Cycle and Camp

By T. H. Holding189715 chapters41 images

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Contents

• Introduction: How It Came About (opens in a new tab)

  The author explains how a chance meeting with a friend rekindled a long-held plan to tour Ireland by bicycle with a portable camping outfit.
• Advantages of Camping (opens in a new tab)

  Argues that camping is cheap, healthy and far from lazy, offering "exercise without fatigue" and fresh air night and day, in contrast to a holiday of hotel loafing.
• In Camp at Lough Cullin. Our Little Tour (opens in a new tab)

  The party pitches two tents on the shore of Lough Cullin in Co. Mayo and introduces the four travellers, Beauchamp, Frank, Little Billie and the Skipper, with a wry aside on the prevailing Irish south-west wind.
• En Route (opens in a new tab)

  The four riders divide tent, poles, waterproofs and bags between their machines, wrestle their pneumatics along a boulder-strewn lake-shore track, and reach Foxford Bridge and Lough Conn; a long digression compares the Bantam with the modern Safety bicycle.
• Castlebar, Westport, Head Killery Pass (opens in a new tab)

  The cyclists ride through County Mayo, crossing the Moy, a river that runs in two opposite directions ten miles apart, and inspecting Ballylahon Castle, with reflections on Irish agriculture and emigration.
• Westport to Leenane (opens in a new tab)

  The group explores Westport, visits its harbour and a Roman Catholic chapel, then debates the best road onward towards Leenane.
• First Camp, Killery Water, Maam (opens in a new tab)

  Delayed by punctures and concern for equipment left at Foxford, the cyclists adjust their Connemara route and endure a stormy night under canvas.
• Cong, Maytura, Ballinrobe (opens in a new tab)

  Leaving Maam, the party rides past Lough Corrib and 'Castle Kirk', with an extended digression on the warrior queen Grace O'Malley.
• Snug Camp on Lough Carra, Castlebar, Slade Abbey, “Home” (opens in a new tab)

  Four men squeeze into a two-pound tent pitched by leave of a Mayo farmer near Lough Carra, bathe in the lake's white sand shallows, then ride through Castlebar to the round tower and abbey at Strade before returning to base camp.
• Up the Nephin (opens in a new tab)

  Three of the party attempt to climb the Nephin mountain, prompting reflections on the deceptive labour and frequent disappointment of mountaineering.
• Over the Hills and Far Away: Lough Cullen to Foxford, Swinford, Ballysadare, Sligo and Boyle (opens in a new tab)

  The tour continues north through County Mayo and Sligo, following the complex river system of the Moy through bogland and upland scenery.
• Practical Hints and How to Apply Them (opens in a new tab)

  Detailed advice on choosing and pitching a camp site, illustrated with cautionary anecdotes of poorly sited tents on the Thames and Shannon.
• Food and Cooking (opens in a new tab)

  Discusses the cyclist-camper's dietary needs, listing common errors in food and drink and the importance of appetite as a measure of healthy exercise.
• The Appliances (opens in a new tab)

  Describes the lightweight portable tent used on the tour, its dimensions, materials, and versatility for cycling, canoeing, and Alpine expeditions.
• Actualities, Indispensable Details (opens in a new tab)

  Step-by-step illustrated instructions for constructing the cycle tent and all camping gear, drawn from articles originally published in the Boys' Own Paper.