For The Love of Travel

After a lovely farewelling with John and Cookie…started making my way to my first stop – a very grey day so far, but sooo glad it isn’t raining. Arrived super early at the 13thC Franciscan Timoleague Abbey that was founded by the Franciscan order in 1240 A.D., on the site of a 6th century monastic settlement founded by Saint Molaga.

A cute pink house in the village….

Drove the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ and saw very pleasant beach scenes like this….

Loved the ‘Old Head of Kinsale’ viewpoint….a colony of swooping gulls and other bird species, craggy cliffs; closest to the point of land where the Lusitania was sunk in 1915 – and a seagull with pink webbed feet, perched on a tiny outcrop casually surveying the scene and oblivious to anything else… gorgeous!

Woo hoo, next stop Kinsale village. Loved the little streets, very colourful and enticing. So much so, I found a lovely shop called ‘Weavers of Ireland’…and found a scarf I had to have.

I wish it was a day that looked like this….alas no. Grey and dull.

I’d booked into Martin Shanahan’s ‘Fishy Fishy’ restaurant and loved the lunch …’Black Sole with Capers and Crispy Potatoes’. Yummy, yum yum. There was definitely enough fish there for me to be protein-rich for days…..!

Still grey day, but launched droney to get a perspective over Castlepark….and the small harbour….

Was excited when I arrived in Killarney as weather had improved, nay there was SUNSHINE! So after meeting Sabine at the Air B&B, made a beeline for Muckross House.

Muckross House was built for Henry Arthur Herbert (MP for County Kerry from 1866 until 1880; appointed High Sheriff of Kerry in 1881; a major in the London Irish Rifles and a captain in the Coldstream Guards) and his wife, the water-colourist Mary Balfour Herbert. This was actually the fourth house that successive generations of the Herbert family had occupied at Muckross over a period of almost two hundred years. Work probably commenced in 1843 on the layout of the present Gardens at that time. Indeed, it appears likely that this work may have provided famine relief during the years of the Great Hunger (1845-1850). Many of the Scots Pine, Silver Fir, Oaks and Beeches in the vicinity of Muckross House may also have been planted during that decade.

Water views are incredible even from the estate….this gives you a better perspective….

Discovered, after hearing very noisy ‘broom broom’ car play along the highways on which I was travelling…..there’s a ‘Rally of the Lakes’ meeting on the bank holiday weekend that is …THIS WEEKEND. So when I want to travel along the ‘Ring of Kerry’ tomorrow, there will be road closures. Doing my research now to see if I can go slightly different routes and avoid this shite in any way!!! Cross everything people ….

I was tasked with a mission today, a whimsical one at that. A friend from Victoria, who knew I was passsing through Wexford, asked me to deliver a ‘message in a bottle’ to a little village in the county, Blackwater. This is from where her great-grandfather hailed. Anyway, I delivered and placed the bottle today (see the very bottom right hand side of community notice cabinet) after chatting with some locals. They liked my initial idea of affixing the bottle to the red chair close to the bridge but were worrried about ‘the elements’.

Its a quirky and pretty village, centred around a gorgeous stone bridge over the river Blackwater. And just beside the bridge is a tiny park, which has benches, an open area and a marian grotto. The bridge and the tiny park together help give the village a charming character.

The village also has an quirky mix of old and new. On the main street, there is a thatched cottage that houses a trendy cafe, and up the road, a former general store (with its original facade intact) is now a furniture upcycling store.

Blackwater has a ‘tidy towns’ reputation and I thought this decorative outdoor scene was probably part of a community gardening project to enhance the areas’ aesthetics…two vibrant yellow benches, with a classic bicycle painted red, used as a planter display, positioned between them.

Lots of fun driving behind a trailer-load of carrots; seeing fields being tilled by ENORMOUS machines; lovely stone fences lining the roads and tiny stone bridges presenting a challenge and a ‘tight squeeze’ for passing traffic.

Came across ‘the famous Mary Barry Seafood Bar’ (hadn’t heard before I drove past, doh!)…its quite the business, located in the picturesque fishing village of Kilmore Quay. It was formerly known as Morrissey’s Pub before it was purchased by Susie Doyle roughly around 2000–2001. The new owner re-instated the original name, Mary Barry’s, paying homage to the local woman who owned it in the 1940s. Lovely decor inside, very nautical in design and execution.

This was a stunning image, Richfield wind farm, along the road from Kilmore Quay to Baldwinstown – what’s not to like with golden yellow canola fields, blue sky and the super quiet whirring of renewable energy producers?? Baldwinstown is also a super cute teeny tiny village with heaps of B&B’s.

And then you come to Arthurstown, wah! Another lovely little spot. I realised I was feeling more invigorated as I got to see more water views.

I had in mind to do the Johnstown castle tour and walk around the gardens. It’s a 12th-century Norman stronghold transformed into a 19th-century Gothic Revival mansion. Originally built by the Esmonde family (c. 1169), it passed to the Grogan family in 1692, who developed its extensive gardens and lakes, before becoming a public heritage site managed by the Irish Heritage Trust. The castle is known for its “frowning” tower, ornamental grounds designed by Daniel Robertson (known for his work at Powerscourt), and its survival through Ireland’s turbulent 17th-century rebellions. Once again, busloads of tourists…I took a quick pic through the front fence and drove off.

Arrived at another gorgeous village, Ballyhack.

Took the ferry to Passage East to make my way to Dunmore East, fully intending to do a short cliff walk. Ha! Blighted again. On arrival, I could barely open my car door to take this pic of the delightful harbour. Quite hilly in topography but another place I would definitely recommend for a few days of R&R.