Terrafirma Travels

The pizza last night from the Watch House was excellent, not too big so all crusts were eaten. Boston's Bar, the only pub in town, was a 5 min stroll. A pint and a half of Guinness was consumed. The bar was busy until the gaelic football match finished. There was talk of music later but it didn't seem certain and again we were tired so we didn't stay. The weather cleared, blue sky and distant hills were seen, and it was a lovely evening.  This morning the cloud was back down with a vengeance, can hardly see beyond the campsite.

Started late from Valentia campsite, driving the narrow twisty roads to Glanleam house and gardens, seat of the Knights of Kerry, only to find a large off-putting notice at the gate saying CLOSED. Do NOT enter. Given it is advertised as one of Valentia's highlights, this was a bit annoying. A local told us it's been closed for years. After a seven-point turn in the narrow drive, we headed for the Heritage Centre, a small museum with a room dedicated to the groundbreaking (or sea-breaking?) Atlantic Telegraph Cables which were installed around Valentia in the 19th century. They truly were the world-wide-web of their day. We saw a rather fulsome painting depicting how the US and Europe were united by the telegraph cable. Locals were employed by the cable companies, and even preserved jugs and chamber pots bearing the company name. We decided to leave the island to follow the Ring of Skellig drive. Unfortunately the low cloud came down so close, we could see only a few dozen yards...

Colder this morning and very 'soft' ie fine rain. The permanent sign on the toilet door suggests it rains a lot here! Off by 0900, pretty easy driving round to the next peninsula, the big one - the Ring of Kerry. Diesel at Kenmare. Coffee & scone at Sneem, swapped drivers. No doubt there would have been some great views, but the cloud was almost down to sea level. Had to put the fog lights on for a while. So that's half the Ring done in cloud. No matter, it can't beat the wow of the Beara. Arrived Valentia campsite at 1200 just as the owner was off for lunch. She very kindly booked us in early so L could get onto zoom at 1400, and v kindly charged us €10 for the privilege. WiFi flakey on pitch only 50m from building, so L did mtg in Games room. N explored Knightstown, so called because the Knights of Kerry made the island their home from mid 18th C. They were instrumental in the first transatlantic cables coming ashore here in mid 19th C.  We came by bridge from Por...

Today was all about Dursey Island, a speck at the end of the beautiful Beara Pensinsula which sticks out from Ireland"s Atlantic edge. Nic remembered a trip 60 years ago when he and his father Ken went to an Irish island in a dangerous hand-cranked cable car. Dursey has Ireland's only cable car, run on electricity. So we needed to know if this was the one. We drove the fiercely twisty roads to Dursey, waited in the queue (only 6 adults per trip) and were eventually carried in a tiny wooden cabin,  across the boiling tidal rips in the channel below. L noticed the bottle of holy water hanging from the ceiling, next to the CCTV camera and a VHF radio for emergencies. Some people live or farm sheep there, but not in winter. There are a few paths up and down the few miles' length of the island, and we walked them for a couple of hours, happily without rain. We took the mountain route on the way back. By now it was clear this was not the mythical cable car of Nic's youth. Th...

Up at 7, away by 9. Sexton is old fashioned, including cash only to keep the 80yo owners happy, but perfectly fine. Skibereen for provisions and elevenses, very lovely town, terrible roads. V helpful Tourist Office man cos the Wild Atlantic Way is quite hard to follow on the little maps we had. Got better ones, and advice on scenic route to Mizen Head. Mizen is our first peninsula and it's certainly scenic. The roads are generally good and not too narrow. Had to wait for a film crew to clear the road. Some of the beaches we passed were beautiful and empty, but no time for swimming today. Suddenly realised that lighthouse on a rock off the coast is the Fastnet. Spectacular walk from Visitor Centre to Mizen Head Signal Station where a lot of the exhibits were about the Fastnet, and the others about Marconi and the first radio signals. Departed 1400 heading for Dursey at the end of the Beara peninsula, skipping the Sheep's Head peninsula cos we can't do them all. Googlemaps sa...

We woke to a cool rainy day, breakfasted and set off for Kinsale, along many winding lanes. We parked on a viewpoint above the pretty coastal town and walked down the busy road towards the famous Charles Fort, built in the 1670s to house British redcoats. The Fort is one of the star-shaped strongholds that we've seen in Denmark as well as Britain, but this one is largely ruined. The sad thing is many Irish men signed up to fight British wars (on behalf of the enemy) because there was no other work. The Fort was not well located, and was conquered several times. We saw a sparrowhawk hovering above the coast, having to flap wings in quite big buffetting winds, and a yacht attempting to anchor. We walked back to the van via the scenic Scilly walk, so-called because of Cornish men who migrated to the area. We were quite tired by now, ate our second home made sandwich and drove into Kinsale. It's known as a foodie heaven, but we found most of the restaurants that were heavily recomm...

Up at 0630, chatted to Kevin over breakfast after he'd returned from his spin class at the gym, said our goodbyes with heartfelt thanks and headed off by 0830. 2 hr drive to Cork slightly marred by mistake at bottom of M8 - it does not become the N8! Googlemaps got us back on route and we went to the Park & Ride - L's bright idea to avoid city centre parking stress. €5 for parking and return bus for 2 of us, pleased with that. We hit the English Market first, and have never seen such displays of meat and fish, we think it even beat Bury market. We had a coffee and resisted the cakes, strolled in the city centre, Saint Patrick's street, and climbed onto the City Tour bus. After a cold, damp start the sun came out v hot. We ate sandwiches kindly provided by Noel as we toured the city. The pre-recorded commentary was leavened by acerbic comments from the lady driver - she was very funny. We jumped off at the Cork City Gaol and spent an interesting hour learning about the p...

22 Jun: We woke to a cool and rainy day. After breakfast, we drove to Russborough House, arriving in a downpour. Took a house tour of the very grand interior, led by a Spanish woman who gave us the history of its rescue by the Beitt family, with money inherited from De Beers. Chief attractions were the spectacular original stucco ceilings,  and a series of 6 Murillo paintings telling the story of the Prodigal Son. Some of the paintings in the house had been stolen by the IRA but most were eventually returned.  We had a scratch lunch of oatcakes and cheese, in the van, and rushed to the Bird of Prey Centre for the first tour of the day. Wow. We saw eagles, owls, small hawks and falcons and even a kookaburra. Then we got to hold a beautiful white barn owl on a gloved hand, soft and sleepy. And we got up close to a baby owl, 3 weeks old, gawky and wobbly on big feet. Brilliant. We had a cool walk around the lake, then a welcome pot of tea & scone at the cafe. After a short dr...

A great night's sleep, despite the heat. After a large bowl of porridge we were ready for the cemeteries visit, guided by Kevin who knows more about all the inter-related families than Noel ... because it's his hobby and he has a prodigious memory. That took the morning. We saw a felled tree that grown over a headstone - startling. We dropped Kevin back then headed off for the rest of the day to give them some space. First, as suggested by them, the Rock of Dunamase which is a ruined castle rather like Corfe but without the tearoom. This was Cromwell's doing when he re-invaded Ireland in 1649. We had lunch in the van in a shady spot - it is stinking hot, again. Went to Emo Park, where there was a tearoom; iced decaf, cold juice and carrot cake. The house is only by 1 hr tours, we didn't fancy that. Strolled in the beautiful grounds, keeping to the shady bits, feeling very chilled out. Found a spectacular cypress tree. The driving is so relaxed here, no-one speeds and t...

20th: We woke up early and had to beg a euro from a fellow campervanner to pay for our morning shower. A Full Irish cooked breakfast followed at the hotel kitchen. Then we set off for Athy, through green countryside on an increasingly hot day.  We arrived at Noel and Kevin's house late morning, and had croissants and coffee. They insisted we stay in the house, which is very tastefully furnished with a huge garden, Kevin's project.  When they went out for an appointment, we had lunch on the last of Nic's bread and relaxed, which is code for snoozed. Then it was time to go to Freida's house. She looked very smart, with gold jewellery and pale green pedalpushers. She doesn't look 83. We had a lovely talk about the extended Kane family, with lots of help from Kevin who assembled Noel's family tree.  Freida was happy to go out to the Clannard hotel, so we had a big dinner there and more interesting talk. There was a wedding going on in the huge hotel and the ladies...

Up at 5am, left at 6am having packed 98% of food, clothes and tech gear the day before. Our first long trip in the van. Algernon Van Bear quite excited. We don't like driving long distance to a ferry, due to the risks, so left 1.5 hrs contingency. Which of course we didn't need. Arrived at noon for 2pm ferry. Quietly roasted in the queue, eating our sandwiches and salad. The weather is v hot, clear sky, no wind. Boarding seemed interminably slow but we left at 1415 which was ontime according to the captain. Ship very comfortable.  Rosslare unloading was quick, no-one asked for ID at either end! In Fishguard a burly security man had a brief look inside, opened one cupboard. Very relaxed. Ten minute drive to Coral Gables campsite and a very friendly welcome. Small site, small pitches, all good. We ordered full Irish cooked breakfasts as a treat. Set up camp - roof up, elec connect, table out - and cooked salmon and veg all in one pan with a fish pie sauce to make it tasty. The te...