Giant's Causeway

We stayed the night in Sligo at the Clarion Hotel, apparently it used to be a lunatic asylum.  Here are the (politically incorrect) instructions on our SatNav as we left our hotel J

We then drove back into Northern Ireland and to the Giant's Causeway, a coastal area containing thousands of basalt columns that geologists believe are the result of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.  If you closed your eyes our tour guide Neville could have been James Nesbitt (Cold Feet, Murphy's Law)  His stories were long, but I loved listening to his accent.

Bodyke to Sligo

Bodyke to Sligo via the Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs added about 79 miles to our trip, but they were worth it.  

Rising up to 214m above the Atlantic Ocean the Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's top visitor attractions.  We were very lucky with the weather and saw the cliffs in all their splendour.

Continuing on, we stopped for a visit at Dunguaire Castle, although I was just as impressed with the thatched-roof house nearby.

And ultimately here's where we were heading.  We met Cecily and Luke in Barcelona in February, got chatting on the train to Montserrat and have kept in touch since.

Cecily lives in the blue thatched cottaged deep in the heart of Yeats country and her cottage is near the site that inspired -

THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE (1892)

By William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

We had a delicious dinner at the cottage and then a stroll around the lake and nearby bog.  It was a great evening and a highlight of our visit to Ireland.

Dingle Peninsula

Another day of exceptional scenery, this time the Dingle Peninsula, claimed by some to be even more spectacular that the Ring of Kerry.  

After about 20 minutes in the car we were at the start of the peninsula and while this wasn't a marked vantage point, the view grabbed me for the first stop of many J

Further around the peninsula the cliffs became more dramatic.  We stopped to have a look at some of the dry stone Beehive huts that have been standing since around the 12th century.

And Emily modelled her new birthday clothes along with a seagull.

And then round a corner, there it was, a proper sandy beach with waves and a couple of surfers.  The kids were keen to get out for a frisk and we ended up spending about an hour here.

Further on was Conor pass, a narrow road through steep rugged mountains.  Single-laned at times. I'm glad we didn't meet any traffic coming the other way as there weren't many passing spots and I didn't fancy reversing up the skinny roads.

We stayed the night in a villa at The East Clare Golf Club. It was a gorgeous place and the bargain of the century at an unbelievable £32 a night.

Emily's 7th Birthday

Good afternoon, this is Emily.  This is about my 7th Birthday today.

First I woke up and I was feeling excited. Daniel came in and said "Emily wake up - it's your birthday and I have seen your presents and they are very very big."  After that I went upstairs to say "Mummy and Daddy - can I open my presents?" But Mummy said "No - you have to wait another 10 minutes."  I waited 10 minutes and I was getting bored. Finally Mum and Dad came down.  I couldn't believe it.

Second - I started to open my presents.  The first one was a little purse with some jewellery inside.  My next present was some clothes and a hat and my last one was some delicious chocolate.

Third - Daddy made me some yummy pancakes with strawberries and raspberries and whipped cream.

Fourth - we went on a drive around the Dingle Peninsula (Mummy helped me with this bit).  In this picture I am wearing my fancy new clothes.

Bye everyone.  See you next time.

The Ring of Kerry

"The Ring of Kerry is one of Ireland's best-known and most scenic circuits, skirting the edge of the Iveragh Peninsula – the middle and largest of three fingers of land reaching out into the Atlantic on the island's south-west extremity. This 120-mile route takes the N70, N71 and R562 roads and encounters some of Ireland's finest landscapes, a breathtaking mosaic of rugged, storm-bashed coast, steep mountains, velvety green fields, historic sites, slate-coloured glacial lakes and welcoming towns and villages."

It took us all day to drive the 120 miles and the Ring of Kerry did not disappoint.  During peak periods the roads can be congested, buses travel in an anti-clockwise direction and cars are advised to do the opposite.  Continuing on with our fine form of distinguishing these two directions, we set of nice and early and anti-clockwise!  Luckily it wasn't busy and we only saw the odd bus or two.

We more or less stayed on the signed route the entire way, except for this sort of accidental detour through the tiny village of Kells. 

Nearly all of these photos were taken towards the end of the ring.  This is the picturesque town with the groovy name of Sneem.

The scenery varied dramatically, from gentle rolling hills, to high rugged mountains.

This stop was one of my favourites and one Steve said was not worth photographing.  Ha!!

Taken from Ladies' View – named in honour of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting.

And finally back near Killarney - the spectacular Muckross House, Ross Castle and Torc Waterfall.

On the day we passed through so much beautiful scenery that I think we got a bit  overloaded.  looking back on the photos now is a great reminder of the beauty and splendour of this part of the the world. 

Youghal to Killarney

A fair bit of driving today, but not before a visit to the coastal village of Ardmore where we strolled through the town and along the cliffs. As we walked the sky darkened and just as we reached the town the heavens opened.  Miss M is perched under the eve of a thatched cottage below.  Not all thatched cottage eves are equal and this one was definitely bigger than the previous one J

Ardmore

Cliff walk

Emmy decided she'd like to count snails as we walked, so here's two of the fifty or so she found.  There were also loads of slimy black slugs, which she also counted, but they didn't make the grade for photos.

Then it was west to Killarney, County Kerry, ready for the Ring of Kerry tomorrow. We stayed in this wee thatched cottage, which actually wasn't that wee at all, this place had an upstairs and downstairs, 4 bedrooms and three bathrooms!

Dublin to Youghal

Leaving Dublin we headed south to Powerscourt waterfall, the highest in Ireland at 121m.  It lies in a natural amphitheatre created by glacial activity during the last ice age.  The pictures don't really show the scale of the waterfall or the basin it drains into, but we all felt very tiny wandering around!

Then a bit further south through spectacular scenery to the small village of Glendalough, meaning "glen of two lakes", nestled deep in a glacial valley in the County of Wicklow. Glendalough is renowned for its early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by hermit priest St Kevin.

And finally on to here, the Waterford Crystal factory, where we toured the working factory and admired the €30,000 - €40,000 bespoke pieces in the show room.  Daniel, Jeremy and Emily made a few attempts to run around the show room, but that didn't last long!

Around 95% of the crystal pieces are entirely hand made, from the glass blowing to the etching and the final polish.  Some of the more elaborately decorated pieces are done via machine, but the manufacturing process has remained essentially the same since the first Waterford factory was opened in 1783.  An apprenticeship takes around 8 years to complete, which is testament to the exacting standards for which Waterford crystal is renowned.

Dublin

Dublin reminds me of Paris, a mini-Eiffel-towerless version of Paris.  It is a nice city to stroll around with the horse-drawn carriages and street musicians being the highlights.

The tall needle-like monument on the photo above is The Spire of Dublin - Monument to Light.  It's 121m high and is, according to its designers - "elegant and dynamic simplicity bridging art and technology". 

We didn't have plans (hmm- out of my comfort zone) so just wandered and wandered, until we (make that Steve :) decided it was time to head here.......

It wasn't a tour of the brewery as  such, but we got to learn quite a bit about Guinness, from the early days in 1759 when Arthur Guinness first took out his 9000 year lease of the premises, through to today where the same basic recipe stands and over 1.5 billion pints are sold annually!  Not bad for a mix of water, barley, yeast and hops.

As you could imagine the brewery was incredibly popular and there were people everywhere. We were lucky and found a seat in one of the pub areas and Steve was in heaven as he sampled his three pints, just to be sure to be sure he liked it.

Belfast

One day in Belfast, gorgeous weather and a nice stroll through the city.....

to here - The Belfast Titanic Exhibition.

I know I've raved about some of the museums and exhibitions that we've already visited, but this one takes it to a whole new level. This exhibition is sheer perfection.

It is interactive and informative and spread over 4 stories, part of which is a re-created shipping yard.  It details the build of Titanic, from the steel-plated hull held together with millions of hand-punched rivets through to its launch in 1911 and the elaborately detailed fit-out that took thousands of workers over a year to complete.

It has re-creations of the cabins, from the luxurious first class to the functional and basic third class. There is a film that takes you on a layer by layer tour of the ship from the engine rooms to the dining halls to the upper deck. The effort, time, labour and money that went into the build of Titanic is staggering. Her plans were all hand drawn and most of the labour manual.  She is the product of years of work and the efforts of tens of thousands.

Knowing the build process makes her ultimate fate more meaningful and tragic.

TItanic Belfast is one exhibition that is not to be missed.

Ireland

Half-term break and one week off school = one week in Ireland. This is the plan.

Belfast - Dublin - Youghal - Killarney - Bodyke - Sligo - Belfast.  

760 miles of emerald green here we come J

Brecon - Day 2

Just as brilliant as yesterday's hiking was catching up with the relatives, something we've missed out on living in Australia.

Huw and Bec, Miss Missy, John and Wendy, The Heaths minus Charlotte and Gareth and Bethan.

John and Wendy very kindly put us up for the weekend. This is the view from the front of their house.

After breakfast it was off for another walk, but only a little one this time.  

And on the way home we passed through more gorgeous countryside

This was a special weekend, we all loved it and Daniel and Jeremy are now claiming they like Wales better than England. Thank you for organising it Dave and Gareth J

Brecon - Day 1

Last weekend we went hiking in Brecon.  The scenery was great, the hike was exceptionally beautiful and catching up with relatives was lovely.

Here we all are, rip roaring and ready to go. The walk had options, full scale would take in 4 peaks, all with crazy names - Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big (see what I mean!).  Shorter options cut out peaks with an early loop back to the car park.  We decided to play it by ear.


So off we went, up, up, up, a little more up and then a a bit more. Miss M said she was a bit tired after about 20 steps, but then kept on plodding on until we reached the top of Corn Du, which then brought Pen Y Fan (the second and highest of the 4 peaks) tantalisingly close.  So close we couldn't say no, so more plodding and there we were - 886m above sea level at the top of Pen y Fan.

Decision time - two more peaks or head back.  Emmy made the decision for us, despite her initial 20 second bout of tiredness, she was up for it.  Hiking in the Brecon Beacons was getting the double thumbs up and she wasn't finished yet! Onwards and upwards (and downwards too this time).  The picture top left below is from Cribyn looking back to Corn Du and Pen y Fan.  Bottom right is us on the final peak, Fan y Big, with the other three in the background.

Emily was brilliant and the boys had a ridiculous amount of energy and ran, jumped and rolled around right to the end.

The Beacons are rugged, windswept and treeless.  The grass is short and slightly golden.  Further below the fields are green and the hills gentle and rolling. As we walked down from the peaks the countryside began to look like this.

Vibrant green farmland.....

dotted with sheep and cut by skinny farm lanes.

All up, we hiked about 11 miles.  We were lucky with the weather and got to see the Beacons and surrounding countryside at its very beautiful best.