GENERAL HINTS
(From Mecredy's Road Book of Ireland.)
June and September are the driest months in Ireland. Tourists will find the Royal Irish Constabulary the best source of information, and they cannot do better than inquire at the various police barracks on the way for advice as to places of interest to be visited, and the condition of the roads. In unfrequented country districts the footpaths as a rule may be taken with impunity, but it is never absolutely safe to do so. It is always well to enquire of other cyclists met en route. The roads are very variable, some being grand and others very bad. Intercourse with the peasantry will be found interesting and amusing. Nothing can exceed their civility and courtesy; and for those who are not too particular it will be found an excellent plan to lunch in their cottages, excellent tea, home-made bread, butter and eggs being procurable for 1/-per head. There is little use questioning them as to distances, however. They are nearly always wrong, and in any case they calculate in Irish miles—11 Irish equal 14 English. The police, however, are reliable, and give the distances in statute miles. Repairers are few and far between, but the local blacksmiths are often clever and handy men. The by-roads are generally better than the main roads, and the surface is better at the edge than in the middle. The mountain roads are as a rule very good, and not nearly so hilly as one would expect. The country people are rather stupid about getting out of one's way, and live stock on the road are a frequent source of danger, especially pigs, sheep, donkeys, and Kerry cows. Mountain passes should be negotiated carefully, as mountain torrents sometimes sweep away short stretches of otherwise excellent roads, and one comes on these spots unexpectedly. The corners, too, are excessively sharp, and steep pitches occur unexpectedly.
In most small Provincial towns the Hotels are not good, but in tourists' districts, such as Kerry, they are really excellent and the charges are reasonable. Where lodgings are required it is a good plan to ask the local Head Constable for advice.