9/5-6– Fred and I decided to visit Ireland, as we could do it easily as a roadtrip.  Friends had commented how much they loved Ireland, staying at Bed and Breakfast’s along the way.  It seemed like a nice change from trips we had been doing, since Ireland’s history is 1000’s of years old.  I took to researching like crazy and following the forums for ideas. As with much of Europe, there are some very touristy places, which we try to avoid unless there is something very unique about it.  Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not.

Although September is Indian Summer in California, the weather along the east coast of the US this day was a bit sketchy.  Our flight departed slightly late and we only had an hour layover in Newark.  But this became a non-issue because our flight from there to Ireland was late as well. Hurricane Harvey had moved up the east coast and delayed flights throughout the day.  But we finally arrived in Dublin airport, collected our luggage and car (which all was a simple process) and were on our way.

I have to apologize for not having my camera the first half of the day.  It was packed in my suitcase and since we dove head-first into the adventure and Fred had his camera, I just left it there.  I do not have any pictures of Glendalough.  The photo above is Kell’s Priory, one of my top 5 monastic ruins that we saw on our trip, and one we saw later this day.  I have restrained myself from posting too many pictures of ruins (we saw a lot of ruins!) and only posting pics of the best.

But on our way to where? Our first stop was in Glendalough. It is located in the Wicklow Mountains and seemed to have lots written up about it regarding the hiking trails and history.  It was a “must do” by all accounts.  So we went up the very single-lane road to the far carpark and set off on some hiking trails.  We did a short hike to see the Poulanass waterfall and circled around.  We stumbled upon “Kevin’s Cell” and some church ruins – surrounded with an ancient graveyard.  Then we decided to drive back to the main entrance of Glendalough and explore the ruins there.

What a contrast! There were hoards of people and just trying to enter the main “tourist” center was a madhouse.  There were stalls with souvenir shops set up.  We encountered two vehicles traveling on the wrong side of the road and we really couldn’t venture into the grounds without disrupting a tour.  We finally found a way into the site and then I was dismayed by the circus there.  This was a place with ruins of a church, tower, and a huge graveyard – which people and kids just scurried about and had no respect for it being a GRAVEYARD!  It all struck me as being disrespectful – Rest in Peace – Good luck to you!

Off we went, me regretting that we didn’t do an alternate stop (Rock of Dunamase).

But arrival at Lawcus Farm Guesthouse really changed all that.  My only regret is that we didn’t stay here longer!  We had the one night, pity.

Lawcus Farm Guesthouse. This set the bar high for future accommodation and I wish we had stayed here longer!  You can’t quite see it in the photo, but on the right was a glass-roofed eating area where we had our breakfasts.  There was a huge cooking area in the center.  Mark and Ann-Marie were so energetic and truly had a vision for their land and guesthouse.

There didn’t seem to be anyone attending the guesthouse, but it was located along a river, was as green as you can possibly imagine, had pigs and chickens, and a big Mastiff we later learned was Bruce.  Bruce seemed to round us up a trail through a yellow gate and to the front of a large house we hadn’t noticed on the way down.  Bruce is bred for sheepherding, he did well.  We were at the home of the owners of the guesthouse and Ann-Marie greeted us promptly.  She was red-headed, vivacious and energetic, and what you can imagine a welcoming Irish woman to be.  She showed us around and gave us some hand-drawn maps with recommendations, loads of recommendations (you can’t imagine).  And to our antique-filled room we went, only staying long enough to unload our luggage.

We headed out to Kell’s Priory.  Ann-Marie said it was a 20-minute walk, but we chose to drive.  Good thing too, because it was a mile and a half away. It was huge!  No admittance fee and we could just wander around.  We looped around via a trail behind the Priory to Mullins Mill, the 13-arch Bridge, and the small town of Kells.  Then we got back into our car and drove to the town of Stoneyford.  Following Ann-Marie’s advice, we settled into Malzards Pub and ordered a meal that they pick up from the take-away Kebab place across the street.  At the bar, we heard accordion and harmonica music.

This is a 13-arch bridge at Mullins Mill.  Ann-Marie told us it was originally built as a one-lane bridge with 5 arches.  When they wanted to widen it, the engineers said it needed 8 arches.  Hence, a 13-arch bridge.  The roadway on top is solid, you would never know it was built in stages.

It was an early night for us, after all the traveling.

9/7– We awoke the next morning and made our way to the totally glass-enclosed breakfast room.  It was like a greenhouse, with a huge kitchen facility in the middle and Ann-Marie was there to inquire about our breakfast preferences.  We came to realize that this was a larger guesthouse than originally perceived, with about 12 rooms perhaps.

After breakfast (which was excellent), we were invited by Mark to see the main house.  They built it themselves with reclaimed materials and furnishings and it was a real treat to visit it.  Mark is an architect and his main criteria for building the house was not to pay for new materials. They bartered for flagstone of an abandoned church and re-purposed staircase banisters, and other vintage materials.  It was awesome, to say the least.  The hand-made dining table would easily seat 12 and had a tree trunk as its base!

We reluctantly checked out of the fabulous guesthouse and headed for Kilree Monastic site, where we had to look out for the resident bull to gain access.  There was a cool tower and an ancient cross (844AD!) plus graveyard to be seen there.

Then we headed to Kilfane Church and encountered a man doing some 3D mapping with a special camera which Fred coveted.  We climbed the tower of the church and the spiral steps were very steep and tiny and it was quite the adventure.  We got great pictures!  It was here we asked the 3D guy why there would be recent graves (2010) next to ancient ones and he stated they were probably landowners.  It all seemed so odd to me.

This was the entrance to the main portion of Kilfane Church.  Then it took a bit of sleuthing to find the entrance to the staircase to the tower.  Narrow spiral staircases seemed to be the norm of centuries past.  My little foot barely fit on a step!

Jerpoint Abbey was next up, and our first attraction that required an entry fee.  I asked about the “Heritage Card” that covers many of Ireland’s paid sites and was shocked that the price had increased from 21 euros to 40 since 2016!  I didn’t see we’d get our money’s worth out of that deal so we decided to pay at each location.  We explored the Abbey and enjoyed all the carvings that are along the columns and tombs.

Jerpoint Abbey is a monastic site known for its carvings on columns and even on the tombs.  You had to pay an entry fee to get in, but it included a few rooms set up with aritacts with museum lighting and information boards.

Then we drove southward to Dunhill Castle ruins.  We were the only ones about and the ruins were really interesting with signs that pointed out the castle had been destroyed by an attack (cannonball, or ???)  Fred and I climbed around and I found a route to the top of the castle.  Fred did not want to climb up there but I was game, and then I realized once I was at the top, that I was on top of a 1000 year old ceiling that was constructed without mortar.  It was a great view however and I figured if it held up after 1000 years, it could take the weight of li’l ole me.

We continued southward to an area known as the Copper Coast.  Our first stop was at the beautiful Annestown Beach, where we saw two Irish Setters run into the tide and plop themselves down in the water, seemingly very proud of themselves.  And we spoke to a couple from Australia who had been touring around for several weeks.  Next up was Boatstrand Beach and as the name implies, boats were high and dry in the bay. It was low tide and we were able to walk to the sea caves at the far end.  They looked far more interesting from a distance than up close, but it was a pleasant walk and we were the only ones there.

Any wonder they call it Boatstrand Beach?

Our third stop along the Copper Coast was at Bunmahon Beach where we did the clifftop walk.  The trail was covered in water in some places and we almost turned back until we saw a group able to traverse around the water with no issues, so we followed.  I’m glad we did because it ended at a beautiful cove with a sea stack and fantastic views from the cliffs!

This is the termination point of our walk at Bunmahon Cliff Walk.  I’m glad we ventured out here, as the light was perfect for pictures like this!

Our B&B was the Kilcannon House, run by an older couple – Gertie and Tom.  We met Mac, their beagle and Sag, their cat.  We also met Ivan, from East Coast USA and who apparently has come to this very same B&B every year for the past 20 years.  We stayed 3 nights here.

Dinner was in Dungarvan, about a 10-minute drive.  There were some fantastic restaurants there (The Moorings, The Tannery, 360 Cookhouse). I was very drawn to Dungarvan by a picture of its harbor.  We figured out where that picture was taken from (the money shot, I called it.  And you’ll have to read halfway down the next page to see it) and got some sunset pictures there.

We had dinner at The Moorings.  Recommended.

The Adventure Continues>>>