home
ireland
To view the pictures
without reading the email click this arrow 
To:
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 12:06 AM
Subject: Farewell to Old England Forever (well almost!)
Dear All
I know you have all been waiting breathlessly for this long
awaited missive and, yes, it may well be the last one from the old country!
We leave on Thursday to go to Ireland and will only be back in London
fleetingly between visits to Egypt and Botswana. But, here is the big
news! We have booked our passage back to Australia - 20th June, 2002
is the big day and we have very very mixed feelings about it.
Obviously it will be great to be home but, equally obviously, it will be
disappointing not to be going to new places, meeting new people and seeing
lots of amazing things that cannot be experienced in Oz. (Alright,
before you Aussies get too upset, I know there are great things to see there
[and we will see a lot more of them] but things to see here are different i.
e. castles, big mountains, stone circles etc)
Now - as to what has been happening here in the last 3 weeks
(or thereabouts). We have been to see some very lack-lustre
performances on at the West End. I have been really upset at the poor
performances in so-called professional theatre when I know of some
"starving" Aussie actors who could have done equally well and, I
am quite sure, considerably better than those whom we paid a fortune to see.
Maybe there is just too much theatre on in the UK and the bottoms of some of
the barrels are being scraped. We have caught up on a couple of movies
(not having seen any in 12 months) and all of the "necessities" of
van life have been taken care of (servicing of van, insurance etc etc).
More importantly, we spent a great weekend down in Wiltshire
(Horseshoe Lodge in Compton Chamberlyne) with Anne & Reuben, friends of
long-standing (although what their height has to do with it I do not know!).
It is always great to go into the countryside in Wiltshire and watch the
pheasants and partridges parading between the feet of the sheep (use your
imagination, get poetic) and at this time of the year the lambs are starting
to gambol (I know they are too young and that I can't spell but what does
that matter?). And, speaking of stone circles (as in para 1), we
went to Avesbury, a wonderful village that is in the middle of a huge
stone circle and walked around the enormous earthworks that were
created around about the same time as Stonehenge (I think). Much good
food and wine later, having been on several "nature" walks, we
struggled back to the van and preparations for Ireland. Thanks for a
great weekend Anne & Reuben.
The saga of the fox is such that hand feeding is now a
regular part of our daily routine and this very urban fox is getting rather
fussy - refused a bit of ham the other day. I guess he thought it
wasn't up to his standard. (I was actually going to throw it out but
how was he to know that!) I don't think anyone else is either game or
stupid enough to feed him but I find it fascinating that I can call him over
to me and have him take food from my hand. Okay animal lovers, I am
not ruining his natural ability to hunt - he doesn't get something everyday
- well not from me. Everyone else on site does a good enough job of
leaving food out that he doesn't even attack rubbish bins. He is
certainly a very "urbanised" little fellow and has lost none of
his cunning. Have been able to video hand feeding the fox so have
proof positive.
Yesterday was St Patrick's Day and we spent it in London for
the first "official" St Patrick's Day in Trafalgar Square,
organised by the controversial Lord Mayor, Ken Livingstone (ooh fox just
scratched at the door - a bad habit he has gotten into when he wants
something). The parade was typically Irish - what does that mean?
Well, it was nothing very wonderful, just a bunch of people walking behind
banners with the occasional bit of music playing - bit disappointing really.
Sort of couldn't quite get it all together. However, in the middle of
the Square a stage was set up and there was Irish music and dancing and lots
and lots of people drinking Guiness, Murphy's Caffreys etc. Perfect
excuse for a pub lunch and a pint of the black stuff to wash it all down.
Huge numbers of green & white balloons were released and, along with the
pigeons who had been displaced because of all the people in the Square, the
sky was filled. And, with the luck of the Irish, most of the day was
fine.
Today we have had word that our friends Tricia & Ron are
all set to meet us in Ireland in a couple of weeks and with a couple of
people to catch up with before then we are looking forward to our time
there.
So, goodbye London, hello Bristol. See you tomorrow
Adrian.
Bye for now.
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Sunday, March 31, 2002 5:05 AM
Subject: Cead Mile Failte
Dear All
The words in the Subject heading are Irish for lots of good
luck and stuff - can't find the literal translation just at the moment -
also can't put the accents over some of the letters - but my intentions are
good - just a little Irish...and if that is not a load of Irish, I don't
know what is!
Last time we "spoke" we were on our way to
Bristol.
This was accomplished after leaving London - it took 2 hours to go 13 miles!
For those in the know, the South Circular has road works at Richmond - AVOID
AT ALL COSTS! For those who do not know the caravan site in Bristol -
don't try looking for signs - the city council won't allow them to be put
up. The site, Baltic Wharf is small, hardstandings, good san facs and
great views of the town and the Bridge (once you go outside the back gate
for which you are given a key). There is a Pub next door and town is
walkable, there is a small boat that takes you up the river and generally -
it is a good place.
Thanks again Adrian for giving us a good time. We went
to visit some friends of Adrian's at the Old Mendip Inn where we had a great
lunch and then went on the Wells
Cathedral. Last time we saw Wells we
did not have the camera and so it was great to be able to go and take some
pics. The weather wasn't the best and we drove through Cheddar Gorge
and through a great deal of countryside in the mist. It made for a
different feel to the countryside.
We took our farewell from Adrian and headed for Pembroke in
Wales to get the 3am ferry for Rosslare, Ireland. We arrived with lots
of time to spare and, not only that, we were actually able to catch an
earlier ferry that saw us sitting down to a late dinner that day instead of
sailing during the night and arriving at 7am. The site was called
Burrow Farm, just out of Rosslare and trying to find the place in the dark,
with Irish signage was a bit of a fun way to introduce us to the place.
The site is not as good as it pretends in the book and was really a bit
bleak. San facs were okay and being improved but it is a night halt
only unless you are into golf. There is a 6 mile beach within 500m and
a couple of golf courses but the golf courses were soggy and the beach
losing its sand and covered in litter. Not a good introduction to
Ireland.
The next day we passed through the village of
Inistioge,
crossing the 10 arched stone
bridge over the River Note.
Several films have
been made here. it is twee and very green.
From there we headed off to Kilkenny (for you South
Australians - not the Arndale type of Kilkenny) where we enjoyed our first
pint of of Guinness in Ireland's best mediaeval town. I have taken to
photographing all of the different Guinness signs and have already lost
count of the numbers of pictures of them. I also seem to have pictures
of a grey haired, grey bearded guy leaning against pub
doors. It is
UNBELIEVABLE the number of pubs in even the smallest of towns. Killkenny Castle is a wonderfully restored grey limestone castle that
belonged to the Butler family for about 1,000 years. Unfortunately,
the last of the Butlers died in 1971 and no one has come to claim the title.
The Butlers were also known as the Earls of Ormonde and had about 250
castles around Ireland - they were also one of the few overlords who did not
charge the peasants rent during the terrible famine of 1845-51. Thus
endeth the history lesson. The stables of the castle have been turned
into a craft centre and some of the work there was great. We watched
as an American woman blithely knocked a whole pile of pottery off the shelf
with her handbag. All breakages must be paid for - whoops!
Stayed in Tree Grove Caravan site, Kilkenny - about 12
hard standings, good free showers, caring young couple with lots of kids (and
a 6 week old puppy that is supposed to be St BernardxOld English Sheep Dog).
I reckon the feet are too small for it to be that combination, though it
certainly had St Bernard markings. Anyone who goes there in the
future, do let us know if the dog reaches its potential growth. Great
tasting drinking water - in fact better than spring water from the shop.
From Kilkenny we went via some quintessential Irish
countryside to Carrick on Suir, another seat of the Butler family.
Black Tom was a cousin of Elizabeth I (to whom whe bore a son, the Irish
will tell you). He built a magnificent house for her to come to visit
- she never ever went to Ireland at all. It was not quite as good a
place as the guide books tell you and we were a bit disappointed - we were,
however, able to walk into the town to the 20 odd pubs and also, after much
waiting around, listen to some not so good "traditional" Irish
music. We rocked up at the pub at 9pm. The first of the band
members arrived at 10pm, consumed his pint of Guinness and was onto his
second before two others turned up. They, of course, had some catching
up to do with their drinks. By about 11.15pm the first few musicians
had started to play and a little while, and a pint later, the first of the
fiddle players arrived, shortly followed by the other. With several
pints now well under belts (only 2 for us!) the music and singing began in
earnest. Closing time was midnight!! What can you say, except,
this is Ireland.
The Carrick on Suir Campsite was called just that and
has only about 4 hard standings - 2 of which you have to drive over the very
soft grass to reach!! (We are not making all of this up.) The
view of the hills and the sunsets from the site were great. Very
helpful owner will tell you that Carrick is the centre of the Universe - and
he believes it. Showers here cost 1 euro but are clean and apparently
good - we used our own.
So far, apart from the beauty of the country side in a rural
sort of a way, our visit had been a little lack lustre, which was a pity.
However, things were looking up. We were heading north towards
Limerick and did so via Cahir Castle (you guessed it, another Butler
stronghold), The Rock of Cashel, the Swiss Cottage and The Grange, a ring of
113 standing stones, said to have been in place for between 2-4,000 years.
Apparently the land has been used for agriculture in this area since 3,000BC
when much of the forest was removed for that purpose. Cahir Castle was
an interesting place but we saw it too soon after seeing Kilkenny Castle
(which is better). The Swiss Cottage was a folly of the Butlers in the
early 1800s. It is an exquisite thatched cottage ornee, the best in
Ireland, surrounded by roses, lavender and honeysuckle. It was
designed by Regency architect John Nash and was a place of retreat for
Richard Butler and his wife Emily. Not once did they stay in the
cottage (despite it having two bedrooms) and it was designed in accordance
with contemporary French ideas in that the cottage was supposed to look as
if it had sprung fully formed from the earth; straight lines and
symmetry were abhorred. Every window in the place is different,
In one room there are three windows - one opens out, another opens in and
the third one doesn't open at all. The place was built with all of the
best woods etc but everything has been painted over so that nothing is too
beautiful - including the mahogany staircase that is now just painted
mission brown - that is the way that it was, the fashion of the time of the
rich and idle. Emily used to dress as a peasant and sit in the garden
- a fad that apparently Marie Antoinnette made fashionable. It really
is a lovely "twee" little place.
The Rock of Cashel
deserves a mention all of its own.
Quoting from Lonely Planet "Cashel is a huge lump of limestone
bristling with ancient fortifications. Mighty stone walls encircle a
complete round tower, a roofless abbey and the finest 12th C Romanesque
chapel in the country. For over a thousand years, the Rock of Cashel
was a symbol of power, the base of kings and churchmen who ruled the
region". A 4th C Celtic Cross, attributed to St Patrick is here and the
carvings on the Romanesque chapel were very good. Anyone visiting
Ireland has to see this place. Hore Abbey is in the valley beneath the
Rock and the attached picture gives you some idea of what Ireland is like.
There are ruins everywhere. (Forgot to say we drove to a caravan
site in the Glen of Aherlow which, despite the mist, was lovely.
Stayed at a campsite called Ballincourty House Caravan and Camping Park.
We actually rang them and asked if we could stay there even though they
weren't open (due to open the next day). "To be sure"
was the reply. Very difficult to get to but delightful sight with
reasonable facilities and a good restaurant.
Arnold has a friend, Margaret, whom he has not seen for about
20 years. She is currently living near Limerick on a horse stud.
Richmond Park Stud is known for the training of steeplechase horses and that
is where we are now. So, at the time of Adelaide's Oakbank
Steeplechase we are surrounded by about 30 horses currently in training for
just such an event. From what our in-expert eyes have seen of the
horseflesh here it is a good job for the Aussie horses that none of them are
competing at Oakbank. We are going to go to a Point to Point race
tomorrow where a newly trained horse from here is entering for the first
time. Sheila, here trainer does not expect her to win as she has been
entered in an Open race because this particular carnival does not have any
novice events. She assures us that we won't lose our money if we place
an each way bet - might be a bit of fun.
So, that is where we are right now. Arnold and Margaret
have had a good old chin wag, we have been to visit all the horses, Bob the
bloodhound cross guard dog and I have made good friends, Buster the Jack
Russell has to be the nicest one I have met (said with reservations) and
Magic the black talking cat (Margaret's best animal friend) spends his day
literally talking. He is never quiet - I am in my element - Arnold,
well, he is a tolerant man!
Tomorrow we go to the races
and we are planning our next
moves. We are going north by bus (don't want to bump up the miles too
much on the van as we have a buyer who wants it under 20,000) to catch up
with Sean and Irene whom we met in Spain. They live in Killybegs (most
famous Irish fishing village) Donegal where the Irish Gillespies come from
(that and County Down and County Wicklow - much later). We met some
Gillespies at Tree Grove Caravan Park and they gave us a bit of info about
Gillespies in Ireland. We will also fill in a bit of time on the Aran
Islands and in Galway until we come back to Limerick to meet up with the
Coopers on 12 April. We will be out of touch for about a week from
Tuesday but will let you all know more about our Irish adventures then.
Bye the way - today we have had a little bit of drizzle but
prior to that - no rain for 5 days! Unheard of.
Love to all
Keep in touch
Deb (& Arnold)
To:
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 1:50 AM
Subject: ...and watch the sun go down on Galway Bay.
Dear All
Back in the van again after a week swanning around in the
north of Ireland. We have accomplished pretty well what we said we
would do in our last letter.
After not losing our money at the Point to Point (because we
didn't bet) we got on the bus to Galway. It is a pretty little town
and is full of pubs with GOOD Irish music and even better Guinness.
After a full Irish breakfast we boarded the bus to take us to the ferry for
Inishmor, the largest of the Aran Islands. It was the only ferry that
left that day because, you guessed it, the weather was too rough. It
is only a 40 minute crossing but the small passenger ferry (no cars allowed)
really struggled as it thumped the water and made all sorts of terrible
noises. We did the crossing with a load of French teenage school
children who really made heavy weather (pardon the pun) of the trip.
With screams and shouts, laughter and a few rather pale, sick looking faces,
the trip went quite quickly.
Again we have been blessed with the weather. It doesn't
rain here - whoever said Ireland was wet. In fact, it has only rained
twice since last I wrote. Once was the afternoon we were standing
outside all afternoon at the point to point and again when we were walking
to our B&B in Galway.
The main village on Inishmor is called Kilronan and we spent
our first day walking around the village (5 minutes), buying an Aran Sweater
(30 minutes) and then walking to the Black Fort (3 hours). This is an
old (about 3,000 - 4,000 years) stone fort right on the edge of a cliff
(300m high). The wind was enough to blow you off and the last 1.5km
was a difficult upward climb on a shingle surface. Intrepid explorers
we were though and made it to the top and the views were spectacular.
Because the weather was so good the views across the bay to the Cliffs of
Moher were great. We stayed in a B&B that night and ate at the
Aran Fisherman Restaurant - the only one open on the island at this time of
year - the "season" has yet to begin.
There are only 100 registered vehicles on the island that the
books say is 14 miles long x 4miles wide but that our tour guide the next
day told us is actually 11 miles long and 3 miles wide! Nevertheless
we had a great tour of the island, ending up at
Dun Aengus, another 4,000
year old rock fort on the edge of a cliff. This time the pictures we
took aren't just of the coastline
but of some
silly person lying on
her stomach with her head dangling over the cliff!!!. It was an
incredible sensation and the hardest part of doing it was getting into
position close enough to the edge so that you didn't have to crawl too far
on your belly and not so close that you got swept off the cliff - no, I am
not exaggerating. The winds were bitingly cold and very, very strong.
Back to Kilronan to get the ferry back to Galway.
Nothing exciting to report on this crossing - thankfully. Another
night in Galway town and, yes, the sun does go down on Galway Bay - but I am
not so sure just why it is worth singing about it. Oh well. Bus
trip to Donegal
took 4.5 hours and we passed by some very green, very rural
countryside. Sean, Irene and the two dogs, Freeway and Poppy, were
there to pick us up and we spent the next couple of days seeing the sights.
One of the best of them was Slieve
League, a huge cliff view with rock
formations like a giant's table and chairs. The walk to the top was
against the wind and really brought tears to the eyes but well worth it.
The moor type land with peat bogs and lakes is the sort of thing you would
never see in Aus but reminded us a lot of Scotland. We had lots of
good food and wine and thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with Sean and
Irene.
Back to Limerick and our farewells to Arnold's friend,
Margaret. Now we are in a town called Corofin, at the entrance of the
Burren which is a tourist must and tomorrow we will visit the
"sites". The caravan park is called Corofin Village and it
is a small (20 pitches) site that is sloping, has a games room, campers
kitchen, free hot showers and reasonable san facs. 15 Euros including
electricity. Only a couple of days and we will be travelling with our
friends, the Coopers, whom we meet on 12 April.
Until our next letter in about a week,
Bye for now
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 3:17 AM
Subject: The Rose of Tralee
Dear All
We are all Dingled out and have been through Tralee twice -
but not because it is a Rose, that is for sure.
We were heading for the Burren National Park when last we
corresponded. This huge limestone area has many portal and wedge tombs
believed to be up to 5,000 years old. These tombs consist of vertical
rocks with rock lids (some weighing up to 5 tonnes), elevated above the
ground. It is another of those "How did they do it?"
mysteries. This is a very strange and haunting place and we had the
Poulnabrone megalithic tomb to ourselves - well almost. Having parked
in a sheep yard (sort of) as it was the only place a big truck like ours
would fit, we hopped and jumped across the stony landscape (moonscape with
cows) to the tomb. As we were about to leave, a young couple came
hopping ans skipping across the stones towards us. Being such polite
people we said hello. Guess what? They were from ADELAIDE!!!
Leaving the Burren we headed towards the famous Cliffs of
Moher that we had seen in the distance when we were on Inishmore (the Aran
Island). We stayed at Neagles Camping and Caravan Park in the town of
Doolin. As we approached we were not at all sure of what we were
getting into. For the first time in ages the weather had closed in a
bit and it was grey and forbidding looking. All of the limestone
really does not look at all friendly when the sun is not shining. We
decided to stay and plugged in etc. (only 6 amps, reasonable san facs but
still not quite ready for the season, tokens for showers, warden visits
evening & morning to collect). Another campervan speeds in, drives
round and disappears. "Bloody unfriendly lot" say we.
A bit of a walk and the lifting of the clouds allowed us to get a great new
image of Doolin. The same British campervan drove passed us as we were
walking. "Bloody unfriendly Brits didn't even wave" say we.
Having "Done" the Doolin pier (where you can also
get ferries to the Aran Islands) we decided to walk the approx 1.5km into
Doolin to the pub - it was certainly time for a Guinness. Found Gus
O'Connor's Pub where Mohamed Ali has his picture all over the place
practicing with a hurling stick (hurling is an Irish national sport).
Decided to walk back to the van for dinner (although the hot chips really
looked good). As we were walking along the road two people came
walking along the road towards us - the bloody unfriendly Brits!
"Hello" we say. "G'day" was the reply. You
guessed it - Aussies. A couple who for the last 11 years have been
working illegally in the US and UK and were on their way back to Wagga Wagga
(via Ireland!) to open a new business on 1 June. Long story short -
after dinner we went back to the pub and joined them for more Guinness and
some more "diddly, diddly" music (as we now call the trad sessions
in pubs). This was good music played by musicians who knew what they
were about - and could sing. It was a very pleasant evening with
Warren & Leanne. We went back to the campsite by torchlight in the
crisp clear night air and the warmth of the van was much appreciated.
Two lots of Aussies in one day - unbelievable.
Our weather luck did not hold. We viewed the
Cliffs of
Moher in the rain. They were still impressive and, with the weather
being a little rough, the waves crashing against the giant cliffs added to
the sight.
Because we were going to have a quiet day waiting for the
Coopers to arrive, naturally the weather improved. We received a text
message from them to say that it was raining in Northern Ireland as we
sat in the sunshine and watched our washing dry. In Adare (just west
of Limerick) another big Bessacarr arrived in the campsite just as a text
message was received saying "We are here". It was really
great to see Tricia & Ron after about 12 months. (Adare Camping -
excellent site close to very pretty village. Good san facs, some hard
standings.)
Next day we gave Ron no rest and headed off towards the
Dingle Peninsula. It didn't take us long to get there and we enjoyed
sitting out having our lunch in the (almost) sunshine. We went for a
long walk along the beach and into a town called Castlegregory and spent the
evening offloading all of our unwanted (but useful) stuff to Ron &
Tricia. Ron was huffing and puffing about where to put it all but,
eventually, it was all settled and so too were we with a good stiff gin (a
Ron specialty) and dinner by Tricia. The Anchor campsite (near
Castlegregory) is a very attractive well kept site with good everything.
With the sun shining, the next day we went to "do"
the Dingle Peninsula. Well, Arnold believes it is the best scenery he
has seen anywhere - it certainly was amazing. From Castlegregory to
Dingle (town) you can go through the Conor Pass - if you are not a big 6.4m
x 2.2m x 3.1m truck like we are. There are big signs saying that
"Thou shalt not go on this Pass". "Rubbish" says
the camp warden. "Buses used to do it, horse floats do it,
lorries do it. Go early and you won't have a problem." We
all piled into Ron & Tricia's van and off we went. Well, it was a
little "white knuckle-ish" in places but the scenery was well
worth Ron's white knuckles and Tricia's sweating palms. Words seem
almost inadequate to describe the beauty of this
area. Those who have
seen the movie "Ryan's Daughter" will have some idea, as this is
the area in which it was made. There is a commemorative rock (very
miserable really) near the rocky beach where many scenes were shot.
With the sun gleaming on the water and the waves crashing against the cliffs
the whole drive around this peninsula
is a MUST for any visitor to Ireland.
Not only is there the natural beauty of the place, complimented by the
quintessential (haven't used that word for a while) Irish white or brightly
coloured cottages, but the area is also filled with stone houses of
Neolithic vintage (about 500 of them). Most of these
"beehive" houses, as they are known, are still entirely intact and
the odd stone fort hanging precariously to the cliffs make this a truly
awesome place. It has been a while since we have run out of adjectives
for something but this is one of those occasions.
Today we have started on the famous Ring of Kerry.
Again the weather has been a mixed bag and after yesterday's magnificence
this route seems a little disappointing. Nevertheless, there is still
some wonderful scenery (even if the winds on the Coomakasta Pass were hell
bent on ripping the clothes from your body). We have now stopped at
Wave Crest Caravan Park near Caherdaniel and are well content with our ocean
view with waves crashing over the black rocks and the wind stirring up the
seas. We are parked very close to the ocean but in a little section of
the camp where just we two Bessacarr vans can look out onto the bay.
Ireland has been good to us so far and although the weather
today is a bit up and down, were were still able to sit out and have
afternoon tea and play with Murphy the dog before the rain sent me in to do
this epistle. Now the sun is shining again and the van needs water in
it for showers tomorrow (only cos you have to pay for showers here and we
don't really want to do that). Another section of the Ring of Kerry
tomorrow and Arnold has just about now finished planning the next few days -
plans change daily though depending on conditions.
Next week's instalment will be sometime next week, I guess.
Ron still hasn't had a pint of Guinness yet and we are now on the lookout
for a campsite that is close to a pub.
Bye for now
Deb & Arnold.
To:
Cc:
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 2:42 AM
Subject: A bit of the Blarney
Dear All
Feast or famine for the Aussies - I didn't know Deb Walsh
would be away so I apologise firstly to her that she will have 2-3 letters
to send and to the Aussies for having to wait. There really won't be
very many more of these stories anyway, I'm afraid. We leave Ireland
on 1 May and we are not taking the computer to Egypt or Botswana. I
hope I can send a message after each of these great places and then finally
announce that we are safely back in Aus.
Meanwhile, back in Ireland. We are sitting in the van
on what is known as Ireland's Gold Coast Road. Queensland has nothing
to worry about. If the weather was better it would be very pretty but
the wind and the rain make it impossible to even venture outside the van at
the moment, let alone walk along the beach. However, it has only been
the last couple of days that it has been like this. We did, afterall,
need to experience some true Irish weather!
When last I wrote we were off to continue with the Ring of
Kerry - which we did. I think Tricia hit the nail on the
head when she said that because the buses can actually do this road, it gets
the publicity. Apart from the Coomakesta Pass, which welcomed us with
gale force winds, the Ring of Kerry was okay but not as spectacular as we
had expected. It certainly wasn't as good as the Dingle Peninsula and
we had yet to find out about the Beara Peninsula. (At the end of the
Ring of Kerry is the town Kenmare where we stayed in the Ring of Kerry
campsite - hardstandings just being established but good facilities, tokens
for showers, view over the mountains and water from some pitches.)
Kenmare is a lacemaking town but when we got to the demonstration place
there was a sign on the door saying "Closed for lunch between 1-2pm.
Open at 3.45pm" Well, they are Irish.
We did a short drive from Kenmare to Glengariff (Dowlings
Campsite, very expensive, adequate but not brilliant facs, showers included
in price, pretty site with lots of potential but run down.) The 27km
between these two towns was filled with great scenery and the
weather lifted from foggy damp to cloudy sunshine by the time we got to
the lookout on top of the mountain. The narrow, very bumpy
road wound its way up through carved rock tunnels with magnificent
scenery in every direction. The Coopers were following about 2km
behind us and we were able to take pictures of a little tiny white speck
getting larger as it came closer. (We know how annoying it is to us to
have to pass a convoy of vans, trucks etc so we ensured, wherever possible,
not to be too close together when we travelled - aren't we good little
citizens?) Except that it wasn't as steep there was a certain feel of
Norway to the place (not for the first time have we felt this).
Time to check out the Beara Peninsula - up through the every
winding, every upward Healy Pass where to quote the information at the
border of Counties Cork & Kerry, "..the funeral procession stopped
and pushed the corpses in their coffins over the border" (from Cork to
Kerry). This was during the time of famine and there is a huge
crucifix on top of the hill at the place where the coffins were abandoned.
You may or may not know that road signposting in Ireland is something
of legend - it is either very good or not very good at all and when you
are driving in a truck with an Englishman who lives in Scotland and is
driving in Ireland, all signs are to be ignored. So, 4 people, 1 dog
and 1 large truck followed the Beara Peninsula signs, despite the 3 ton
truck being crossed out on the few signs we saw.
Although a little nerve-wracking at times, we
had a delightful drive around the top of the peninsula and found some caves
to explore at lunch time. Parking was a little difficult on the goat
track we were driving on but that didn't stop intrepid Ron. He found a
lovely little pier onto which we drove, much to the amazement of a couple
who were just climbing back over the style from the caves. The last
thing they expected to see tucked down a little road was a great big white
van with people spilling from it. It was great. Murphy, the dog,
had a terrific time running around ont he pebbles and we watched as the
water crashed through the hillside from the ocean side into a quiet little
backwater. A cup of tea and cake tasted especially good sitting in the
sunshine (out of the wind) by the van.
Pushing on towards the town of Castletownbere Haven, we
encountered many quintessential Irish coastal scenes and stopped on top of a
hill for lunch, again in the sunshine. The towns along the way seemed to
rival each other with a cacophony of colour. They certainly like their
bright colours in Ireland - I mean like purple with deeper purple
windowsills, dark blue with yellow windows (and vice versa) etc. It
sounds terrible but actually looks quite attractive once you get used
to it and certainly better than the dull grey they would otherwise be.
Driving back into the town, I started making funny noises. The
roads are very narrow through the town and it was impossible for Ron to
stop. The funny noises were because I had seen Anne & Rueben
walking down the road and desperately wanted Ron to stop. When Arnold
finally understood what I was saying he was trying to get out of the van
when it was still travelling at about 20mph! A bit of an exaggeration
but, well, I am like that! To Ron's credit he was able to let us out
and to find a parking space for the truck. We knew that Anne &
Rueben were to be in this part of Ireland at around this time but we had not
idea that we would be there also (thinking we would still have been a bit
further north). We hadn't planned on catching up with them at all
whilst they were here. But fate thought differently. It was
lovely for two lots of our friends to meet. Often the Coopers and the
Grunebergs are mentioned in our letter so the attached picture shows (around
the circle from left to right) Tricia (holding Murphy), Anne, Ron, Arnold
and Rueben peeking around the corner. Yours truly took the photo.
We found a nice little place to have coffee and spent an hour or so
chatting. Back to the campsite at Glengariff and the end to a very
enjoyable day.
On to Blarney. Blarney
castle is set in very lovely gardens
which are on an old Druid site and there were a couple of Dolman
tombs, a sacrificial stone and a lovely fairy glen. The camelias and
rhododendrons (rhododendra according to AG) were out and Tricia said that
the heather was the largest she had ever seen. Some of the yew trees
were very twisted and gnarled and readers of "Lord of the
Rings" would easily identify like characters here.
By now I think it is obvious that I do not need to kiss the
Blarney stone to have the gift of the same. Needless to say, I shall
now become even more verbose and there will now always be an element of
"Is this all Blarney" to what she is saying. Yes, I did it.
I lay on my back at the very top of the castle, leaned out over the parapet
and kissed the stone. It is a bit daunting to be so high up and
looking backwards to the ground below but we now have the photographs to
prove that I am allowed to talk a lot of Blarney. For those who are
unfamiliar with the way this came about, I quote from the Lonely Planet.
"Even the most untouristy visitor will probably feel compelled to kiss
the Blarney Stone and get the gift of the gab or, as an 18thC French Consul
put it, "gain the privilege of telling lies for seven years".
It was Queen Elizabeth I, exasperated with Lord Blarney's ability to talk
endlessly without ever actually agreeing to her demands, who invented the
term." The book goes on to warn about steep narrow staircases and
it does not lie. The castle dates from 1446 and is a tower house built
on solid limestone. There are dungeons and caves and the staircases
are actually very dangerous, particularly if it is wet. Between the
gardens, the Stone and the castle itself a very enjoyable day was had.
Dinner and Guinness to follow finished the day well.
Sadness to follow - Coopers have to go home. The
weather has been really bad the last two days, to the extent that we have
had to forgo seeing Cork and the Coopers are heading north to get their
ferry to Scotland and we are heading back east so as to go to Waterford
Crystal tomorrow. Thus the week ends and another begins. We
thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Tricia and Ron and hope that we can
enjoy more fun times with them again, hopefully in Australia.
Next week will see us in the Wicklow Mountains and Dublin.
Until then,
Slan Agat
Deb & Arnold
To:
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 1:30 AM
Subject: In Dublin's fair city...
In Dublin's fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes
On the Tart with the Cart!!!
So has local parlance. When you see the statue of sweet
Molly Malone you can understand why - someone got a little carried away with
the cleavage! But, again, I get ahead of myself (too much Blarney).
We had left Blarney and the Coopers (who, incidentally
got home
safely via Kilkenny, Dublin and the Giant's Causeway. Thanks again for
the good times while we were together Tricia and Ron) and were heading into
the Wicklow Mountains and last epistle. We started heading north and
east and ended up at Waterford - yes, of crystal fame.
Having seen several crystal manufacturing outlets in Sweden,
Arnold was a little ambivalent about going to Waterford. Very glad we
did though. The difference between this factory and the Swedish ones
was quite marked. Surprisingly, Waterford was much more safety
conscious and there was no ad hoc walking around the glass blowers etc.
We were taken by bus around to the different areas of manufacture, even
though, at times, this was only a few hundred metres. We saw each step
of the manufacture from the blowing to the etching to the packing and
sending away. It takes about 10 years to become a master etcher or
engraver and all of the regular Waterford patterns are committed to memory
by the masters. A pattern is not used on the crystal;
computergraphic guide lines are put onto the object but they are only
guidelines between which the master etches. He is totally reliant on
his memory and the feel of what he is doing. As Waterford does not
deal with "seconds" (so no bargains), they have to be exact every
time or else the man hours are wasted. The crystal is not because
it is thrown back into the furnace.
The showroom at the end of the trip is full of copies of
pieces that have been commissioned for various sporting trophies (i.e. World
Championship Tennis, Golf, Yachting etc etc etc) and other various pieces
that have been given as farewell gifts (e.g. The General Manager of
Heinz has the (horrid) piece that is a globe sitting on a mirrored piece of
crystal with all sorts of "gizmos" all over it. Didn't like
it much!). Of course there was stacks of stuff to buy. What is
surprising is that there is a lot of Waterford Crystal that isn't just the
diamond shaped cut that we know traditionally. The trouble with that
is that no one would know it was Waterford! We spent a good couple of
hours there and can recommend taking the trip, despite the entry price of 6
Euros.
There is no campsite around Waterford (that is open this time
of the year) so we headed off to the Vale of Avoca. Avoca is
probably better known as Ballykissangel from the TV series of the same name.
There isn't much to the village and having walked around the church, seen
Quigley's Gifts it was time to go into Fitzgerald's for a pint.
Naturally, it was full of tourists and apparently the locals of Avoca are
quite pleased that only 5 series have been filmed and there are to be no
more - they are a trifle sick of it! We were just sitting down to our
pint and an Australian voices asks us where we are from - we can't have lost
too much of our accent! This couple from Melbourne were on their 10.5
week "world" tour (UK, USA). I think they were sorry they
asked us how long we would be away. Nevertheless, we had some pleasant
"craic" with the Aussies whilst we enjoyed our pint on a TV set.
The bar is actually much bigger than it appeared on the show and is not
quite as old fashioned looking as you would think. The walls are now
covered in photographs of the stars and of the making of the several
different series of the show.
The actual valley of Avoca is beautiful and some of that
quintessential scenery of which we often speak is all around. Little
white houses with brightly coloured doors and windows surrounded by lush
green fields and little white dots of sheep. Even smaller white dots
are everywhere now too because Spring is lambing season and, like Scotland,
the Irish sheep seem to have twins. The weather was kind to us also
and the sun on the emerald green was dazzling. We stayed at Avonmore
Riverside Caravan and Camping Park in Ratdrum. At the moment it is not
worth staying at. I shan't say more than that except that it has been
allowed to get run down and a youngish couple are now in the process of
trying to do something with it. A new facilities block is being built
and when, eventually, they get it all set up it will be great. Give it
at least 12 months I think. The setting, however, is delightful with a
running river, waterfall, lake and pleasant surrounds.
On to Glendalough - wow! Not only is the scenery here
wonderful (at the meeting of two glacial valleys) it has an ancient monastic
city thought to have been developed by St Kevin around about 600AD (give or
take a year or two). The churches, the round tower and the gravestones
all tell their tales and after a fascinating time walking around reading
headstones and getting a real "feel" for the place, we then walked
along the lower lake to the upper lake and on to St Kevin's Cell, which now
is not much more than foundation stones. There are great walking
trails around this area for anyone seriously into walking (St Kevin's Way is
about 140 miles). The scenery is breathtaking and we haven't even got
out of the valley yet.
Leaving the actual monastic site, we headed over the Wicklow
Pass which looks back down into Glendalough from the scarred mountains
above. This area reminded us somewhat of Queenstown in Tasmania
because it has been completely denuded of foliage (for the now defunct zinc
mines) and only now is there some life coming back into the land, assisted
by reafforestation attempts. Once over the Wicklow Pass the scenery
again becomes quintessential emerald green farming land and our campsite was
called Moat Farm in Donard. This has to be the best campsite we have
stayed in in Ireland. Apart from immaculate san facs, it looks over a
picturesque valley, has horses peacefully grazing in the bottom fields, is a
one minute walk into the local pub and has picnic tables (which you are able
to use cos the weather is good!), chairs etc, a campers' kitchen and I guess
you get the picture!
A couple of days rest at Moat Farm, along with essential
duties, and we were ready to attack Dublin. (Camac Valley Camping -
good campsite with bus just outside the door every hour or so into town.
San facs good, 1 euro for a shower, hard standings, helpful staff.)
Dublin is a functional town and, because we have seen so many
lovely ones, we felt a little disappointed in it. Having said that,
the longer we spent in the town the more it grew on us. One of
the most amazing things we saw was in Trinity College - The Book of
Kells. This illustrated book was written around 800AD on parchment
made from calf skin and contains, in Latin, parts of the New Testament and
comment on same. The display highlighted how these books were written,
illustrated, bound and stored and then, on entering a darkened room, two
volumes of the Book of Kells were on display along with a couple of other
books (one writtten in 700ish) along the same lines. It is amazing
that these have been kept in such wonderful condition, given that the Book
of Kells was, at one time, stolen and found several months later, buried and
having had all of its gold edging etc removed. These alone are
worth making a trip to Dublin for.
However, there is more. Dublin is also home to
Guinness! Yes, we did the Guinness tour and came out of it with the
best pint of Guinness under our belts that we have ever had. The story
of Guinness is set up in the old hop storehouse and is very well done
indeed. Along with the history of the company there is a host of
memorabilia past and present and the atmosphere is one of pride in a good
product. Many of the displays are inside enormous barrels or coppers
(one copper holds 172,800 pints) and the sounds and smells of the working
factory are all around you. At the end of the tour a
"complimentary" pint is served. It is, of course, inclusive
in the entry fee of 12 euro (6 for OAPs). It was fascinating watching
people who had probably not ever tasted Guinness before trying a pint.
In particular, the Japanese people had to have the obligatory photograph
with the pint to their lips, but very few actually drank more than a sip.
We watched one young man try very hard to like Guinness. He sipped it,
he smelled it, he tried to chew it, he skulled quite a bit of it but it
defeated him by about half way through the glass. A fun afternoon was
spent in the Guinness Hop Storehouse - well worth a visit.
We have wandered Dublin's streets, we have seen the Tart with
the Cart, the Floozy in the Jacuzzi and the Hags with the Bags - all local
names for various street statues. We have experienced Kells, Guinness
and even had a night of Irish song and dance in a large beerhall type pub.
And now our Irish experience is all but over. We will be back in the
UK in a day or two and plans have already been set in action for the sale of
the van. Our next missive will be a sad farewell to the life of
"happy campers" and a hello to that of just plain tourists.
Egypt is now only a matter of weeks away and it is with very mixed feelings
that we say goodbye to what has been a way of life for 3 years.
So as not to become too maudlin about the whole thing I will
end now by saying that we have lots to look forward to and new challenges to
meet (and I am not just being a Pollyanna). We have friendships to
renew and friendships to continue over long distance and nothing anyone can
say or do will ever take away all that we have been privileged enough to
experience.
Until next time
Deb & Arnold
top
home