Freewheeling Through Ireland

by Edward Enfield

'At one moment you seem to be in the Lake District; then you could be on the moon; then you are in a wilderness; and then beside a Norwegian fjord.' When Edward decided to cycle around Ireland, he was enchanted by prehistoric fortresses, rugged landscapes, and landladies who insisted on washing his shirts. He takes you with him on a gentle ride up the west coast, eating enormous breakfasts and fresh fish for supper along the way, and stopping to chat to peat-cutters, fishermen, eccentric tourists and a famous matchmaker. With his trademark dry wit, observant eye and a sense of the absurd, he is the perfect companion for a tour of Ireland's most beautiful areas from the lakes of Killarney to the idyllic Joyce's Country, and from the dolmens of Clare to the deserts and neolithic remains of Mayo.

Genres: Travel, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Ireland

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[cloudyskye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitated to pick this up, having just finished another travelogue by an English cyclist (Mike Carter - One man and his bike), but I'm glad I did. I can't help liking Edward Enfield's style, his sense of humour and his kindly outlook on his fellow human beings, even the annoying ones like Greimann Reisen of Bremen ... Anyway, Ireland is now definitely higher on my list of places to visit in the near future.

[Jane Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for when one can’t travel further than one’s own backyard.

[Deborah-Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freewheeling Through Ireland, is one man's journey of traveling through the Republic of Ireland on his bicycle beginning in County Kerry and ending in County Kerry (Dingle) with trips trough Dublin, Limerick, Cork, County Mayo, Shannon and many more places. This book acts as both a journal narrative as well as a tour guide. In the chapters which follow, Enfield describes not only the sights and landscapes that he sees, but also describes some of the people he meets, the food he eats, the historical significance towards some of the landmarks, a bit about the Catholic and Protestant divide, some of the customs, culture, language, poetry, and, of course, the weather. When listening to this book you get the sense that a friend is recounting a travel experience to you with tips of where the best places to see, stay, and eat are. Of what is worth seeing and what is worth avoiding. I particularly enjoyed it his description of Kerry as I started this book just a few days after my travels in Ireland and he talked about many of the places I had been to. The only parts that I didn't like about the book were when he went into random tangents (usually about Greece). He would often get into some really long-winded story which left me confused as he wasn't talking about Ireland but some other country and it didn't really see relevant or connected. However, at other times, his descriptions were quite on par - such as he did draw on Greece at points to describe why he felt Ireland and Greece were similar. I found this interesting as I always said that I only need to go to a place once before being interested in going back. The only 2 countries that I definitely feel a pull to return to being Greece and Ireland - many people asked why as they are two very different places, but it seems Enfield reached the same conclusion. In general, I am not much of an audiobook person and I did struggle to hold my concentration moreso than if I was reading a paperback. That, I'm afraid is more a reflection on me than it is of him and his writing.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had purchased a print copy of the book, just before the audio became available through Audible. Later, I decided to "go for it", swap the unread book for something else, and download the audiobook, as I'd really enjoyed listening to Enfield's books on Greece and France. This one was just as funny, and I'm looking forward to listening to his next book Dawdling by the Danube.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

"As Edward Enfield cycles around Ireland, he is enchanted by prehistoric fortresses, rugged landscapes, and landladies who insist on washing his shirts. He takes you with him on a gentle ride up the west cast, eating enormous breakfasts and fresh fish suppers along the way, and stopping to chat with peat-cutters, fishermen, eccentric tourists and a famous matchmaker.

"With his trademark dry wit, observant eye and a sense of the absurd, he is the perfect companion for a tour of Ireland's most beautiful areas from the lakes of Killarney to the idyllic Joyce's Country, and from the dolmens of Clare to the deserts and neolithic remains of Mayo."
~~back cover

I would have like to read about the neolithic remains of Mayo, but I couldn't bear to wade through the uninteresting prose that preceded that part.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little travel memoir in the grand old style (assorted historical, architectural, and especially literary facts about the places he visits, lots of strange personal anecdotes and encounters). has totally convinced me to do a bicycle tour through Ireland one day (although not without rain fenders). I wonder if the charming bed-and-breakfasts and guest houses Enfield stays in still exist?

One star docked for assorted embarrassing racial jokes and stereotypes, which should've been excised in editing (but, for an Englishman born between the wars, are hardly unexpected).

[Darla Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is obviously a jolly approachable traveler. He gives us a keyhole view of Ireland as he whips across and around and through various towns meeting unfailingly kind, helpful and generous souls. Worth it to read if you want a quick (217 pages) fun dose of Enfield.

[Linda Amos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dry wit takes the reader on a sometimes wet cycling tour of Ireland. Lots of Irish people are interviewed for their take on life and how it has changed.

[Stacy-ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little romp through Ireland with a somewhat grumpy, but always entertaining and observant grandpa.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice book, certainly a gentle read.

[Lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

We started listening to this in Ireland in our rental car, and while parts of it were really funny, there were a LOT of very dull parts inbetween that mainly seemed to consist of Enfield complaining and talking about his past visits to Ireland. It seemed really disjointed, and we kept waiting and waiting for him to get back to the whole bike thing, but the bike bits seemed few and far between. Anyway, we made it about halfway through and then switched to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter instead because we were all just...bored (that one was also not a success for me, but everyone else in the car seemed to be enjoying it--so, improvement!).

[Peze · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little disjointed; not nearly as good as his story of travelling in France

[Sharon Lawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring !