When this man came to Ireland for an extended cycling holiday, he found a fantastic country but for one constant horrible problem. Above, Roy St Pierre at the Connemara Hostel in Co Galway.
A British tourist has just completed an extended cycling holiday in Ireland, riding a whopping 840 miles around the country from the start to end of his stay.
And while he was really impressed generally by taking in Ireland by bike, what do you think was the one thing that horrified him?
No, it wasn’t speeding cars, bus drivers or closes passes. It was roadside rubbish, which he said he encountered in large quantities through the country.
And the photos used here are just a selection of those taken by Roy St Pierre from Lancashire and posted on his Facebook profile.
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Roy says sights like this were all too common and that he'd take a photo of scenery only to look down at his feet and find lots of rubbish in many places.
"During my travels I was horrified by the amount of roadside litter, sometimes in the most scenic places and in every part of the island of Ireland,” he told the Irish Mirror newspaper.
"We do have a litter problem in some parts of England but I’ve not seen anything this bad."
He added that at one point he encountered a “continual stream of litter for about 10 miles alongside the R680 from near Waterford City to Carrick-on-Suir”.
Ireland was a beautiful place, but for the litter, and he said the people he met were friendly, with his trip taking him from Dublin to Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary, Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Derry and Antrim.
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He believed the only way to clean up the roadside rubbish problem was to close the worst effect roads for a few days over a designated weekend and ensure motorists knew the road would be closed.
Rubbish had either gather on the roadside having been blown there or appeared to be dumped, like this bag.
"Organise a team of volunteers, local authority workers, the Irish army or whoever to clear the litter," he said.
"Publicise the good work of these people and let those who are guilty know it will happen again if the littering continues.
"Draconian? Perhaps. But sometimes draconian works, possibly going under the name of ‘Zero Tolerance’ these days."
He believed Ireland was too precious a destination to allow the problem continue.
"I loved Ireland, I loved the Irish people. Some of the landscapes were stunning.
“I liked the way the vast majority of drivers were considerate and careful with cyclists.
"But in a spirit of friendliness, please, please, please encourage your compatriots to value and cherish your inheritance, your land."
What do you think; have you seen a lot of rubbish as you ride around? Let us know.
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