Abbeyleix
31/07/08 22:53 Filed in: General
Nonsense
Tomorrow is Bank
Holiday Friday in Ireland, which means that most of
the population of the country will be on the move. As
more and more of these new motorways open up (two
alone in the last fortnight - the N6 from Kilbeggan
to Athlone and the N8/M8 from Cashel to
Mitchelstown), the familiar old bottlenecks are being
bypassed.
Some remain, and the longer they remain un-bypassed, the more their notoriety grows. As time passes, the big bottleneck on the road from Dublin to Cork has moved through Kildare and now lives here in lovely Laois. Abbeyleix is a nightmare on a Friday and Sunday, as the traffic moves at snail’s pace through its long main street. On bank holiday weekends, it’s a disaster.
If you drive from Dublin to Cork on a Friday evening and are approaching Abbeyleix, you may notice a number of cars turning right about a kilometre before the town. These aren’t local cars, and few of them sport LS reg plates. No, these drivers have discovered the Unofficial Abbeyleix Bypass, and I’m going to tell you where it is.
Directions (going south):
About 1km before Abbeyleix, the road sweeps round to the left, and a ghost island allows a turn to the right. Go right here. Go over a bridge and take the first left. Follow this road until you reach a staggered crossroads, where you go straight through. Follow this road to the end and then turn left. After 300 metres or so, you will see the gates of a Georgian house on your right. Take the right just after these (warning: it’s a really shitty little road). Follow to the end and turn right, back onto the N8 south of Abbeyleix.
You might be asking yourself why I’m publishing this and letting people in on the secret. To be honest, the 50 or so readers I get here each day are hardly going to cause a tailback even if they all decided to use the route at the same time. It might be a different story if someone like Damien Mulley published it.
Adds 24 October: Northbound directions:
As you approach Abbeyleix from Durrow, you will see a place that sells garden ornaments and sheds and such like on your left. Take the next left turn after this (it’s signposted.) Follow that road to the end and turn left. After about 300 metres, you will come to junction with two roads leading off to the right in quick succession. Take the second one. Follow all the way to the end, when you will come to a staggered crossroads. Go through this and follow the road to the end. Turn right, follow the road to the end and turn left to rejoin the N8.
Some remain, and the longer they remain un-bypassed, the more their notoriety grows. As time passes, the big bottleneck on the road from Dublin to Cork has moved through Kildare and now lives here in lovely Laois. Abbeyleix is a nightmare on a Friday and Sunday, as the traffic moves at snail’s pace through its long main street. On bank holiday weekends, it’s a disaster.
If you drive from Dublin to Cork on a Friday evening and are approaching Abbeyleix, you may notice a number of cars turning right about a kilometre before the town. These aren’t local cars, and few of them sport LS reg plates. No, these drivers have discovered the Unofficial Abbeyleix Bypass, and I’m going to tell you where it is.
Directions (going south):
About 1km before Abbeyleix, the road sweeps round to the left, and a ghost island allows a turn to the right. Go right here. Go over a bridge and take the first left. Follow this road until you reach a staggered crossroads, where you go straight through. Follow this road to the end and then turn left. After 300 metres or so, you will see the gates of a Georgian house on your right. Take the right just after these (warning: it’s a really shitty little road). Follow to the end and turn right, back onto the N8 south of Abbeyleix.
You might be asking yourself why I’m publishing this and letting people in on the secret. To be honest, the 50 or so readers I get here each day are hardly going to cause a tailback even if they all decided to use the route at the same time. It might be a different story if someone like Damien Mulley published it.
Adds 24 October: Northbound directions:
As you approach Abbeyleix from Durrow, you will see a place that sells garden ornaments and sheds and such like on your left. Take the next left turn after this (it’s signposted.) Follow that road to the end and turn left. After about 300 metres, you will come to junction with two roads leading off to the right in quick succession. Take the second one. Follow all the way to the end, when you will come to a staggered crossroads. Go through this and follow the road to the end. Turn right, follow the road to the end and turn left to rejoin the N8.