Apr 26, 2013 - Glengarriff

It was a brilliantly sunny morning when I got up but by the time I’d had my breakfast & was ready to go, it was pouring with rain. It’s been like that all day – about ½ an hour of sunshine then ½ an hour of heavy rain with nothing much else in between. I’ve been doing a lot of driving & have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow so I had planned to spend today in the local area, starting off at the Garinish Island gardens which are only about 3 km down the road. It’s just a short 5 minute ferry ride from Glengarriff & on the way we saw lots of...

Apr 25, 2013 - Killarney

Today I thought I’d be going back to the land of the tour buses because I wanted to see some places around Killarney which I considered would be on their main route but I was pleased to discover I was wrong – there weren’t any around, not even at Ross Castle. I had to cover country I’ve already been over a couple of times to Kenmare then it was new territory for the next 40 km into Killarney, most of it through the Killarney National Park which I think is the biggest & oldest in Ireland. Of course, I always stop at any lookouts I come...

Apr 24, 2013 - Mizen Head

I was thinking that today might be an easy day but it just didn’t happen – there’s too much to see. I started off at Mizen Head which is Ireland’s most south-westerly point because I’d read that they’d built a new bridge & Visitor Centre there. It’s back the other way to the east of Sheep’s Head & had one great advantage – I didn’t come across a single tour bus all day. It was only about an hour from here & that involved getting lost a couple of times because I couldn’t find it on my GPS. It was worth persevering though because I think this...

Apr 23, 2013 - Ring of Kerry

I’m moving west so the next ‘finger’ at the bottom of Ireland is the Ring of Kerry or more correctly, the Iveragh peninsula but unfortunately I’m also getting into the more touristy part. My main objective was Valentia Island which is right at the bottom of the peninsula but on the way I had more spectacular coastal scenery & also a good stretch of forest which was a change as most of Ireland so far has been fairly open land. The attraction of Valentia Island was the Skellig Islands, in particular Skellig Michael which is a further 8 miles...

Apr 22, 2013 - Beara Peninsular

Sorry this is late. There must have been a problem with the satellite last night because I couldn't get internet or TV. It's back this morning though. Today was the time for exploring the Beara peninsular which is the one to the west of Bantry Bay. The forecast for today was intermittent showers & I was driving in fog & drizzle for a while, was thinking the whole excursion would be a dead loss but it started to brighten about lunch-time & turned into a brilliant afternoon. While I was waiting (& hoping) for the weather to clear I stopped...

Apr 21, 2013 - Bantry Bay

This morning I had to do some laundry which takes forever in these European front-loaders. Then I needed to get fuel & some groceries. They left so much food for me here I’ll never get through it all but I wanted some fresh fruit & vegies as I think I’ll make a casserole with the Irish sausages. My little Kia diesel got nearly 44 mpg which I thought was pretty good as a lot of that mileage would have been travelling at 80mph on the motorways from Leek to Holyhead, then Dublin to Cork. Diesel fuel is actually about 5 euro cents a litre...

Apr 20, 2013 - Kinsale to Bantry Bay

This morning I went on a walking tour of Kinsale & my head is so full of interesting facts about this lovely old town that I don’t know where to start. The group was larger than I expected, mostly Americans with kids who weren’t at all interested so made a nuisance of themselves however the guide who was in his 60’s, was obviously a serious historian & could explain not only what happened but usually, why it happened. He was Irish but he mentioned he’d spent 20 years in Kansas City, Missouri which was a bit of a coincidence. Having spent...

May 20, 2011 - Western Cork, How We Love You

My hair has become inexplicable. Normally if there is a lot of humidity, it flops and plasters to my head. I don't get floofy hair from humidity. Well, I didn't in the past. Clearly my Colorado dry hair requires prolonged exposure to humidity before it floofs out and looks like an insane mess. I do not have curly hair. Or even wavy hair. I have sections of hair on my head where my hair will strike out in odd directions. Typically this is corrected with something as complex as a brush. My sections have taken over and my hair, no...

May 19, 2011 - If It's Not the Queen, It's the Cows

I have to say, we're having a blast. The weather, for us, has been incredible. Moments of bright, sunny sky, only a few rain drops (and one rain shower, but I was getting ready for dinner and missed it), and the chill in the wind is brisk not biting. We couldn't get out of Cork City fast enough. The hotel was great but we are kind of "done" with city life. So where do we head? Blarney Castle. We didn't start as early as we wanted, but we missed the morning rush hour. Luck was with us and Blarney Castle wasn't packed. Nor was the Queen...

Sep 27, 2010 - Bantry Bay

@@@@@@@ Background Bantry Bay serves as a launching point for visitors to the Beara Peninsula and Mizen Head. In the 19th century, the region was devastated by mass emigration and poverty but things began to turn around when people turned to the bay for their livelihood. Today Bantry Bay oysters and mussels appear on menus throughout County Cork. One of the main tourist sights here is Bantry House, the original home of the White family. Richard White, the 1st Earl of Bantry, was rewarded with a peerage for playing a leading role in warning...

Sep 8, 2008 - Pirates & Shipwrecks on Ireland's South Coast

We woke to cloudy skies, but dry ground. We had breakfast and set of along the south coast of Ireland. We passed through Lispatrick, notable for being the birthplace of Anne Bonny, a pirate who was apprehended in Jamaica after a battle in Bloody Bay and escaped hanging due to being pregnant. Our first stop was at the Old Head of Kinsale which we discovered was occupied by a golf course. We continued on to Timoleague where there is an old abbey. The ruins are open and extensive. Apart from a brief history there was little information, but...

May 22, 2007 - Leave Doolin to Castletown

Day three...lots of winding roads. We left late 12:30 and drove till 8:30pm. Doolin to Ennis and then to Limerick and the roads got better the views still nice. First stop Adare were we visited a monastary where a Scottish order from the 1200's freed those taken captive during the crusades. After looking at the thatched cottages we went over to the Adare Manor where the Irish open was just held. What a place to explore. I got to hold the Irish Open Trophy. Driving south into Killarny where the horse drawn carriages bring folks around the...