No 1 Leenaun to Clonbur through Joyce Country There are roads for all seasons but today the weather gods are not playing along. The drive from Clifden to Leenaun along the N59 has been through an all-enveloping mist hiding the mountains and nullifying the dramatic impact of our first glimpse of Killary Harbour. But then, just as we turn onto our intended route along the R336/R345, the weather begins a partial, slow clearance. We've turned off the N59 just before entering Leenaun proper, onto the R336 which will take us as far as Clonbur and then back to Galway City. This is a favourite road which offers 29km (17miles) of fast flowing roads with a generally good, often excellent surface. It's unusual for a road in the West of Ireland in that it has a flowing rhythm which allows brisk motoring without constant changes of surface quality. We find only one small section of the road to be poor and it's being resurfaced in time for the tourist season. Yet, I'm not sure that this road is discovered by the majority of motoring tourists who travel this region, much their loss. This is Joyce Country, named after the Welsh family which settled here in the 13th century and became one of the fiercest clans in the West of Ireland. They made their own this Maum valley, now travelled by the R336, between the Maumturk and Party Mountains. Numerous ruined castles dot the landscape as evidence of their habitation in more dangerous times. The R336 follows the course of the Joyce River after about 4km and continues on through the small village of Kilmeelickin to Maum, where we fork left onto the R345. Benbeg towers behind Kilmeelickin and here is a church with an Evie Hone stained glass window depicting St Brendan. Nearby the Joyce and Bealanabrack Rivers meet before flowing into the western tip of Lough Corrib, Ireland's second biggest lake. At Cornamona a right turn leads to the scenic Doorus peninsula which juts out into the lake with splendid views on either side. But we're not here to view the scenery, and the best of this road is about to come. About three quarters of the way along the R336/R345, as it goes towards Clonbur, the road begins to rise providing increasingly dramatic views of the surrounding Maum Valley now opening out into the western tip of Lough Corrib . at least it would if the mists would rise a little bit more and allow the weak sun to shine through. We plan to take photographs here, but the mist obliges with only a partial lift and the light stays poor. Waiting for the weather to improve, we take the opportunity to drive through the mixture of both tight and sweeping bends which rise and fall dramatically against a backdrop of Lough Corrib and Hen Castle, also known as Castlekirk (Caisleán na Circe), which legend associates with the 16th century pirate queen, Grace O'Malley. I'm tempted to say that this sequence of corners by itself makes the drive along the R336/R345 worthwhile for any keen motorist but that would be unfair. From Leenaun to Clonbur the road is well worth seeking out. We've already decided that we'll come back again in better weather. Now, does anyone have any influence with the weather gods? Great Irish Roads: A series by motoring historian Bob Montgomery No 2: The R108 Ballyboughal to Drogheda Some roads are meant to be driven, shall we say, briskly; others are born to be meandered. Today's subject is a road that repays a slow meandering drive along its length with glimpses of an ancient landscape, as the road climbs over successive hills and dales and houses betray their olden origins by lying nestled in sheltered hollows. Yet this road, today lying between other newer and busier roads, was once the highway from Dublin to Newry and then on to Belfast, having been arrived by Glasnevin, Santry and Forrest, just west of present-day Swords. Taylor and Skinner's 1778 map contained in their seminal work, Maps of the Roads of Ireland, shows a road that has hardly changed today, two and a quarter centuries later. It's a landscape that shows remarkably few signs of change, the most notable being the swathe cut by the new M1 motorway which intersects the R108 a couple of kilometres north-east of Bellewstown. Leaving Ballyboughal village one soon arrives at the foot of a gently climbing hill, where in 1925 and 1926 the Drogheda Motor Cycle Club organised a popular motorcycle hillclimb. The event must have been more speed trial than hillclinb as the road chosen ran from the bridge below the present-day Hollywood Golf Club to the crossroads at Nag's Head, a distance of seven-eighths of a mile with a gradient of 1 in 35. Interestingly, reports of the event describe the finish at "Knagg's Head" crossroads - Knagg, I believe, was the name of a local family. Having passed Nag's Head and the ridge which is Cabinhill, the road falls steeply into the village of Naul with its Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre, whose restaurant is a good place for a hearty Irish breakfast! Out of Naul, the stone-age passage tomb at Fourknocks is but a short diversion to the west of the R108. Its inner chamber is 21ft across, far larger than Newgrange, and is well worth a look. The R108 now enters it's most attractive section, meandering across several hills which offer a surprisingly high view towards the sea at Balbriggan. In fact the highest point on the road is but 159 metres and later Mullaghteelin is some 148 metres above sea level. Neither hill is earth-shatteringly high but in what is generally a flat landscape they give surprising elevation and quite unexpected views to any motorist used to travelling north by the M1 or its predecessor, the N1/R132. Here the R108 also passes the road to Bellewstown, the site of another hillclimb course in the 1950s and today noteworthy for its annual horse races. Soon afterwards the road drops down to intersect the M1 motorway before crossing the River Nanny and sweeping into Drogheda. Just as the road reaches Drogheda, it turns sharp right past the old Church of Ireland. However, we finish our journey on the R108 by continuing straight on at this sharp turn, coming to Millmount, an 18th-century Martello Tower, although the mound on which it stands is probably of Celtic origin, and was later built up by the Normans into a huge motte. In line with the road beside Millmount there are pedestrian steps leading down to the bridge over the Boyne into the heart of Drogheda. Taylor and Skinner's map shows that this was the original course of the road, leading to what was then the only bridge across the river. Indeed, this remained the road until, I believe, the 1920s, and was a notorious accident black-spot. From Ballyboughal to Millmount is just 18.8 kms, a distance that takes the modern motorist on a short journey back in time over one of the most original ancient highways remaining in this part of Ireland. A double delight by the waters of Erne No 3 - R480 Ballyallaban Hillclimb: Mont Ventoux, Friedburg, Prescott, Shelsley Walsh - the names of famous hill-climbs familiar to motorsport enthusiasts the world over. Ballyallaban? Perhaps not well-known beyond this island's shores, but truly a challenge to driver and car to match any hill-climb venue in the world. As such, it undoubtedly merits inclusion in this series of great driver's roads and, despite its short length compared to other roads we'll travel, it has a fascination and challenge which is quite unique. In terms of other hill-climb venues in Ireland or Britain, Ballyallaban is actually the longest (3.5 kms/2.2miles) and fastest currently in use, a fact which surprises the occasional visitor from abroad who travels to County Clare to take part in the annual hill-climb organised by the Galway Motor Club. It's a piece of road that commands respect and is a unique challenge which rewards skilful driving. Bounded by solid stone walls which in turn are bordered by the unique limestone slabs which form the Burren's extraordinary and other-worldly landscape, Ballyallaban is not a place to make an error of judgment, as many competitors in the yearly hill-climb - including the author - have found to their cost over the years. Despite these traps for the unwary, or perhaps because of them, this is a place which rewards the skilled driver like no other. The road is fast, with flowing corners, some of which are slightly banked, and generates a rhythm on a quick run. It's a piece of road that seems to have a "groove", which, when taken correctly, becomes apparent to a driver and is immensely satisfying. Ballyallaban Hill-climb is situated on the R480 just 3kms outside the picturesque 19th century fishing village of Ballyvaughan. The hill-climb course starts just after the entrance to the Aillwee Cave car park. Aillwee Cave - discovered in 1940 and opened to the public in the 1980s - is a wonderful place where amongst other things, one can see the marks made by the fur of hibernating bears in the soft earth of the cave's recesses. As the R480 winds uphill along the hill-climb course, to the east of Ballyallaban is Mullagh More, a fine 627ft-high rock strata, folded and contorted like dough, while in the distance to the west is the Burren's highest point, Slieve Elva (1134ft).