Greetings all,

 

Has anyone been to the NW200 and if so is it worth taking my bike or is it better to take the car?

 

I've just come back from a long weekend in Northern Ireland in my Honda S2000 covering 840 miles in 4 days over some fantastic roads with amazing scenery which has prompted me to get my arse in gear and get back over there for next year's NW200.

 

Any recommendations of places to stay, visit, etc would be appreciated.

 

Cheers

Well worth a visit on the bike. Been a couple of times with my mates. Booked a static caravan nearby between us and then you can walk up to watch the racing.

Riding the coastal road is great and Giant Causeway is worth a trip. Coleraine has some nice places to eat/drink and there's a hotel nearby that has a tea room with amazing cakes.

Tip is book early to get somewhere to stay.

Generally speaking the best places to book are houses on the actual course itself, but they tend to be booked by the same people / parties year after year in advance. If you want to be able to drink alcohol etc then staying within walking distance is important, if not branch out further and just ride to where ever you want to watch from on the mornings etc. Traffic is mental, but on a bike, it's not so bad and you can get pretty close to park on 2 wheels. Taking a car you'd need to get somewhere in walking distance and moor the thing to avoid traffic misery.

 

I like Portrush for the NW as there are a good few corners and epic vantage points, you can work your way around them between the races and get a good mix, even make your way along the coast road to Portstewart.  

 

Grand stands are not that expensive, my sister got me tickets for the stand at York last year and it wasn't that welcome as I like to go where I want, but tbh I actually enjoyed it for a change and was right down at corner of the stand also so had a good view. 

 

 

 

2011 was a cluster fluff year with rain and at start of this view Ryan F popped his engine and put half a mile slick of oil up from Church :( Entire event was abandoned after several hours trying to clear it. 

 

 

 

 

If you take a car get there VERY early on the main race days and make plans to leve 3 hours after its over and let the main body of traffic **** off. Booking somewhere to stay within 15/20 miles is a better bet IMO as you can save a lot of money and actually find somewhere nice to make a good trip of it aside from the NW itself. 

This is my fathers old cottage on the side of Knocklayde mountain about 20 min away on bike. The lady who owns it rents it out as a holiday place now. http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Annies-Cottage-Armoy-Ballymoney-P21573

 

View from the front door lets you see basically to the other side of NI uninterrupted:

 

FUBAR shall be attending next year also, but I live at opposite end of the country, will likely get up closer to the action near the end of the week and impose on my father. 

 

 

 

ps. big issue with taking a car would be the fact you WILL regret it with all the bikes around (but could have a mini NI Brisky meet )! As for the NW200 and other road racing events in NI/ROI, they are proper races with riders racing each other, setting off on a grid in packs and not just racing the clock like on the island. Shorter courses gives a much better grasp of whats actually happening and commentary is good to fill in the gaps. 

Some top information there mate, much appreciated 

 

If I do go (which is highly likely) then I am more than happy to meet up with anyone who is going or would like to show me the local roads on the bike  

Some top information there mate, much appreciated 

 

If I do go (which is highly likely) then I am more than happy to meet up with anyone who is going or would like to show me the local roads on the bike  

Another point to note, price to take a bike over is a lot less than a car! But if you've been to the TT before you will know the score on the ferries at NW time bike mania!!! 

 

Some NW200 footage from this year to wet your apatite:

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OdH1tJQsXI

Been several times,amazing racing,speeds are incredible but often a very wet place.

As said Portrush and Portstewart are great cos you can move around and get food,beer etc easily.

Plus you could when I went walk freely around the paddock,saw the great man (Joey) several times working away in the back of his van.

Got to be done mate,well worth it.

Been several times,amazing racing,speeds are incredible but often a very wet place.

As said Portrush and Portstewart are great cos you can move around and get food,beer etc easily.

Plus you could when I went walk freely around the paddock,saw the great man (Joey) several times working away in the back of his van.

Got to be done mate,well worth it.

+1 on the wet side of things, it's basically a 50/50 shot each year as it's so early and the weather off the Atlantic isn't always kind. Will either rain, be dry or be mixed (more likely). The big development in this though as entire races had to be abandoned in recent years more than every before, the road closure orders etc are not flexible. Before this they had the roads closed just before the races and open at a set time afterwards no exceptions. Now if the weather messes up the Saturdays main races, it can be pushed back to Sunday. Even can see brought forward too. 

 

 

Joey is still a true legend! On that note one place which MUST be visited is the Dunlop memorial garden in Ballymoney where the two brothers are and you can go to Joeys bar just below it. Always some bikers in there giving him a pat on the back and having a picture. 

Other good one for a photo is of course the Bregagh Rd 10 min away from the Dunlops AKA 'The Dark Hedges'.

Managed to get to the Dark Hedges last weekend 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove over from Templepatrick last Monday morning to see the Dark Hedges before heading back down to Dublin for the ferry - very impressive!! 

 

A friend of mine has a hotel in Coleraine & will hopefully do me some kind of mates rates deal - is it worth using this as a base or would I be better based upon what others are saying staying in Portrush or Portstewart?  Is one any better than the other in terms of things to do, see, eat & drink?

I personally prefer Portstewart,probably more places to eat there around the harbour.One time I was there a commotion started outside the restaurant where me and my mate from Armagh were eating and in came a well known man of the cloth,Rev Ian Paisley!!

Back in the bad old days!

Wherever you stay enjoy.

PS, Love all the S2000's.

i went this year first  time 4 bikes in all we stopped from Tuesday to Tuesday missing the ferry rush.we stopped in a hostel called sheep island view,there was a bus in to and back from the racing each day it was on.i missed the bus back 1 day rang the hostel for a taxi number and they would not give me 1 they insisted the drive 20 minuets down the road to pick me up and take me back.also got a free breakfast most mornings as they also have a school stopped in hostel next door and we got brought what was left.going to take wife and kids over 1 year.

Portrush or Portstewart are much of a muchness really. The circuit between them along the coast is about 3 miles long so you can make your way from one the the other easily between or even during the races. Portstewart and Coleraine have the least amount of the circuit within the towns over Portrush though as they only just skirt through the edges of them and Portrush you get slightly more coverage and vantage points. Then there is anywhere in between the three towns too.  Food wise, it's much the same also as the two towns are both of the two old seaside resort towns (NI's versions of Blackpool) from before the days of cheap flights, both have plenty of hotels, guest houses, restaurants etc. With regard to the NW, burger vans and the more posh modern gourmet type ones will be dotted all over the place anyway. 

 

My route of choice would be starting in Portrush as I can exit after from it easier. I work my way from Magherabuoy - Metropole - Church - Black Hill - Juniper - Millbank - York - Mill Road and finally Station corner. That covers 75% of the corners and is prob around 5-6miles. It follows the direction of the racing also if your looking at a map. Some folk get to one spot and just stand there for 9 hours with ZOOOOM, ZOOOOOM, ZOOOOOM, ZOOOOOOM all day long seeing the same view of different bikes all day. I like to mix it up and see as much as I can. My route means I am at some of the slower corners at the start with the slower bikes racing and along the atlantic coast I am getting faster and faster bikes as I go down the faster bits. Some of the best views are from peoples houses / front gardens etc. Some will have these private, some will ask for a couple of quid, but generally you get free tea/coffee with that.

 

 

In other news it was announced the other day that there are more 'safety' changes again being brought in for 2016 onwards :( The grid will be reduced to lower the numbers in each wave :(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-34421565

Well, the air fences paid their price back in 2014.

 

More generally, I'd suggest that since the lap time is 4.5 to 5 minutes (depending on class and wetness), if you want to see more than an odd rip of exhausts, trying to be somewhere you can see a Jumbotron!

Well, the air fences paid their price back in 2014.

 

More generally, I'd suggest that since the lap time is 4.5 to 5 minutes (depending on class and wetness), if you want to see more than an odd rip of exhausts, trying to be somewhere you can see a Jumbotron!

 

After first lap bikes space out and they set off from the grid in waves anyway, so rare to not see a bike for 30 seconds let alone 4.5-5 minutes between once it's going. It spreads out rather well and you can actually see the race on these lengths of circuits rather than time trial method on the IMO where you will wait 17-20 minutes between each time you see an individual rider and are able to keep abreast of who is where on the board without needing a radio to be told. I love the fact there are so many little battles for places happening constantly all around the circuit from the grid right to the start/finish line on the last lap. Plus faster in NI with less mpg/range/tyre concerns. 

After first lap bikes space out and they set off from the grid in waves anyway, so rare to not see a bike for 30 seconds let alone 4.5-5 minutes between once it's going. It spreads out rather well and you can actually see the race on these lengths of circuits rather than time trial method on the IMO where you will wait 17-20 minutes between each time you see an individual rider and are able to keep abreast of who is where on the board without needing a radio to be told. I love the fact there are so many little battles for places happening constantly all around the circuit from the grid right to the start/finish line on the last lap. Plus faster in NI with less mpg/range/tyre concerns. 

Yeah I get that, but TV usually only shows the first wave, and second pre-staging, then locks in on a (high speed) battle.

Yeah I get that, but TV usually only shows the first wave, and second pre-staging, then locks in on a (high speed) battle.

You should so pop over too in May for it, class event and it's free! 

You should so pop over too in May for it, class event and it's free! 

Alas, May-June are our busy time...

Alas, May-June are our busy time...

That's ok, you can come over for all the other races outside of those months the Ulster Grand Prix is in August and is the fastest road race in the world   Or hit up the Armoy Road Races which will be the last Friday&Saturday in July more scope for being within 15cm of the bikes than any other road race on earth!  :cocktail:

 

Armoy is a class wee event. Folk like to travel over on the Thursday afternoon and then filter back out Sunday mainly. 

https://youtu.be/PfbeEZRj7_U?t=1m23s

That's ok, you can come over for all the other races outside of those months the Ulster Grand Prix is in August and is the fastest road race in the world   Or hit up the Armoy Road Races which will be the last Friday&Saturday in July more scope for being within 15cm of the bikes than any other road race on earth!  :cocktail:

 

Armoy is a class wee event. Folk like to travel over on the Thursday afternoon and then filter back out Sunday mainly. 

https://youtu.be/PfbeEZRj7_U?t=1m23s

ISTR the Ulster GP using the TT circuit (plus new chicanes)?