For now I’ll offer you some photos of my travels on my bicycle throughout 2021 – with the aim to inspire and amuse.

County Sligo was a revelation...so much diversity of landscape poured into a small area. In photo, the wonderful Balysadare Bay as seen from the northern flank of Knocknarea Mountain (Photo: Sean Fagan).
I became quite taken with dune system of Strandhill, county Sligo...so much so that I'm planning on returning to this large, enigmatic dune system on a yearly basis (Photo: Sean Fagan).
My favourite location in Ireland, bar none, is the Burren. It's hard to describe its paradoxical mix of stony, barren openness and rich plant & animal life (Photo: Sean Fagan).
Great swathes of the Burren is like this...pale limestone bedrock exposed to the elements. It's quite wonderful and unique. Despite its austere appearance, there are more plant species in the Burren than anywhere else in Ireland (Photo: Sean Fagan).
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One of the biggest treats of my first cycling tour of 2021 were the magnificent limestone caves that border the wild shores of Mucross lake, southwest Ireland (Photo: Sean Fagan).
One of the rare times I used a tent on one of my camping trips of 2021. As you can see it's perfectly possible to blend camping, bushcraft & cycling together. I carried everything I needed for camping and bushcraft in my bicycle panniers throughout all my cycle tours of 2021 (Photo: Sean Fagan).
You never know what you'll find in the woods (Photo: Sean Fagan, Killarney National Park, southwest Ireland).
My favourite photo of 2021 - of the "big dune" as its locally known in Strandhill, County Sligo. For scale, note the two walkers in photo (Photo: Sean Fagan).

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed my photos.

Bicycle-camping has all the elements of adventure....it's unpredictable and it's challenging (both physically & mentally).

You also get to see the outdoors in a truly wonderful, often underrated way - on a bicycle.

It almost goes without saying - if you have a spark of curiosity about bicycle camping – try it out - at least once!

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.”

john f. kennedy

There is an almost Zen-like quality to bicycle touring, where the journey by bike is just as important, if not more so, than the destination.

Dave briggs

Information about the places featured in this blog:

Below, an excellent blog on how to get started in Bicycle-Camping: