Harley Davidson Tour of Ireland and Scotland

Belfast is a small city with a big personality. You’re transferred to a central hotel and will spend the afternoon in an iconic vehicle. The Harley-Davidson waits for tomorrow as today you explore in a Hackney black taxi, a local guide taking you to neighborhoods that became the front line during the 30-year Troubles. On one wall there’s a mural of a local hero. 500 meters away you find that hero was responsible for multiple deaths. A wall still divides these two sides of Belfast, and a black taxi tour takes you behind the scenes of what happened, who was involved, and why it never seems to go away. Eye-opening and evocative, it’s an experience synonymous with Northern Ireland’s capital.

Strange basalt columns appear like leftovers from a Jurassic era. The road clings to the cliffs, twisting and turning through the wondrous scenery. The rumbling echo of the Harley mixes with the sound of crashing waves. It’s wild, and it’s rugged, this North Coast recently lauded as one of the top ten coastal drives in the world. In total, you’re riding for about three hours today, with extended stops at Giants Causeway and Dunluce Castle. Your final destination is Ballintoy Harbour, which was used regularly as a Game of Thrones filming location.

Your Harley growls as you rev the engine. Rumbling off, you find an empty stretch of road, long sweeping turns taking you west and south through Enniskillen and Benbulben. Most of Ireland’s roads are rural, especially along the West Coast, where there is little but the odd fishing village. Sligo makes a nice spot for lunch, a literary town where Yeats was born. Check out the 13th-century abbey, drink a coffee overlooking the bay, then continue to Ballynahinch Castle, where you spend a few nights hidden away from the rest of the world.

The steering feels a little lighter today as you leave the panniers at the hotel and take a languorous cruise towards Kylemore Abbey and Connemara National Park. As with most days, the timings are flexible. You can leave late and cruise through the heart of the day, or leave early and be finished in time for a beer with lunch. Narrow roads lead you through Connemara National Park, the landscape is a complete patchwork of green, trickling streams and mini waterfalls providing places to rest and kick the stand down. You can take a picnic out into the national park or stop in a rural pub on the route back to Ballynahinch, where the castle provides another night of old-world Irish tradition.

Oh, the Cliffs of Moher, so wild and majestic as they stand over the Atlantic Ocean. They are postcard-perfect as they greet waves and mist off the Atlantic. Beautiful views come from the road; gaze out from here and the next landmass is the East Coast of the United States. Leave the bikes and walk a kilometer along the cliff edge, taking in one of Ireland’s most iconic attractions. Then get back in the seat and rumble south, following the coastal road into the bay, through County Clare, a short ferry ride part of the attraction as you travel south to Kenmare. This is another colorful town at the head of a bay, and it’s your base for the next two nights.

There are three options today, along with the evocative roads of Ireland’s southwestern coast. Take a tour of the Dingle Peninsula, stopping at craggy cliffs, sandy beaches, and Mount Brandon. Another option is to travel the even quieter roads of the Ring of Beara, a route that’s slowly losing its status as Ireland’s best-kept secret. On a long day, you could do both, but sometimes the mist decides which will be best; it rolls in from different directions, seemingly on a whim. As with each day riding in Ireland, you pass picturesque villages and fields filled with all manner of green hues, the colors something you can’t quite photograph but can never forget.

It’s green colors that provide the highlight today as you ride across Ireland’s interior, some of the roads a little busier than what you have encountered earlier when approaching Dublin. Rumbling into the Irish capital is an iconic experience, St. Patrick’s Cathedral spire enticing from afar, and the harbor-front whizzing past before you park in the heart of the city. Remove the panniers, forget about the bikes for now, and head to the Guinness Storehouse. After several days riding around Ireland, there’s no better place for a celebratory drink, a creamy stout in the place where it all began – you may have drunk Guinness before but the temperamental drink just isn’t the same outside Dublin and the brewery itself.

Take a day away from the bike today and explore Dublin at your leisure. Encounter the Book of Kells, find evidence of Viking times, admire cathedral interiors, and soak up the atmosphere of Temple Bar. Even today there are pubs where the old Irish storytelling tradition is alive, so in the evening you can sit down to a Guinness and sing, tales of Celtic warriors and mythical fairies part of the everyday. This is a lively city and is quick to impress its style on visitors. Go with the flow and see where it takes you.

This morning is the only significant stretch of highway riding, 100 miles north back to Belfast and the ferry terminal. You could fly to Scotland, but this two-hour ferry journey means you keep the same bike and start the Scottish adventure on the coast, away from the cities. Roar off when the ferry opens its gates, and you’re soon clear of the town, en route to fields of heather and cows. Rolling over peaks and through valleys, you reach Loch Lomand, where peaks glisten in the reflective water surface. There’s a stunning road twisting all around the lake, leading you to a hotel on the shore and the first night of Scottish pleasures.

Sheep dot green hills as you ride deep into the Scottish Highlands, mountains rising higher and higher as you explore a virtually uninhabited part of the country. Stop beside Ben Nevis and marvel at the landscapes. Park at the lakeshore and breathe in the silence. Feel the open road and the freedom of a motorbike tour. The beauty of both Ireland and Scotland is that you don’t need to travel too far for this blissful sense of anonymity. For most of the day it’s just you and the bike, but increase the tempo, and it’s only a short jaunt to Inverness, a castle at the compass point in what is Scotland’s most scenic city.

Today, there’s not much riding. But the riding you do is up there as the ultimate highlight of the tour. Change down the gears as you scale mountain passes before rolling down to Loch Ness, the lake that’s home to a famous monster and a beautiful two-hour cruise to fill your late morning. Another quick and scenic drive brings you to Urquhart Castle, standing in a redolent state of ruin along the shores of Loch Ness as if it was left behind when shooting a medieval Celtic movie. Return to Inverness at your leisure, and there are a number of excellent attractions to fill the evening; the pubs here are some of the best in the British Isles.

The fields are tinted purple in the Cairngorms, a color that contrasts spurts of green forest and near turquoise lochs. Stone farmhouses stand lonely along with deer sporting great antlers. Of all Scotland’s roads, the one through these mountains is the most exquisite when you’re on a bike. Slow elegant turns followed by rolling plateaus, looking up at a line of peaks then ascending until you’re high above the lochs and heather-covered fields. This is your final day riding, so breathe it all in before descending from the mountains and traveling to the Scottish capital, where you kick the stand down and say goodbye to your travel companion from the last 11 days.

Today is a day at your leisure. Perhaps you had some celebratory drinks last night, so recover with a typically indulgent Scottish breakfast where you try the black pudding in one of the traditional cafes near the Royal Mile. Edinburgh is packed with famous sights, the castle, and the palace just two of these. It’s also a city where you don’t need to visit anything. Just hang around the heart of the city, and you’re never short of little surprises and memoirs to Scottish culture. After ten days of riding you may be tired so it could be a day to kick back in one of the pubs or – if the weather is kind – put your feet up on a city terrace.

The guide arranges for your bike to get back to Ireland so you can fly out of Edinburgh. This morning is at your leisure before a private airport transfer.