Yaki Dah Wales …Hello Blackpool
After a great breakfast and a lovely chat with the bloke who owned (he reminded me of my late brother) we set of from Holyhead and took just 3 hours to reach my home town Blackpool and after a quick drive down the prom we ended up at my brothers house (a bit teary) and after a lovely home made dinner of steak pie and a couple of bottles of wine we settled down fora very sleep night hoping to be refreshed for the boozy weeks ahead!! Our first sighting of home was a HOLLAND Pie van !!!
Bye Bye Dublin Hello UK
Up at 6 am and off we go to the docks driven by a lovely irishman giving his views on life,very funny man,After a very quick pass thru the ferry ticket office off we go..It took exactly 2 hrs from Dublin to Holyhead (Wales) and the ride was very exciting,seas were high and rough and a few passengers called for Huey!!Walking a straight line on deck was nigh impossible but great fun to try and negotiate!! Arriving at our destination was a breeze and collecting our rental car was just as easy.After finding our digs we drove up a “mountain” above a light house and the views were spectacular,Weatherwise it was very windy but a worthwhile visit.We have met our overnight landlady who is very nice and the facilities are very comfortable.After almost 5 weeks on holiday we have gotten a wee bit travel weary and have decided to have a night indoors and NO pub this evening,tomorrow will be one of mixed emotions as we travel to my home town of Blackpool.Sadly Ferry photo,s didn,t work out,fortunately the Holyhead pics did.Early start tomorrow and a full on 3 weeks ahead .Think I,m going to be sick now eating all the Eccles Cakes !!!
Final Irish Day 25 August 2015
We left Carrick on Shannon after yet another HUGE breakfast and headed for Dublin Docks to see where we are sailing from tomorrow,weather was ok when we set of travelling the 180 kms to Port .As we arrived on the outskirts of Dublin the heavens opened up and after a while going round in circles and getting on and off the Toll road we gave up and headed straight for the Hotel,fortunately it is the same hotel we used on arrival into Ireland and managed to recognise a few land marks!! After booking in and leaving our luggage we returned the car,got a lift from the airport to base and was entertained by the driver who had a good chat with us.The receptionist was brilliant and booked our transport to the docks in the morning and arranged an early wake up call (6.15) Rain is still coming down rather heavily BUT we are happy things are working out.Tomorrow Wales v Boat and onto Blackpool the next day and 3 weeks of adventure coming up also great to catch up with my huge family (No pics today cos of the inclement weather)
Onto Carrick on Shannon as we Farewell Wild Atlantic Way
We left Ballina in a good mood after yet another great Irish Brekkie and headed for the final time along the WAW and wasn,t disappointed with the scenery altho a bit cool and still the odd Shower around .I will miss the ice cream shops that are EVERYWHERE ,we get huge serves with a choc flake at very reasonable prices 1 Euro 20.We stopped at one particular place Strandhill where a Wishing Well was situated (Nope my wish wasn,t brought to fruition!)Background mountains were in full splendour and we travelled thru a few small holiday/fishing towns and villages on the last leg of our 2000 km West Coast trip.The majority of our overnight stays have been exceptional and we have lust landed at yet another place that is actually a flat with all mod cons PLUS a breakfast menu tomorrow (our last in Ireland) Tonight will be my last night of having a beer or 3 in order to keep my head clear for the ferry trip across the Irish Sea on Wednesday
Sculptures,Statues,Canons,Sea statues were very evident as we travel towards our overnight base.On our last pub call we tried three pubs and they are not bad..Sober evening tomorrow NO car as it will be returned
Galway to Ballina via Wild Atlantic Way
It rained again BUT did not deter us from our pilgrimage arounf the Wild Atlantic Way,once again scenery was breath taking and we decided to cut across the Conammarra Mountains through exciting Gorges,lots of abandoned houses and one paricular house we almost called on because we thought it was on fire causing LOTS of smoke was actuallt the house owner lighting an indoor fire fire ! (peat? coal?) Travelled thru Mayo and Waterfalls,stream,rivers and ambling brooks were working overtime and I could spend hours simply staring at these small world wonders BUT we are limited for time and have to move on.Tomorrow will be our last look at the coast as we will then head back to Dublin with an overnight stay in Carrick on Shannon.Next we will try the local country pub Mist rolling down the Mountains reminded me of an horror TV show I watched in the 50,s called The Trollenberg Terror.At times it was difficult reading road signs as they are in Gaelic! Sheep wander aimlessly onto roads,but,unlike Australia where road kill is rampant ALL Irish road wandering animals were seemingly safe on the roads !
Great Irish Music played in the local pub (Muddy Burns)and Annie had a huge dinner considting of 3 chickens!! The music is infectious and foot tapping tomorrow will start our journey back to Dublin then on to UK
Towards Galway
After a lovely evening and a better fry up we left the lovely Limerick and the hosts Bergie & Tom via Shannon & Ennis to Loop Head and watched a boat unload its catch of live Lobsters and the crew allowed the surrounding kids to hold them !! (Claws were taped shut) and the Old Castle ramparts looked magnificent (Ireland has lots of now defunct Castles) we headed up North via the Wild Atlantic Way stopping at various stops ( didn,t venture out too much as the rain was very heavy!!) Drove past The Cliffs of Mohar and the area was packed with bloody tourists!! We also witnessed a few absailers on our travels and we are now beginning to feel the starins of lots of driving !!Later we will try another local pub
We ventured into town and it was just like Blackpool without a tower and thy dont have a football team (come to think of it neither do Blackpool!) Annie took her undies in to wash and ADAM? we have found you anew home !!! Pub apparently is world famous and goes by the name O,Connors Famous Pub Salthill Galway
Irish Mists and all that one day BUT the next was a Cracker
Leaving River Lodge we set of for DINGLE and sadly not much viewed as the mist was really thick altho lots of pics taken the weather was a shocker.We reached Dingle around 4 and went into town that boasts 52 pubs and had a few of my newly acquainted beer Smithwicks .The pubs were painted in a very colourful way and pubs were next door to each other !!We lasted until around 8pm went back to the B&B and because there is NO TV we watched a movie from the selection I have bought from Home.Breakfast next day was a very bland breakfast (Continental) and we left for a terrific drive towards Limerick going around the Dingle Peninsula starting at Slea Head saw great Blasket Island (there are lots just like depicted in Father Ted) then headed towards Tralee which was festooned with lights in the shape of a rose ( I could write a song about that?) We picked up a lady hiker who had spent the night in town and didn,t want to get breathalysed Onto the coast of Finet watching boat people (well it looked like it !!) practising Sea survival,the pier wall was lined with fishermen (one was using an 18 foot rod!) After abreak or 2 we landed at out next B&B and what a lovely surprise ! the house is fantastic and looks very much like a family home,mine host Bergie was tremendous and made us welcome by offering us tea and cake !!
WE have
WE have encountered all kinds of Statues in the remotest of places and Annie has an obsession with Coloured painted houses !!! Fields are arranged by dry stone walls and Birds have taken a fancy to Annie !! Next the PUB
Our lovely host told us to visit The Locke Pub in Limerick and we did!! It was great atmosphere and traditional Irish Music being played by 2 young ladies on a Harp,Squeeze Box and a Box Drum.We met up with a couple of lads from the USA and had a laugh.We ventured around town after the pub (and 3 pints!) to explore this lovely town and we were not disappointed.Annie has had her look at a Castle and the water way lock system is amazing ,Tomorrow we had off to Galway
Fantastic Irish Scenery
After a great Irish Breakfast and what seemed like gallons of tea we said farewell to the lovely Mary and we set off at 9am heading for our next base at Glengariff travelling along the mighty Wild Atlantic Way and it is also the first time we have encountered rain!!! West the GPS for Carriglare as a starting point for the WAW and saw nothing that took our fancy and after a quick survey set off for Kinsale and the views/scenery became more dramatic and very appealing to the eye We took a photo shoot at Old Head and that is a cliff bound Island and supposed to be the worlds remotest Golf Course,a wee bit windy and a shower of rain did,t spoil the moment of sheer joy at the spectacle we were witnessing.Next up Skibbereen and it was avery busy,busy little village and we struggled to find a parking spot cos both of us need a pee tout suite!! We found one and the toilet was a bloody pay as you go !!! 25c NO change given,so bugga it we both squashed into the cubicle and we became very quickly relieved !!
We passed thru (and took pics of the breath taking scenery) at a lovely spot called SCHULL (pronounced Skull!) and a visit to Alter Rock and its historic value onto the highlight of the day MIZEN BRIDGE,very beautiful spot and the bridge connecting the two rocky tors is spectacular.It was a long steep walk to the bridge and I managed to cross it completely,Annie gave up hal way across,the way UP to the top of the very rocky mountainous area was via very steep steps which I am happy to say “I Conquered!” We spent quite a lot of time there and arrived at our overnight base in Glengarriff at around 4pm and sadly not like the previous overnighters with NOT a hint of a cup of tea (non in the room either) We had a meal in Caseys (what else) Pub and I had a Guiness (my first since I was 15 ! haven’t touched it since then because I had avery bad reaction,but,after all I AM in Ireland and it actually tasted OK) then moved on a dark Irish beer also very nice.The night is starting to get cool now and I suspect the sea breeze coming in from the Atlantic is the culprit.Tomorrow we are needing to be alert as we are told breakfast is served between 8.30 am & 9am !!
Now the Coastal Beauty begins
After a terrific breakfast and a fond farewell to mine host Moira we set of 9am for our next scheduled stop over and went along the very rocky,cliff dominated coast to Dungarvin/Tramore and staying at Castlemartyr going alongside breathtaking scenery,old buildings and beautiful,clean villages
We stopped of at miniature Blackpool looking town that had all the rides that make up a fun fair called
and met a bloke who had been living in Perth (Subiaco) a few years back and he made me the BEST Lime Icecream I have never tasted in the lovely Tramore From there we had a photo shoot at Annestown (yeah right) and what a beautiful spot.Now in residence (after a frantic time finding this place,that is situated mid country down a very,very narrow lane) the Landlady Mary is a National treasure and the house is top class.With it being well hidden in the countryside we decided to give the pub a miss tonight !!The trip is getting more exciting now that we are away from the BIG citys and getting to meet the people is a memory we will treasure for ever
Dublin to Rosslare & Ladys Island
After checking out of the Metro Hotel Dublin ( worth a visit) we collected our hire car and took off to our first overnight stay at Rosslare .Takning the motorway was the quickest and had to pass thru a toll road (we decided NOT to take the coastal road as it wasn,t very scenic) On arrival the B&B was deserted (the lady (Moira) was at the hospital enjoying the birth of her new grandaughter Kate) She made us a lovely cuppa and met her other “inmates” who were holidaying there and we had a good laugh! We venture out and paid a visit to Ladys Island a gathering place for pilgrims from around the world to celebrate their religion Catholicism,after inspecting all the religious artefacts,icon,buildings and sadly very neglected graveyard (I was never once struck by lightening!) we headed back to our digs Night time and we visited the First Pub on Irish Soil namely The Kilrane Inn) and met some great characters in there.Annie had her usual feed of chicken ,service was really good too The landylady of the B&B was great and made us feel very welcome finishing our stint here by making us a brilliant Irish cooked breakfast.Tomorrow we start the scenic West Coast Route
Rosslare is a Ferry based village and has ships going to Cherbourg and Wales and will transport vehicles.On the travel here it was very noticeable on the large number of road side sales for Strawberries!!.Not far from Ladys Island on the coast is a concrete pier that we attempted to walk along,the tide was out,there wasTONS of seaweed rotting and the sum was drying it out BUT the obnoxious smell (not pollution) was too much for me !! Annie has not got a sense of smell so she was saved from this foul smelling natural event !!!
aaa
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 