Beginning the Journey Across Ireland
For a long time, I’ve wanted to take on the Audax Hiberniae, a uniquely Irish long-distance challenge that sends riders to 128 designated heritage locations across all 32 counties of Ireland.
The rules are simple: cycle to each location and take a photo of your bike as proof.
The experience, on the other hand, is anything but simple.
This year, I finally decided to start.
Episode 1 begins in County Carlow, a place I’ve travelled through many times but never truly explored. What I didn’t expect was how much history, character, and beauty would be packed into just four checkpoints.
This ride covered 105km, 1,100 metres of climbing, and a mix of towpaths and smooth tarmac. It was the perfect opening chapter.
Stop 1: Brownshill Dolmen
My first checkpoint was Brownshill Dolmen, one of Europe’s largest portal tombs.
Standing in a quiet field just outside Carlow town, the dolmen has a capstone weighing over 100 tonnes, balanced on upright stones by people who lived here 5,000–5,500 years ago.
It predates the pyramids.
It predates written language in Ireland.
It’s an engineering mystery.
There’s something powerful about starting a long journey beside something built to last thousands of years. It set the tone for the day and for the entire Audax Hiberniae project.
Stop 2: Duckett’s Grove
From ancient history to Gothic splendour, the next stop was Duckett’s Grove.
Once the centre of a 1,200-acre estate, the mansion was gutted by fire in 1933 and now stands as one of Ireland’s most dramatic ruins.
With the drone up, the towers, arches, and stonework looked incredible.
But walking around the ruin gives you a different feeling, a sense of how quickly fortunes can change. Within a single generation, the powerful Duckett family went from running the estate to losing it all.
It’s an iconic Carlow landmark and a highlight of the entire route.
Stop 3: The Mount Leinster Climb
No Carlow cycling story would be complete without the climb up Mount Leinster.
At 796m, it’s one of Ireland’s best-known ascents, with the steepest ramps hitting 15–18%. The views from the top stretch across Carlow, Wexford, Kilkenny, and beyond.
This was such a tough climb. I even had to walk a part of it. Anyone that has ridden it knows that this isn’t as embarrasing as it sounds.
For the Audax Hiberniae, the checkpoint isn’t actually the summit but the Nine Stones viewpoint, a spot with incredible panoramas of the valleys and hills below. I only learned this after I completed the ride. I’m hoping the organisers won’t be too harsh on this minor oversight. There was low cloud and visibility was low so I would have been able to get a picture of this anyway.
I would have loved to send up the drone to get above the cloud but I was afraid I wouldn’t see it ever again. The wind was very strong at the top.
Stop 4: Borris Viaduct
The final checkpoint was the Borris Viaduct, an 1860s railway structure with 16 arches rising 60ft above the valley floor. Today it’s a peaceful walking and cycling route, but you can still imagine the trains that once crossed it.
It’s a perfect finish point — historical, beautiful, and surrounded by great roads.
Even though I had completed the 4 hiberniae locations of Carlow is still have a lovely spin along the Barrow towpath back to Milford where I had started. This was one of the most enjoyable parts of the ride.
Ride Stats
- Distance: 105 km
- Elevation: 1,100 m
- Terrain: Gravel + road mix
- Strava Route: Add your link here
Gear I Used
- Giant Revolt 1 gravel bike
- Shimano GRX groupset
- Schwalbe G-One Overland 45mm tyres
- Garmin Edge 1030
- Route planned with Strava Routes
- DJI Mini 5 Pro drone
- GoPro Hero 7
- Clif Bars for on-bike nutrition
Everything performed flawlessly — especially the tyres with the mix of gravel and tarmac.
Watch the Video
If you want to see all four Carlow locations, the drone shots, the climbs, and the full story, you can watch Episode 1 here: