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roads to remember
My Favourite Drive: Philip Mallon on Wicklow, two mountains and a lot of memories
And a drive that has come to mean something very different.
Journeys, even everyday ones, can mean a lot. Philip Mallon is sales and territory manager for Joe Mallon Motors. As someone with a passion for motoring, he told TheJournal.ie about the drive that means most to him.
First up – describe the drive.
We’re lucky here in Kildare to have so many great drives – the Curragh, Ballymore Eustace – but if I had to pick just one, it’s actually a motorway drive.
I know a lot of people would think I’m crazy, when Ireland has so many beautiful drives to offer, but it’s when you’re driving on the M50 southbound, where it’s changing into the M11 and you’re coming down past Bray and seeing the Sugarloaf and Djouce.
And then towards Kilmacanogue, that whole road. You can cut off down to Enniskerry, to Greystones, to the seafront in Bray. Or over to Avoca, or to Powerscourt. There are so many spots in such a small area.
What is it that makes it special?
It didn’t used to be my favourite drive. I remember the first time going on that old road, before the motorway was built. I went to boarding school in Bray, and I remember sitting in the back of my dad’s car on the first day, and having first day nerves. Not knowing what to expect, would I fit in, the usual stuff on your first day of school.
But now it’s something I look back on – and you think of the friends you’ve met and the experiences you’ve had. So I think it sticks out for me for that reason – because I didn’t like it at first, and now I look at it differently.
We often go down to Wicklow for a drive or something to eat. And I probably tell my wife the same stories every time. It’s become a bit of a joke between us.
Is there a view or a moment that sums it up for you?
When you’re coming past Bray there you have this fantastic view of the two mountains – the Sugarloaf is on one side, and Djouce on the other. And they look like gate pillars as you leave Dublin. And at that point you kind of feel like you’re definitely off for the day.
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