For every beginning there has to be an end and the end this time was working for IT Purchasing. Sadly I leave behind friends whom I used to see every day. I will really miss them but I know we will keep in contact.
The beginning is Graeme and my trip to pick four leaf clovers and walk along the great cliffs of Ireland. We left on a rainy evening with our clothes on our back and our house under our arms – we were all set to brave the rainy shores of the green, green Isle.
As we arrived the weather was o.k. which was a surprise. Frank (the car hire man) picked us up and treated us to coffee which was our first taste of Irish hospitality. He couldn’t give us enough hints and tell us all the great places to go – so we left with great excitement.
We headed off into the Wicklow Mt. There were natural forests on both sides of the road with rivers flowing. Natural brown rivers as back home. We made our way past Glendalough but sadly missed out on the medieval tower. In a little village called Rathdrum we found a B&B – we decided not to rough it on the 1st night.
After an afternoon sleep we went to the local to watch the Lions vs Bokke. We were eaten alive. A sad day for the world champs – our hearts were broken. I hope that with the next test match we will be able to regain some of our rugby strength. I’ll bet Mike is hitting those Fosters again. We had a lovely 3hr walk in the forest – Avondale Forest. We talked about everything and nothing.
In the morning we woke up to clear skies and Mary set us off with an extremely full tummy. Those Irish breakfasts are not to be taken lightly.
We set off for Kilkenny. The best medieval city in Ireland. The streets were narrow and all buildings and walls from different centuries.
We walked round the castle then went to St Canice’s Cathedral. We climbed the tower and Graeme had full view under a nun’s skirt before he knew what was happening – which reminds me, the man bought home a pair of female’s underwear from Amsterdam which he was unable to explain. Ummmm!
After smelling the roses and picking Shamrock we hopped in noddy and went on our merry way to Cashel.
We visited the Rock of Cashel which was important for kind of old Ireland and St Patrick. We walked all around and heard the sheep having their own conversation. They were so funny just baa, baaing away.
We saw the most amazing church which had mosaics on the outside. It looked so bright and cheerful, I had to go in. I loved the whole church there was no doom & gloom.
We decided to make our way to Cahir from there so that we were close to Cork. I looked for the closest camp site which was “The Apple”.
After erecting our house for the first time we went on to pick strawberries – absolutely delicious. The definitely taste better.
We moved on to a game of tennis. Graeme and I played two dutch guys and Graeme is unbelievable. He can play just about any sport well. We were all huffing & puffing by the end.
To cool off we played pool. Graeme and I did very well. We are going to work on our technique – hopefully we can become a reasonable team. We’ll have to see how much practice we get in this holiday.
We woke up late and went in search of the Blarney Stone. To kiss the stone one has to grasp the iron railings backwards while lying on your back – with a 100 ft drop. But we managed. Now we are waiting for the “gift of the gab” to hit us.
At Blarney we had the most fantastic irish stew. It will live in our memories. While exploring the Castle, Graeme went into this dark cave while a little boy followed him. Graeme started to make grrr noises and the boy got such a fright he ran out telling his mum there was an animal in the case.
Graeme & I think that Blarney Castle is one of the best castles we have been to.
After a sleep on the castle lawn we proceeded to drive down the narrowest lanes with beautiful lakes down the side of the valleys.
We slowly made our way to the coast, to Glengarriff. I was so excited to see the sea. The waves breaking against the rock. We found a wonderful campsite. We put up our house and went for a Gui8nness in the local pub. Much to our delight they were singing songs and playing traditional music. We spend about 2 hrs there. I would have loved for Teresa, Helen & Eileen to have been there. They would have loved it. I don’t think any other pub is going to be the same again.
Upon walking up we could swear the ground gets harder and we get hungrier. We made our way into town and had the worst irish stew that could be imagined. We had to go to the Spar and get something else to eat. Graeme discovered these pastries with maples and almonds. I can see us looking for them wherever we go.
We set off along the Beara Peninsula. Although little travelled by tourists, it is spectacular.
Our first port of call was Adrigole where we tried to visit the highest waterfall in Ireland. After trekking through boggy land we saw that the water was a mere trickle and not very high, we went back. Apparently it is better in winter. Quite how it would be better frozen than after it has been raining solid for 4 weeks, is hard to understand. Perhaps it is a little irish logic.
We passed through Castle Townbere and went to visit Dunboy Castle. It was more of a mansion that had been destroyed by fire in 1920. It seemed so sad that such a beautiful house should be destroyed.
Making our way further down to Dursey Island, we saw some of the best scenery. I think that this is one of the best parts of Ireland. They have a cable way joining the island and mainland. We read how the English became in 1602 and slaughtered all the islanders by throwing them off the cliffs and in earlier times how the Vikings held the irish slaves on the island. Such a tragic past for such a beautiful place. It is now a bird sanctuary for rare migrating birds.
Everybody we drove past had a friendly wave and smile – even if we were just inches away from scratching their car in the these narrow lanes. We stopped at this coffee shop for scones & cream and decided to stay the night. The idea of camping on hard ground in the rain and wind was not very appealing. We are looking forward to making our way round the Ring of Kerry tomorrow.
The Lebor Gabala has it that when the Milesians, the first invaders of the island about 2,000BC made their landfall on the far west of the Beara Peninsula, it was necessary for their bard, Amergin, to chant the land into existence, so that they could set foot on shore.
“I am wind on sea, I am wave in storm, I am sea sound, I am hawk on cliff, A word of art, A piercing point that pours out range, The god who fashions fire in the head, Who if not I?” - The Book of Invasions of Ireland
Four thousand turbulent years later, there is still the sense of a world new made, new found here. There is a sense in which all those who come to the far west of Beara discover it, make it, and find it, for themselves. Its beauty is unspoiled, its wildness untamed, and the flash of the sea at this land’s end is also its beginning.
We set off early this morning in hope of reaching the Dingle Peninsula but it does not look like we are going to make it. The weather is terrible and we feel cheated out of seeing the wonderful views.
All the villages we pass through have their houses painted different colours – perhaps it is for the fishermen – they can see their house out at sea. It makes them feel warm with that chilly wind blowing through them.
I forgot to mention that we stopped at a stone circle – one of the hundreds around the country. We hugged rocks and added our offering to the many who had made one before us.
We decided to camp tonight despite the clouds in the sky so we headed round The Ring.
On our way to Kenmare we picked up an old gentleman who was so proud of “his” youngsters who had played in the soccer against Argentina. He was so proud to be Irish. He farmed by himself with a dog and cat for company and he is 69 years old. Bless him!
The Ring of Kerry is beautifully but I thought Beara was more scenic. Much more unspoiled. We are camping tonight at Glenleigh, a very ugly campsite which is very unfriendly. We all have to have stickers on our tents to make sure we aren’t free loaders – really !
We have just had a most delicious beef stew at the local pub as well as a few irish coffees. We will definitely be warm tonight when we crawl into our very hard bed.
Sleep tight!
PS: I forgot to mention that we tried black pudding. It tastes like a spicy sausage but the thought of it still puts me off.
We woke up to the sound of the rain hitting our tent and the graak, graak of the crows. The crows are really most annoying.
Irish Stew Recipe:
We drove through the Ring of Kerry at a hectic pace and now we want to see all there is to see on Dingle.
We shook all the rain from our tent and went on our way from Glendeigh straight to Dingle. Our only stop was at Inch beach. A long sandy beach on a mini peninsula jutting out from Dingle peninsula. It was rather like Fishock but no waves. I haven’t seen one beach with waves here – we thought this might be from the lack of currents meeting each other.
We arrived in Dingle and headed straight for Adams bar and had irish stew. This is tarting to become a daily ritual. It’s one of the few ways to keep warm in this weather. The wind seems to blow right through us. After lunch we pitched our tent and decided to go for a midday sleep for ½ hr. Waking up 4 hrs later was a bit of a shock. And our tummies being what they are, told us it was late. We went in search of the delicious maple & pecan nut pastry. Sadly all were sold out.
We have come to a bar in a village right on the coast. There are about 10 houses and a huge pub. This seems about standard – never mind the grocery shop. There must be a pub. In every pub there is a singer who has songs at his fingertips. I have never imagined a place where so many can sing and play the guitar. The irish take such pride in their music. I love the atmosphere it creates.
We chatted to the girl who is 18 and plays the accordion and she lives in a village called Castlegregory. She told us that on the Dingle Peninsula there are 52 pubs – just about more than houses. The pub we were in is the closest to America – so the next stop is New York. We won’t be going there tomorrow. Frank’s car is not in the James Bond league.
The Blasket Islands are at the edge of the Peninsula and seem to be quite barren. They used to support a fishing community until 1954. Graeme & I sat on the cliff edge looking over them and picking wild flowers, watching the sun set. Of course, we managed to step on my glasses so now they are minus an arm – surprise, surprise.
Our 1st day on the Dingle Peninsula to explore. Again, we woke up late – we are going to have to stop that. Off course, we went into town searching for the eternal maple and pecan pastry.
After a very shaky start trying to book G’s bus ticket back, we decided to go se Fungi the dolphin who lives in the bay.
He was wonderful. We saw him jumping through the glittering water blowing his air. He came right next to the boat. Although he lives in the bay, he is wild and he won’t take food from anybody. Sometimes he will bring a wild salmon to the boats. He loves to dive and frolic around for us open mouthed tourists. At the moment he has a friend called Smokey who has been there for about 2 weeks. But she is a lot shyer than Fungi. We think she is his girlfriend (us romantics!). After seeing Fungi we went round the Peninsula and passed these Beehive hut signs. I thought they would be old places where bees were bred. I couldn’t have been more mistaken. These were ancient family houses for the free farmers. Standing inside is quite scary because you know that there is nothing but stone holding them up (no cement) so you keep thinking the roof is going to cave in. The fact that they have stood for sometimes over 2,000 yrs is little comfort.
Ringforts are the most numerous and widespread field monuments in Ireland. These sites were commonly referred to by the terms Fort, rath, lios, cathair or caiseal, the individual site names often incorporating one or other of these terms.
The majority of these were enclosed farmsteads of the free farmers of the Early Christian Period, the banks and fosses acting as a fence to prevent livestock from straying and to protect against cattle raiders and wild animals. The small size of the sites suggests they were occupied by a single family, the houses, farm buildings and storage places occurring within the closed space. They would have been inhabited from ancient times to 1200AD.
These huts were often found attached to each other with a doorway leading from one to the other. These houses were generally made of stone because stone was plentiful. They were generally round like a beehive and a special type of craftsmanship is apparent in the building. They were erected in the form of a circle of successive strata of stone, each stratum lying a little closer to the centre than the one beneath and so on upwards until only a small aperture is left a the top which can be closed with a single small flagstone or capstone. No mortar was used in building. The stones have a downward and outward tilt so as to shed the water. This method of building is called corbelling.
Making our way round we came to Slea Head where we tried to pet some lamberts but they were too interested in butting their mums. On Slea beach we had a little sleep and on our way up we met a lovely Zim couple. They have retired and are now travelling for 6 months. What an inspiration. Just shows one that age is all in the mind.
We have come back to the same bar (just before America) and they are playing the most awful thump thump music. Time for a quick irish before sweet dreams.
This we had promised would be a lazy day so we headed to Supa Value and bought our daily bread and made our way to Shea Head where we had been yesterday. We spent the whole day soaking up the sun. The weather had finally decided to give us a good day.
A quick sleep was in order after a cooling off in the wonderful but cool water then off to watch our bokke slaughter the lions 35-16. It lifted our spirits totally. We had to fit some culture into the day and that was seeing the Gallarus Oratory. An 8th century building - probably for a monk. Every stone has stood in its place for 1200 years. It always makes me wonder what our buildings will look like in 1200 years. Unfortunately in our excitement to get there, we drove into a huge mound of cow dung but didn’t discover this until we got back into the campsite and it finally made sense why the flies loved us so much !
After 13 hrs of sleep we managed to rouse ourselves for a smoked salmon roll for breakfast – yumm! A quick 10 min to pack up our house and we were off. Making our way to the Cliffs of Moher.
Our first stop along the way was Blennerville Windmill. It had fallen into disrepair and in 1950 was being used as a piggery. But in 1984 it was restored and is now fully functional. So interesting to see after seeing the modern mill my dad worked for, for Snowflake flour. Built in 1780 and restored in 1984, it is 21m high.
29 June
We headed off into the Wicklow Mt. There were natural forests on both sides of the road with rivers flowing. Natural brown rivers as back home. We made our way past Glendalough but sadly missed out on the medieval tower. In a little village called Rathdrum we found a B&B – we decided not to rough it on the 1st night.
After an afternoon sleep we went to the local to watch the Lions vs Bokke. We were eaten alive. A sad day for the world champs – our hearts were broken. I hope that with the next test match we will be able to regain some of our rugby strength. I’ll bet Mike is hitting those Fosters again. We had a lovely 3hr walk in the forest – Avondale Forest. We talked about everything and nothing.
30 June
We set off for Kilkenny. The best medieval city in Ireland. The streets were narrow and all buildings and walls from different centuries.
We walked round the castle then went to St Canice’s Cathedral. We climbed the tower and Graeme had full view under a nun’s skirt before he knew what was happening – which reminds me, the man bought home a pair of female’s underwear from Amsterdam which he was unable to explain. Ummmm!
After smelling the roses and picking Shamrock we hopped in noddy and went on our merry way to Cashel.
We visited the Rock of Cashel which was important for kind of old Ireland and St Patrick. We walked all around and heard the sheep having their own conversation. They were so funny just baa, baaing away.
We saw the most amazing church which had mosaics on the outside. It looked so bright and cheerful, I had to go in. I loved the whole church there was no doom & gloom.
We decided to make our way to Cahir from there so that we were close to Cork. I looked for the closest camp site which was “The Apple”.
After erecting our house for the first time we went on to pick strawberries – absolutely delicious. The definitely taste better.
We moved on to a game of tennis. Graeme and I played two dutch guys and Graeme is unbelievable. He can play just about any sport well. We were all huffing & puffing by the end.
To cool off we played pool. Graeme and I did very well. We are going to work on our technique – hopefully we can become a reasonable team. We’ll have to see how much practice we get in this holiday.
We woke up late and went in search of the Blarney Stone. To kiss the stone one has to grasp the iron railings backwards while lying on your back – with a 100 ft drop. But we managed. Now we are waiting for the “gift of the gab” to hit us.
At Blarney we had the most fantastic irish stew. It will live in our memories. While exploring the Castle, Graeme went into this dark cave while a little boy followed him. Graeme started to make grrr noises and the boy got such a fright he ran out telling his mum there was an animal in the case.
Graeme & I think that Blarney Castle is one of the best castles we have been to.
After a sleep on the castle lawn we proceeded to drive down the narrowest lanes with beautiful lakes down the side of the valleys.
We slowly made our way to the coast, to Glengarriff. I was so excited to see the sea. The waves breaking against the rock. We found a wonderful campsite. We put up our house and went for a Gui8nness in the local pub. Much to our delight they were singing songs and playing traditional music. We spend about 2 hrs there. I would have loved for Teresa, Helen & Eileen to have been there. They would have loved it. I don’t think any other pub is going to be the same again.
2 July
We set off along the Beara Peninsula. Although little travelled by tourists, it is spectacular.
Our first port of call was Adrigole where we tried to visit the highest waterfall in Ireland. After trekking through boggy land we saw that the water was a mere trickle and not very high, we went back. Apparently it is better in winter. Quite how it would be better frozen than after it has been raining solid for 4 weeks, is hard to understand. Perhaps it is a little irish logic.
We passed through Castle Townbere and went to visit Dunboy Castle. It was more of a mansion that had been destroyed by fire in 1920. It seemed so sad that such a beautiful house should be destroyed.
Making our way further down to Dursey Island, we saw some of the best scenery. I think that this is one of the best parts of Ireland. They have a cable way joining the island and mainland. We read how the English became in 1602 and slaughtered all the islanders by throwing them off the cliffs and in earlier times how the Vikings held the irish slaves on the island. Such a tragic past for such a beautiful place. It is now a bird sanctuary for rare migrating birds.
Everybody we drove past had a friendly wave and smile – even if we were just inches away from scratching their car in the these narrow lanes. We stopped at this coffee shop for scones & cream and decided to stay the night. The idea of camping on hard ground in the rain and wind was not very appealing. We are looking forward to making our way round the Ring of Kerry tomorrow.
The Lebor Gabala has it that when the Milesians, the first invaders of the island about 2,000BC made their landfall on the far west of the Beara Peninsula, it was necessary for their bard, Amergin, to chant the land into existence, so that they could set foot on shore.
“I am wind on sea, I am wave in storm, I am sea sound, I am hawk on cliff, A word of art, A piercing point that pours out range, The god who fashions fire in the head, Who if not I?” - The Book of Invasions of Ireland
Four thousand turbulent years later, there is still the sense of a world new made, new found here. There is a sense in which all those who come to the far west of Beara discover it, make it, and find it, for themselves. Its beauty is unspoiled, its wildness untamed, and the flash of the sea at this land’s end is also its beginning.
3 July
All the villages we pass through have their houses painted different colours – perhaps it is for the fishermen – they can see their house out at sea. It makes them feel warm with that chilly wind blowing through them.
I forgot to mention that we stopped at a stone circle – one of the hundreds around the country. We hugged rocks and added our offering to the many who had made one before us.
We decided to camp tonight despite the clouds in the sky so we headed round The Ring.
On our way to Kenmare we picked up an old gentleman who was so proud of “his” youngsters who had played in the soccer against Argentina. He was so proud to be Irish. He farmed by himself with a dog and cat for company and he is 69 years old. Bless him!
The Ring of Kerry is beautifully but I thought Beara was more scenic. Much more unspoiled. We are camping tonight at Glenleigh, a very ugly campsite which is very unfriendly. We all have to have stickers on our tents to make sure we aren’t free loaders – really !
We have just had a most delicious beef stew at the local pub as well as a few irish coffees. We will definitely be warm tonight when we crawl into our very hard bed.
Sleep tight!
PS: I forgot to mention that we tried black pudding. It tastes like a spicy sausage but the thought of it still puts me off.
4 July
We woke up to the sound of the rain hitting our tent and the graak, graak of the crows. The crows are really most annoying.
Irish Stew Recipe:
- 900grams mutton
- 570grams potatoes
- 85grams flour
- 4 onions
- 750ml stock
- 2Tsp chopped parsley
- Carrots & Barley
- Trim mutton and coat with flour in casserole and cover with stock. Simmer for 40 mins. Peel, cut and slice onions. Layer onions and parsley on bottom & simmer for 1-1½ hrs. Serve: take our potatoes and serve up meat. Put potatoes on top of meat and parsley.
We drove through the Ring of Kerry at a hectic pace and now we want to see all there is to see on Dingle.
We shook all the rain from our tent and went on our way from Glendeigh straight to Dingle. Our only stop was at Inch beach. A long sandy beach on a mini peninsula jutting out from Dingle peninsula. It was rather like Fishock but no waves. I haven’t seen one beach with waves here – we thought this might be from the lack of currents meeting each other.
We arrived in Dingle and headed straight for Adams bar and had irish stew. This is tarting to become a daily ritual. It’s one of the few ways to keep warm in this weather. The wind seems to blow right through us. After lunch we pitched our tent and decided to go for a midday sleep for ½ hr. Waking up 4 hrs later was a bit of a shock. And our tummies being what they are, told us it was late. We went in search of the delicious maple & pecan nut pastry. Sadly all were sold out.
We have come to a bar in a village right on the coast. There are about 10 houses and a huge pub. This seems about standard – never mind the grocery shop. There must be a pub. In every pub there is a singer who has songs at his fingertips. I have never imagined a place where so many can sing and play the guitar. The irish take such pride in their music. I love the atmosphere it creates.
We chatted to the girl who is 18 and plays the accordion and she lives in a village called Castlegregory. She told us that on the Dingle Peninsula there are 52 pubs – just about more than houses. The pub we were in is the closest to America – so the next stop is New York. We won’t be going there tomorrow. Frank’s car is not in the James Bond league.
The Blasket Islands are at the edge of the Peninsula and seem to be quite barren. They used to support a fishing community until 1954. Graeme & I sat on the cliff edge looking over them and picking wild flowers, watching the sun set. Of course, we managed to step on my glasses so now they are minus an arm – surprise, surprise.
5 July
After a very shaky start trying to book G’s bus ticket back, we decided to go se Fungi the dolphin who lives in the bay.
He was wonderful. We saw him jumping through the glittering water blowing his air. He came right next to the boat. Although he lives in the bay, he is wild and he won’t take food from anybody. Sometimes he will bring a wild salmon to the boats. He loves to dive and frolic around for us open mouthed tourists. At the moment he has a friend called Smokey who has been there for about 2 weeks. But she is a lot shyer than Fungi. We think she is his girlfriend (us romantics!). After seeing Fungi we went round the Peninsula and passed these Beehive hut signs. I thought they would be old places where bees were bred. I couldn’t have been more mistaken. These were ancient family houses for the free farmers. Standing inside is quite scary because you know that there is nothing but stone holding them up (no cement) so you keep thinking the roof is going to cave in. The fact that they have stood for sometimes over 2,000 yrs is little comfort.
Ringforts are the most numerous and widespread field monuments in Ireland. These sites were commonly referred to by the terms Fort, rath, lios, cathair or caiseal, the individual site names often incorporating one or other of these terms.
The majority of these were enclosed farmsteads of the free farmers of the Early Christian Period, the banks and fosses acting as a fence to prevent livestock from straying and to protect against cattle raiders and wild animals. The small size of the sites suggests they were occupied by a single family, the houses, farm buildings and storage places occurring within the closed space. They would have been inhabited from ancient times to 1200AD.
These huts were often found attached to each other with a doorway leading from one to the other. These houses were generally made of stone because stone was plentiful. They were generally round like a beehive and a special type of craftsmanship is apparent in the building. They were erected in the form of a circle of successive strata of stone, each stratum lying a little closer to the centre than the one beneath and so on upwards until only a small aperture is left a the top which can be closed with a single small flagstone or capstone. No mortar was used in building. The stones have a downward and outward tilt so as to shed the water. This method of building is called corbelling.
Making our way round we came to Slea Head where we tried to pet some lamberts but they were too interested in butting their mums. On Slea beach we had a little sleep and on our way up we met a lovely Zim couple. They have retired and are now travelling for 6 months. What an inspiration. Just shows one that age is all in the mind.
We have come back to the same bar (just before America) and they are playing the most awful thump thump music. Time for a quick irish before sweet dreams.
6 July
A quick sleep was in order after a cooling off in the wonderful but cool water then off to watch our bokke slaughter the lions 35-16. It lifted our spirits totally. We had to fit some culture into the day and that was seeing the Gallarus Oratory. An 8th century building - probably for a monk. Every stone has stood in its place for 1200 years. It always makes me wonder what our buildings will look like in 1200 years. Unfortunately in our excitement to get there, we drove into a huge mound of cow dung but didn’t discover this until we got back into the campsite and it finally made sense why the flies loved us so much !
7 July
Our first stop along the way was Blennerville Windmill. It had fallen into disrepair and in 1950 was being used as a piggery. But in 1984 it was restored and is now fully functional. So interesting to see after seeing the modern mill my dad worked for, for Snowflake flour. Built in 1780 and restored in 1984, it is 21m high.
It was from the port of Blennerville that many immigrants left during the great famine in 1854. As the peasants were subsistent farmers, after 1 crop failure there was great starvation. One million people died and one million immigrated to America. If they went on a ship the journey usually lasted 30 days and they were expected to take their own food. Where they were expected to get this ford from during a famine is anybody’s guess.
At a craft shop we saw the most amazing work. Incredibly simple sculptures made from rods of iron & copper. I was very tempted. The artist had made on in sterling silver of the immigrant ship Jeanie Johnson and presented it to Bill Clinton. He also used the Celtic circle which is a symbol of man’s journey through life. Both the ups and downs which must be experienced before one can appreciate life.
Our second stop was Crag Cave which does not have a patch on Congo but is nevertheless impressive. The guide who took us had a constant cold from the change in temperature after giving 8 tours per day. They have named all their stalag’s although there is one very rude one which was skipped over but G could not help bringing it to everybody’s attention!
We carried on driving and passed through many villages but our curiosity was aroused when we saw that outside just about every house there was a flag flying. So we took a bet, I thought it was as a soccer match and G thought it was something to do with the Orange march. Like typical tourists, we rolled down our window and asked a local – with great mirth they told us it was a hurling match (played with sticks and a ball). We decided that G would be buying the irish coffee’s as he was the farthest from the answer. And believe me, they were the best we have tasted so far.
We found a campsite which was not the best but at only £4.00 nobody expects Buckingham Palace. After a delicious cheese roll we made our way to have the first glimpse of Moher. Anybody who has been there will know it is futile to try and put it into words. Instead I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
The Cliffs of Moher are 200m high and stretch for 5 miles. Graeme & I watched the sunset over these cliffs. It was a silent moment.
Lying on our stomachs we threw a rock over the side to measure how high the cliffs were and came up with 180m. WE went for a short walk along the cliffs and had to go through a field with a great big bull. This proved to be no problem as he was more interested in an equally huge grass eating cow. Judging by the number of calves around, he was a very busy bull.
Graeme did a very manly show of pretending to be a bull, while on the opposite side of a fence stood a very young bull. Putting them in the same field, I doubt wether the same show would have been acted.
8 July
We made our way to Lahnich but sadly no maple pecan nut pastry. We saw a very brave bloke take a swim, brrr, it must have been about 10 degrees. The beach is called a surfing beach but somehow I don’t think the waves inspire much surfing. It is a lovely beach to walk along.
Lahnich
Shoals of shadows, swards of green, the West of Ireland, a coastal scene.
Foreshore sounds, tidal tones, ebb and flow over strand and stones.
By Liscannor way and surfing seas 18 greens, fairways and tees.
Sheltered by dunes, shoulders of sand, the lure of Lahnich, the lie of the land.
Two famous holes, Klondyke and Dell, framed in failure or inspired spell.
Testing, arresting, impeccable host, glorious links on Ireland’s coast.
Extract from “Lahnich” by PJC.
We went along to the cliffs hoping to walk along them, but it was so misty that one could barely see our hands in front of our faces. We were so glad we went yesterday. We felt so sorry for those people who could only come today because they would have seen nothing.
We hoped the mist would clear but sadly not so, it turned into an admin day – the washing. The height of boredom.
9 July
Graeme and I looked over the edge. We had to lie down because it’s too scary to stand.
We had a clear view and we walked across the tops. We saw puffins at the bottom. They burrow into the grass bank to make a nest. Apparently during mating season their beaks grow longer. Each stripe makes them more attractive.
We found a wonderful grassy patch and lay down letting the scenery enter our soul and relax our spirit. We fell asleep and woke up feeling like we had been on a 10 week cruise. We were so relaxed – all the colours seemed brighter and the bird calls clearer. G & I both agree the cliffs are one of the best soul meals available. It is impossible to have too much.
Reluctantly we had to leave to make our way up north. We passed the Burren on the way – it was not a town but a certain geographical feature of just this part of Ireland. Made from limestone, there is very little vegetation so for the first time since being in Ireland, there are no sheep. We took a walk and went to the edge. The sea had made caves in the side and G went exploring. We also saw this family who were cycling – Mum, Dad & Kid. The kid was in this little car carrier attached to the bike. It looked very idyllic but on these narrow roads, a tad dangerous. We continued making our way to Silgo. Poor G had to drive and drive. At least we found a good radio station that were doing a poll on returning Northern Ireland to the republic. There were so many divided opinions. As we neared our campsite we were stopped at a road block (we were near the Northern Ireland border) and they were taking down everybody’s number plate details. They didn’t take ours because we were tourists. They are having such problems with the Orange men marches it will be interesting to see what happens.
As we got to the campsite it was too late to go for an irish, so we went for a walk by the beach. The moon was rising, the sky was purple and pink and we instantly felt relaxed.
10 July
The gods were again smiling on us and we woke up in great spirits. We had a very luxurious shower and G surprised me by taking down the tent while I was in the shower. He is so wonderful.
We drove through many seaside towns and stopped at one beach to have a picnic. We found a feather similar to the one we found the first night we met. Somehow it felt different, a bit ticklish. I guess it would be difficult to recapture the magic of the first night we met.
We stopped and had a wonderful picnic on the beach. It felt great to have the sun on our faces.
We drove to Donegal Town and it is a lovely town. We stopped and I phoned to get a job. It’s perfect for two weeks, so I can sort my CV out when I get home. IN a place like this home seems so far away.
We drove on further and found a wonderful beach where the water was too delicious to miss. We just had to swim. There was a huge jelly fish in the water. After a lovely walk we went on. We started to feel all fall down so we stopped at a beach and had a sleep in the car. It was delicious. Hot with a cooling breeze. 2 hrs later we woke up and decided to go for another swim and G had to jump off the rocks. Getting out of the car I stood on stinging nettles – my foot stang for about 3 hours afterward and grew little blisters. They may not have dangerous animals here, but their plants are another matter.
We decided to travel around the next peninsula a look for a camp site as there were no official ones in the area. On the peninsula we got very lost and a little anxious when we went along roads that were totally unpopulated – neither people nor animals. We were very relieved when we found a village only to find we had come full circle. We ended up travelling for another hour before we had to retrace our steps. Eventually, at 10pm we found a place and were very relieved, only to find that we had lost a hubcap along the way.
So what started out as a wonderful day ended up as one of those Monday like days when one should have stayed in bed.
Just about everywhere you go in Donegal you see Errigal Mountain. We were lost we passed it about five times. Graeme’s comment was “Not this f _____ mountain again !”
But we do not go to sleep with heavy hearts. In the County of Donegal we have seen some of our best scenery. The mountains with the long long beaches. In many ways it reminds us of Cape Town.
11 July
The shower before we set off was great only the pressure was so high that you couldn’t stand under it. There was a little kid who’s mum put them under the jet spray and they ended up screaming the place down.
Making our merry way to Rosgmill Peninsula we stopped at a little village and had breakfast on the pier watching a very brave lady windsurfing with no wind.
Having decided to have a restful day we took a short drive just to Rosgmill Peninsula and went on the Atlantic Drive. The scenery was without question breathtaking. We kept stepping and walking along the beaches. G had a great time pushing all my buttons, teasing me about everything. One day I will learn how to push his.
After our drive we found our campsite in Downings and went for a seafood lunch. Delicious salmon that was swimming around yesterday quite happily minding its own business. At the shop next door we met an old man who had been to Cape Town. To digest our lunch a lie on the beach was a must. As the afternoon wore on the clouds gathered across the skies. But we were chased off the beach by these obnoxious people who insisted on playing their music full blast. I will never understand some people.
We managed to put up our tent just before the downpour started. God was definitely throwing all his furniture down his stairs.
Afterwards we went for a walk along the beach and up a cliff path only my shoes were so slippery I nearly ended up swimming. So we had to come back early and thank goodness. We would have been two very miserable wet souls if we had walked on.
So it was dinner, and bed time. We were again undercharged for dinner. Amazing how often it has happened.
This page is dedicated to all those millions of lamberts. None of them would let me pat them but I would really love to hold a lamb one day. I am going to miss their baas every time I get out of the car.
We woke up today after the most terrible thunderstorms. We had to move our tent in the middle of the night otherwise we would have been soaked when we saw where the tent was we were relieved we moved as there was a lake.
Today is my dad’s birthday so I spare a thought for him. I know Dad would love Ireland. The friendly people, the stunning scenery, the history and last but not least the Guinness.
We made a tough decision today – to go to Buncrana or not. The weather was terrible and time was limited but we decided to talk to the police. It was very close to the Northern Ireland border and they were unsure of the mood of the Orange Men. It was very sad but we will get there one day. This country is definitely a place I want to come back to.
Retracing our steps through Donegal & Silgo we turned and headed towards Boyle. Just by chance we decided to stop at Lough Key Forest Park. It turned out of the one of the highlights of our trip.
We went for a short walk and climbed a tower to survey the view. At the top we noticed a ruined castle on an island in the middle of the lake. The thing that was so wonderful is that there was nobody there. So we hired a row boat and went exploring our very own ruined castle. It was a fantasy come true. We climbed out of the boat and walked around and through the archways and walls. We saw the ovens in the kitchen and the fireplaces. This castle is one of the most spiritual and romantic we have ever been to. We left a piece of ourselves behind.
When we landed back on mainland the lifeguard told us that the castle had once been hit by lightning and killed 140 soldiers – unbelievable!
It was with heavy hearts we continued our journey to Dublin. We stopped to spend a night about 90km outside of Dublin in a place called Mullingalar. Guinness was having a roadshow festival and we saw a tug of war competition. One of the teams was a local one but unfortunately they lost. They obviously had not been drinking enough Guinness!
We put up our tent for the last time and got the shock of our lives when, from underneath, came this loud croak and a hop hop hop along the tent and a huge frog appeared. Very indignant that we had chosen his spot.
We had dinner at a chippie and a very good conversation about drugs, prostitution and all the other controversial topics. We enjoyed playing the devils advocate.
12 July
We booked our night at the youth hostel. My first experience. It was a private hostel so there were no rules as such. It proved to be a very interesting experience and not one I would care to repeat in the near future. All I will say is that some people are unbelievable!
Anyway, we returned our car and they didn’t charge us for the missing hub cap, much to our surprise and delight. They are such nice people. I would recommend them to anybody in Ireland.
After returning our car we made our way to the Guinness Showroom and had a look at the very interesting exhibition they had. Interesting that they only use 4 ingredients – water, barley, hops and yeast. Also that the process has not changed in 200 years. As you walking the hall the smell (as G put it) of dirty feet hits the nostrils and it is the hops that one can still smell – 40 years after the hall had ceased being a hops store.
It made us really appreciate that pint we were given at the courtesy bar.
For our last night we decided to celebrate in style and went out for a delicious irish stew. It was the best way to leave Ireland with a full stomach and a light heart.
G & I had both been feeling low at the thought of the end of our holiday.
Epilogue
It is now a few days since we have come back. Settling into a routine has been difficult as our minds keep drifting back to Ireland. We even miss the hard ground of camping.
But of course all things come to an end so now we wait until the beginning of our next adventure.
Graeme is going off to Greece and the Middle East so his adventure starts soon. Floating on the Dead Sea is one of his highlights.
0 comments:
Post a Comment