A trip through the UK & Ireland
Most of the tourist stuff is easy walking distance from our flat.
At Trinity College we ran into a couple from Portland, Oregon, who stayed at our B&B in Kinsale the same dates as us. Amazingly, we found ourselves at the ‘Norseman’ in Temple Bar – uncanny luck. Mary got her sugar fix in with a stop at ‘The Bakery Temple Bar’. Their address is ‘3 Pudding Lane’ – ha! The Cathedral and Castle were also worthy stops.
Dinner was on Anne St. South at ‘The Kitchen’.
The morning in Kilkenny is big-time wet. A short walk from our lodging are the Black Abbey with it’s gorgeous stained glass and Kilkenny Castle. There is serious restoration going on at the castle. The grounds are really special and are sited on the riverbank.
On to Dublin!
After all the goat paths we’ve been driving on, we hit a true expressway. No way we’re driving in the city. Our plans were to find long-term parking at the ferry terminal and taxi to the city. It’s a good decision as the taxi ride was Disney-worthy and the route littered with construction detours. We hooked up with ‘JJ’, our Airbnb host. What a nice apartment in a perfect location. Close by is ‘Mary’s Pub’ and hardware store and pub combination – had to stop for a beverage! Around the corner from our apartment was a really hip grocery store where we loaded up on provisions.
We finished the day with a trad music pub crawl (in the rain).
We left friendly Kinsale for Cobh and drove lovely country roads to catch historic ‘Passage West’ ferry to Cobh. The Cobh Heritage Center has really interesting exhibits on the famine, Lusitania, and the Titanic. Cobh is noted for being the last port of call for the Titanic and the largest port for those immigrating to America.
Next stop of the day was the Jameson Experience in Middleton for a tour. Mary ‘volunteers’ to do a comparison whiskey tasting and finishes top of her class. Later, we stopped for a quick tour of the ‘Rock of Cashel’ – most of the structures on site date back to the 12th & 13th centuries.
Our B&B in Kilkenny is the well-named ‘Bridge View’ on the bank of the River Nore. It’s a Saturday evening and the town is wild. Dinner is pizza (the first since leaving the US).
A rainy morning.
We took a short drive to Cork and shuttled from a satellite lot into the city. The English Market is a municipal food market in the center of the city which is known for its’ Victorian architecture and local foods. Lunch was at the Farmgate Café in the market. Later in the day we shared a charcuterie and cheese platter at the Black Pig restaurant in Kinsale.
What a beautiful drive along the bay from Dingle to Inch Strand. Sand beaches, blue sky, and fishing boats out in the water. We drove to the small village of Timoleague to view the ruins of the town’s abbey which was founded in 1240 by the Franciscan order. A wonderful setting.
Kinsale Harbor is beautiful as is our Kinsale B&B, the Olde Bakery. The hosts, Tom (a beekeeper) and Chrissie are a very nice older couple, getting ready to retire. The Lusitania was torpedoed just off the coast of Kinsales ‘Old Head’. We dined at the White House in town – huge lamb for Dick, lemon sole for Mary.
We dropped by the ‘Folke House’ later for more trad music and some great beers.
We woke to the sound of clattering horse hoofs in the morning. Just below our window at the B&B was a line of horse riders heading down what passes for ‘High Street’ in Dingle.
Today’s excursion was Slea Head Drive (commonly known as the ‘Dingle Loop’). The drive is a circular route that begins and ends in Dingle that takes in a number of stunning views on the western end of the Dingle Peninsula. The road follows the coast north past where some of the filming of the movie ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ took place and includes stops near ancient beehive huts used by recluse monks. Along the route is the Kerry Woolen Mill with some interesting goods. The Great Blasket Islands visitor center was a pleasant surprise with fine artworks & films showcasing the regions’ history.
Dinner at the Chart House back in Dingle was excellent. We stopped in a pub on the west edge of town to enjoy some of the traditional music played nightly. A very entertaining and friendly group of young German men were at the table next to us. Their obvious leader, a huge man nicknamed ‘Grizzly’, overindulged and crashed to the floor to the cheers of his buds. Lively night!
Our drive from Galway to the Dingle Peninsula goes through the center of the ‘the Burren’ and to the Cliffs of Moher. It’s a beautiful day and the scenery is indescribable. We took a ferry from Kilimer to cross the Shannon River estuary – saved about 3 hours of road time! The car in front of us on the ferry contained an English couple (Cheshire) who stayed at the same B&B as us in Spiddal. The drive to and through Tralee was nice, then on to the ‘high road’ from Camp to Inch. Awesome.
We stopped in Anascaul for a ‘Crean’s Lager’ at the famous South Pole Inn, once owned by Tom Crean, the famous Antarctic Explorer. Our stay in Dingle Town is at O’Neal’s B&B overlooking the villages’ high street. Dingle is a fun village to walk with a beautiful ocean and high-country views.
Dinner at Doyles just down from our lodging was excellent (recommended by a couple who drive up from Dublin a few times a year to dine there). Pubs, pubs, pubs.
Along the route to Spiddal is the ‘Celtic Crystal’ visitor center and factory, it was recommended by our hostess, Vera. The owner, Mary, opened in 1972 and faced competition from the ‘big’ houses, Waterford and 2 others. Now, she is the only one still making hand blown, hand cut crystal in Ireland. We are the only visitors and are treated to a personal tour by the owner with demo by one of the carvers. The company is famous for incorporating Celtic designs and Gaelic motifs into their ornate Irish crystal. We wind up buying a little bud vase whose design commemorates the famine. Very appropriate, as that is why Mary’s family came to America.
Onward to Galway. After a brief walking tour, the rains came – big time! We ended up missing most of the city.
Lunch is along the bay at ‘The Weir’, Kilcolgan, where Moran’s Oyster Cottage and Pub is located. Moran’s is a world-famous Seafood restaurant with a traditional thatched cottage that dates back over 250 years. Wild salmon, Galway flat oysters, crab claws – doesn’t get much better.
The drive from Donegal to Spiddal was very pleasant. In Westport, County Mayo we had a brief stop but most of the shops were closed – Sunday morning. Thankfully, Matt Malloy’s pub is open so we have a quick pint. The pub is owned by the flutist from the Chieftains and is well known. Leenane is along the route and looks like it’d be a nice place to spend some time (maybe next trip!).
We stopped for a picnic at Klylemore Abbey in Connemara. To avoid a long highway route, we ‘bushwhack’ our way through the rugged and beautiful Connemara back country to our lodging at the bay-side Armor Inn in Spiddal. Spiddal is a Gaeltacht (they speak Gaelic) village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, about 12 miles west of Galway city. Our hostess at the B&B has a massive garden of rare plants, flowers, and trees.
Dinner was at ‘Tigh Giblin’, a restaurant in the heart of the village. Good choice – the food (Connewara lamb for me) was great and we had a lovely table at which to enjoy a few sessions of traditional music.
We covered a lot of ground today.
We started by heading north from Belfast towards the Antrim Coast. It took some work to locate the ‘Dark Hedges’, made famous by the Game of Thrones series. Very remote (and super cool). The northern coastline is striking. We stopped at the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge (Dick walked it, I did not) and then on to the Giant’s Causeway. Incredible. Lots and lots of tourists at the Causeway – most with Chinese accents. We have a long drive along the coast to Portrush (looks nice), then (London) Derry. We had hoped to take a tour of the Belleek Pottery factory but arrived late. Mary picked up a nice, very well-packaged pottery basket.
Finally, we crossed the border into the Republic of Ireland and Donegal Town. While dining at the nearby Castle Bar, we met a Canadian gentleman from Toronto doing a cycle tour of both Ireland & Northern Ireland. Interesting discussion! At his suggestion we topped off the night with a walk to the Reel Inn where a trad band was playing.
