Category Archives: SCA

Get on your bike and see the Skerries countryside!

Posted on by

Bike WeekLR (3 of 7)Skerries Cycling Initiative are looking forward to welcoming lots of new faces to their  “Rediscover your Bike” cycle (20 km) along quiet roads (Saturday evening, 21 June, from 7.30 p.m.), and their much-loved Family Fun Cycle to Ardgillan Park and back (Sunday 22 June, from 12 noon).

Rediscover Your Bike – Saturday 21 June – meet at Sea Pole at 7.30 p.m.

It is amazing how beautiful the surrounds of Skerries are, and how suitable for cycling!

Bike WeekLR (6 of 7)When I recently tested this route with the organiser from the SCI, I was pleasantly surprised – most of the tour was free of traffic, and very well suited to cycling. The beauty of the rolling hills around Skerries more than makes up for having to cycle up and down those said hills, and with a half-way decent bike, this is quite do-able.

Bike WeekLR (7 of 7)A half an hour took us past the Golf Club and on very scenic roads to the outskirts of Lusk. Then we turned towards Loughshinny, which we reached in another half hour. The evenings are possibly the ideal time for cycling – the light was only beautiful on the day we were out, and the break at Loughshinny Harbour was lovely.

Bike WeekLR (1 of 7)
Refreshed and rested, we pushed on land-inwards, past Baldungan Castle (which I myself had never seen up close before, so we stopped for a photo), crossing the Skerries-Lusk road near the former Daffodil Gallery, and then on another beautiful back road down to Skerries again, where we rolled into town just in time to enjoy the last of the summer evening at the harbour.

This cycle comes highly recommended! It is aimed primarily at adults, including those who have bikes but may not have used them for a while.  Not suitable for complete beginners. See here for a map of the tour.

bike in front of harbourStarting from the Sea Pole at 7.30 p.m on Saturday evening 21 June; we anticipate returning there at around 9.30 p.m.

And don’t forget the Family Fun Cycle to Ardgillan with a picnic by the Rose Garden. Meet Skerries Mills 12 noon on Sunday 22 June!

Photographs: Michael McKenna (4), Sabine McKenna (the last one).

 Skerries Cycling Initiative is a committee of the Skerries Community Association.

Thank You from the Rás Committee

Posted on by

The Skerries End Stage Rás Committee would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all who supported and helped this year with the An Post Rás End Stage and Street Party. It was a triumph of community spirit and cooperation. Thanks to all the marshals and stewards, to Fingal Tri Club and all the stallholders, the schools, community and sports groups, to our photographer Michael Johnston, the Sphinx ladies cycle group, to St Patrick’s Church, Skerries Community Association, to Coca Cola for the bottled water and to Ollies Place for the packed lunches for stewards, to Skerries Mills for their car park, Holmpatrick School for the Race Centre, to the local businesses and residents, and anyone inconvenienced by traffic restrictions, and to the spectators who turned out in droves for this great event. We could not have done it without you.

Fingers crossed for a record 10th in Skerries in 2015!

Greg Reddin, Skerries End Stage Rás Committee

Greg Reddin on Rás Day

Greg Reddin on Rás Day

Skerries Tidy Towns are Asking For Your Help

Posted on by

Maeve McGann of Skerries Tidy Towns writes:

tidy towns 3Now we are in judging season for the national Tidy Towns Competition. This begins every year on 1st June and continues until the end of August. We have no idea when the adjudicators will arrive, so we need to be prepared every day.

Please lend us your support during the coming months.

Now is the time to get the window boxes and hanging baskets out. Make sure you keep them watered.

Stephen from Wisteria is offering a deal which includes a watering service – check it out.

Some premises in the town could do with a touch of paint. Check yours out and see if there is anything you can do to improve the presentation of your business. Ensure that the windows are clean and free of posters.

A well-presented business encourages customers and certainly helps us to gain more marks in the competition.

If there are any weeds near your home or business, in the kerb or at the base of buildings, please remove them.

Grass verges in front of houses need to be neat and tidy.

No litter is acceptable to the adjudicators.

Let’s all work together to show what a great town we have to live, work and grow up in.

Contact details for Skerries Tidy Towns are on their page here.

You could, of course, also join one of the regular work parties which meet every Monday evening at the old fire station on Quay Street at 7 p.m. until further notice.

tidy towns 1 tidy towns 2

National Bike Week

Posted on by

Skerries Cycling Initiative are preparing some great events for the 2014 National Bike Week (14-22 June), including a “Cyclist Photo Safari” (Sunday 15 June, 9 a.m., South Strand, little bridge), a “Rediscover your Bike” cycle (20 km) along quiet roads (Saturday evening, 21 June, from 7.30 p.m.), and their much-loved Family Fun Cycle to Ardgillan Park and back (Sunday 22 June). Send them an email at cycling@skerriesca.com for details and to be added to their email Newsletter (first issue coming soon), or like their Facebook page to stay in touch.

SCI Fun Cycle

Skerries Cycling Initiative are a committee of the Skerries Community Association.

Cycling photo safari on Sunday 15 June-meet South Strand 9 a.m.

Aimed at photographers who cycle and  cyclists who photograph, the cycling photo safari will entail a  leisurely ride with stops to capture landscapes, beaches and walled gardens in the environs of Skerries. This event will be a nod/celebration  in the direction of  the Victorian era when the two activities of cycling and photography merged as cycling clubs set up photography sections and photography clubs set up cycling sections to accommodate their crossover members.
Meet on South Strand, Holmpatrick end, near the little bridge, at 9 a.m..
After taking some shots here we can cycle to Barnageeragh beach and then take our bikes over Lady’s Stairs and into Ardgillan where the Walled Garden will open at 9.30 a.m. and the Tea Rooms at 10 a.m.. for well-deserved tea/coffee and scones. After that  the world, or at least the environs of Skerries, is our oyster!

Rediscover Your Bike – Saturday 21 June – meet at Sea Pole at 7.30 p.m.

A tour on the day of the Summer Solstice – shall we call it the Giro d’Romance? – along some of the quieter roads around Skerries. This is aimed primarily at adults, including those who have bikes but may not have used them for a while. Starting from the Sea Pole at 7.30 p.m on Saturday evening 21 June; we anticipate returning there at around 9.30 p.m.

Map of route below. Black line shows route out of Skerries to Loughshinny via Lusk and red line shows return route. Hopefully we can stop and enjoy the view of Loughshinny on a pleasant summer solstice evening.

Rediscover 2014

 

Family Fun Cycle to Ardgillan with a picnic by the Rose Garden. Meet Skerries Mills 12 noon on Sunday 22 June.

Bike Week in Skerries would not be complete without the Family Fun Cycle to Ardgillan. All cyclists are welcome on the Fun Cycle, but children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Please note that there is some hill-climbing involved so gears must be working and children should be instructed in their use. (Please check that the bike is in roadworthy condition including brakes, gears, tyre pressure and saddle height).
Children must be capable of using brakes on their bikes as the route includes significant descents in both directions.
The SCI will provide stewards to assist the riders in getting through junctions along the way.

Route to be followed (see Map): from the Skerries Mills car park via Millers Lane to the railway roundabout (1st catch-up pause), under the bridge followed by an immediate right turn up Togher Hill to Milverton Gates (2nd pause) and right again along Ardla Rd. to Ardgillan (3rd pause at the gates). We will have our BYO picnic by the Rose Garden.

For those who want it, a stewarded return to Skerries Mills Car Park will be offered in the early afternoon.

family fun cycle map

 

 

 

Tidy Towns Safari Trail launch: Sat April 26, Skerries Mills

Posted on by

Tidy Towns inform us:

Safari Trail. Launch of the Safari Trail at 12 midday in Skerries Mills on Saturday 26th April. All welcome. Launch will be by Frank Prendergast from BirdWatch and introduction by Sharon Eastwood from Woodrow Sustainable Solutions.

For more information on Skerries Tidy Towns, a committee of Skerries Community Association, go to the Tidy Towns Facebook Page