PART TWO: Heading South-East
2016-03-01 to 2016-03-05
And so, our time in our first county came to an end. On the morning of March 1st, we loaded everything into our little Škoda and set sail, so to speak, for the south-east of the country. Our next stop was Cashel, in county Tipperary, with planned day trips to Kilkenny, Waterford and the Wicklow mountains. A bit of driving awaits us over these few days, but that's just a great way to see the countryside!
We made a couple of quick stops before properly getting on the road to Cashel. First on the list was the Hill of Tara. Quite the famous ceremonial place, and synonymous with many parts of Irish history, the top of the hill boasts some odd dips and rises that are obviously man-made. Used for burials and various ceremonies (for example, coronation of ancient kings), the hill looks pretty impressive from the air. Unfortunately, though, viewing from ground level, it's far less interesting to look at. It's hard to fathom the patterns in the concentric circles, formed by the dips and rises when you are standing among them. Probably still worth your time to go for a quick look, but if you can arrange some means of flying over in, say, a helicopter, then go for that!!
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| The top of the Hill of Tara. |
Next up, we stopped by the ruins of Bective Abbey. Built in 1147 as a sister Abbey to Old Mellifont, it was an important structure for the Anglo-Normans. A small information sign at the front tells you a little bit of the history of the building, but then it's up to you to explore. Most of the Abbey is still standing, right up to the higher levels, so it's quite impressive to behold, especially given that it is almost 1000 years old!
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| Bective Abbey. |
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| Bective Abbey. |
Back on the road, we passed through Trim again, only stopping for petrol on this occasion - and a photo with the "Welcome to Trim" sign (mum's friend was born and raised there!). The plan from there was to hunt down Egan's Irish Whiskey, which we came across randomly during a Google search. Mum's surname is McEgan, and we both appreciate a drop of the good stuff, so we thought it'd be good to find them. Unfortunately, the address on their website is a bit vague. We thought they were in Naas, but it seems like they are further outside the actual town; a fact we only discovered once we were already in Naas. We stopped to find a spot for lunch, which ended up being Kavanagh's. A good quality feed and a drink, followed by a rather large coffee was perfect for the dreary, rainy day across most of Ireland! We decided to leave the whiskey for now and maybe come back that way later when we are staying in Athlone, which is further out west.
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| Lunch at Kavanagh's in Naas. |
From Naas, it was pretty smooth sailing; we made our way down the M8 all the way through to Cashel and checked into the Cashel Holiday Hostel on John Street. Simple and cheap accommodation to allow us to spend more money on other things! We were greeted warmly and shown around, but I can't remember the guy's name. He even gave us a map of Cashel on which he marked various restaurants and bars and things to see, so that was very helpful. We went for a quick walk around town and got some groceries before retiring to the room to plan tomorrow's activities.
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| Cashel Holiday Hostel. |
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| Our room at Cashel Holiday Hostel - a little cozy, but not too bad. |
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| Meals and common area in Cashel Holiday Hostel. |
On Wednesday 02/03/2016, we both woke up a bit stiff and sore. Personally, my back kicks up a stink if the bed is not right, and this one was certainly not right for me. That's not to say it was bad... my back is just fussy! It could have been due to the fact that the rails around the bed are pretty much exactly my height, such that my head touches the top rail while my feet touch the end rail; no room to stretch and spread out. Anyway, whatever the case, a bit of a stretch and some coffee always fixes things up.
We hit the road about 09:30, driving through to Waterford, a little more than an hour's drive from Cashel. Waterford was one of the early Viking settlements, and has been an important port town for Ireland throughout the past 1000 or so years. At the corner of the quays and the main strip, "The Mall", stands Reginald's Tower. This is one of the original towers built to protect the city. We didn't get a chance to go up it as it was closed when we visited, but it's still an impressive structure. A Viking boat sits proudly outside the tower and reminds you of the colourful history that Ireland has had with various invaders.
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| Reginald's Tower and a replica Viking boat. |
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| I'd like to think my Viking name would be Magnus. |
The biggest attraction in Waterford is undoubtedly Waterford Crystal. Originally active several hundred years ago, Waterford Crystal became known as some of the highest quality etched crystal in the world. For €13.50, you can join a tour of the factory to learn all about the history and craftsmanship that goes into making some of these pieces. You can watch the master craftsmen blowing crystal into bowls or other shapes (depending on what they are making on the day); see the quality control area where the crystal is checked; and watch the engravers and etchers designing and perfecting patterns on the crystal pieces by hand. It really is a fantastic little tour.
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| You could spend a lot of money at Waterford Crystal, if you chose to do so. |
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| Blowing the crystal glob into a bowl shape. |
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| Shaping the bowl before allowing it to cool. |
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| Holding (a practice / rejected) NFL trophy ball. |
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| NFL and NBA trophies (practice / rejected models). |
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| Incredibly intricate design work on the trophy pieces. |
After the tour, we went for a wander through Waterford to find a good place for lunch. There was an abundance of cafe's and small shops, but we would have preferred a nice Irish pub. I guess the flaw in always looking for this is that the Irish are just as multi-culturally-inclined as the rest of the world: they don't necessarily want to eat "Irish food" every day! This gives rise to lots of international cuisine restaurants, but that of course doesn't help us too much! In the end, we opted for Munster Bar on The Mall. On this day, they were serving up a carvery lunch, so that worked for us. For €10.50 we each got a large, full plate of meat and vegetables which really hit the spot. Washed down with a glass of cider (for only €2.50 each!), we wandered back out to the street very satisfied.
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| Carvery Lunch at the Munster Bar, Waterford. |
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| Munster Bar, Waterford. |
As part of our holiday planning, we had decided to obtain the Heritage Ireland card which, for a set price, gives you free entry to a range of different exhibits across Ireland. Unfortunately, the main exhibits in Waterford are mostly from the rival group, Heritage Island, and so we skipped most of them (they are really just old, fancy buildings anyway) to go for a drive down the coast instead.
Our map indicated that the next major town was Dungarvan, so we drove for that. As it turned out, there's not a whole lot to say about this place. There's a castle and a large harbour; plenty of people around, but nothing too much to see as a tourist. So.. you can probably give it a miss if you are planning a visit!
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| Dungarvan Castle. |
Finally, making our way back to Cashel, we stopped in at Cahir. The most famous attraction there is the castle, which is Ireland's best preserved. And boy, is it an impressive structure! We got there too late for a tour, but plan to visit later, so I will share more about it then.
Arriving back to Cashel, we relaxed for a while and then decided to go out for a drink. Just up the main road from the hostel, there is a lovely little pub called McCarthy's. On walking in, we were greeted by the barman and 2 or 3 of the locals sitting there; such amazing hospitality here in Ireland! The barman had a good chat to us about some of the decorations around the bar, mostly to do with the Easter Rising in 1916. When I returned to the bar for a second round, I got chatting to two of the locals, and they were more than happy to suggest places for us to visit, especially in Galway, when we eventually get there. This kind of welcoming attitude is just not common enough in a lot of countries, and I really love that the Irish are like this!
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| Twilight over Cashel. |
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| Enjoying a pint at the local pub. |
The next morning, we got on the road just before 9am and headed for Kilkenny. Following the M8 and then some connecting roads, this took less than 1 hour. We parked down the end of Castle Road and walked up to the entrance of Kilkenny Castle. The building and grounds have a long history, and as much as it has been painstakingly restored to the condition in which it now stands, it was still quite an interesting tour to see how the well-to-dos of the time lived. Photography inside the rooms of the Castle is not permitted, so I can't show you the interior; you'll just have to visit yourself (tell them I sent you!).
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| Kilkenny Castle. |
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| Kilkenny Castle. |
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| Kilkenny Castle. |
From the Castle, we strolled through the town centre, down High St and Parliament St, finishing up at the intersection of Irishtown and Dean St. Along the way, you can see the old Courthouse, Rothe House, and a handful of churches and cathedrals. With a bit more time up your sleeve, there's quite a few things to see in Kilkenny, including some pretty coloured shops and buildings along the rows.
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| Local markets just outside Kilkenny Castle. |
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| Kilkenny Courthouse. |
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| Rothe House, Kilkenny. |
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| A row of pretty coloured shops. |
We doubled back, this time taking St. Kieran's St which is a lively hub of restaurants and cafes. After exploring the offerings on most of the menus, we opted to have some lunch in The Playwright. For a cool morning, they had a nice offering of hearty Irish food; I went for the bacon and cabbage while mum had the Irish stew. Absolutely delicious! Definitely stop in for a bite when you are in Kilkenny!
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| Irish stew and Bacon & Cabbage at The Playwright, Kilkenny. |
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| The Playwright, Kilkenny. |
We wandered back up to our car, taking a scenic route along the river and briefly checking out the craft and curios shop in the Kilkenny Design Centre. We had planned to head for the Dunmore Caves, which are about 10km north of Kilkenny. However, wanted to get back to Cashel to see the infamous Rock of Cashel; last admission there is 15:45, and it was already 1pm. So we opted to skip the caves and instead head back via Kells - a different Kells to the one we visited in County Meath. This one is home to the Kells Priory, which is a massive complex of buildings and walls built in the 12th century. A lot of the walls are still in good condition, so it is quite a site to behold. Just mind the mud and sheep "souvenirs"...!
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| River Kings, Kells. |
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| Kells Priory, County Kilkenny. |
Arriving back to Cashel, we made it to the Rock with about 30 minutes to spare before last admission. The tour began with a video about the history of such castles and religious strongholds across Ireland. We then ventured out through the wind and drizzle to check out the building. The south side of it was unfortunately covered in scaffolding at the time of our visit, but I guess restoration work is better than it falling down! There actually isn't a huge amount to the Rock, but you can't access anything above the ground floor, so that does limit it a bit. Still in very good condition, missing only a few parts of the roof, it's quite a foreboding structure. However, definitely consider getting the Heritage Card before visiting, otherwise it will cost you €7, which is probably more than the self-guided tour is worth.
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| The Rock of Cashel. |
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| The Rock of Cashel. |
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| The Rock of Cashel. |
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| The Rock of Cashel. |
Returning to our room at 16:30, we relaxed for a while (and I wrote this part about our day's travels!) before venturing down the street to Brian Boru, a restaurant and bar that boasts live music on Thursdays and Fridays. On entering the main door, you can go left or right; we went right which actually turned out to be the wrong way. This way leads to a casual restaurant which, while pleasant, was not where we expected to find live music. But we went with it just to see what would happen. First impressions: not great. Mainly because of the French guy who was serving us. He was dry and sarcastic and really didn't feel like he cared much for our business. But we each had a drink and relaxed in the corner, then went on our way. As we left, I poked my head in through the left-side door. This was the bar area! However, there was no sign of live music going on, but maybe we were there too early. Lesson learned: turn left!
On our last day in the south-east of Ireland, we woke to find the rooftops of Cashel boasting a light dusting of snow; how exciting! We had already decided that for this day, we would get going earlier and drive through to the Wicklow Mountains, which are just south of Dublin. The plan was to visit Glendalough, a reputedly beautiful and well preserved mountainous monastic area. Once a sanctuary to the self-imposed recluse St. Kevin, it became an important religious site over the years and is supposed to be extremely photographic.
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| We awoke to snow-covered rooftops on March 4th. |
We made our way to more-or-less the last town before arriving, admiring the gorgeous snowy scenery along the way. As we were leaving the town of Hollywood, with about 20km to go to get to Glendalough, we had to start climbing some steeper roads that were quite well snowed-upon. Unfortunately, our little Škoda didn't like this and the tires started slipping side-to-side in a desperate bid for traction. And so, we regrettably had to abort our plans for the sake of safety. Hopefully I will get the chance to see Glendalough on a future visit; maybe when I have a 4x4 or come in the warmer months!
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The road to Glendalough, and our Škoda's undoing.
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We brought forward our plans that were to follow the Glendalough visit: drive south to Enniscorthy and maybe Wexford to see what there was to see down that corner of the country. We arrived in Enniscorthy around 11am and parked not far from Market Square, which is roughly the centre of town. Our guide book had mentioned a few places for a good bite to eat, and one that appealed to us was The Antique Tavern on Slaney Street. We found it without much trouble, but it appeared to be closed. We thought maybe we were just a bit early, so we wandered up the road to what had been our second choice, The Bailey, and had a deliciously hot latte.
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| Delicious latte at The Bailey, Enniscorthy. |
Around 12pm, I wandered back to The Antique Tavern to see if there was any activity; the place appears to be in a state of hibernation! I had done a quick Google search while enjoying my latte; it appears that it's open as there was some recent activity on their Facebook page, but their listed website appeared to be offline. And so, I returned to the Bailey and we decided to just have some lunch there, both of us opting for one of their specials of the day, Slow Cooked Roast Beef. It was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious! With a free coffee for €10, it was a bit of a steal!
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| The Antique Tavern, where we didn't have lunch! The Bailey is the brown brick building at the right of the photo. |
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| Slow Cooked Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and vegetables. |
We wandered back to the car to continue on our way. Enniscorthy has a couple of things that might be interesting to see: the 1798 Rebellion Museum, which commemorates the quelling of the Irish Rebellion against English rule that happened just outside the town; and the Enniscorthy Castle. You can pick up a ticket for the two for €10, but we decided to prioritise our cash for other things and to see as much of the Heritage Card stuff as possible. From our guide book, we decided there wasn't too much in Wexford that appealed to us (sorry, Wexford!). Maybe on a different stay with longer time to spend in the area! We programmed our GPS to take us back cross-country to Cahir where we had seen the castle the other day.
Arriving around 14:30, we went straight inside (for free with our useful Heritage Card!) and commenced the self-guided tour. To be honest, the Castle is impressive from the outside, but the exhibits within are a bit lacking. You can climb a few floors through the various sections of the Castle, and there are some rooms with old-looking furniture on display, but there's no information about what that furniture is, and not much information about the Castle in general. Overall, it feels like an exhibit that's still being prepared. It's still a cool structure, so don't let me put you off if you want to go in and have a look around, but don't go in expecting too much!
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| Cahir Castle. |
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| Cahir Castle. |
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| Cahir Castle. |
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| Cahir Castle. |
After the Castle visit, we went for a bit of a stroll along the walk towards the other main attraction of Cahir: the Swiss Cottage. The Cottage was actually closed during our visit, so we didn't even walk all the way there. We just enjoyed the garden path for a while and then returned to the car to drive back to Cashel.
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| Garden Path towards the Swiss Cottage in Cahir. |
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| Cahir Cottage, as seen from the Garden Walk. |
Dropping off a few things in the room, we walked up to the Rock once again and this time veered off to the left to check out the Bishop's Walk. This runs down the south side of the Rock and towards Hore Abbey. We mostly went down this way to try to get a nice vista of the Rock without too much scaffolding; it sort of worked, but the scaffolding is still visible. Oh well! We didn't bother too much with continuing to Hore Abbey as the weather was starting to come back in (the snow of the morning had cleared to beautiful blue skies, and now rain clouds approached - so changeable!), so we took a few shots and then made our way back into town to the hostel.
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| The Bishop's Walk, Cashel. |
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| The Rock of Cashel, as seen from The Bishop's Walk / Path of the Dead. |
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| Hore Abbey, Cashel. |
Deciding to spend our last night in Cashel back at McCarthey's (since it was so much friendlier than Brian Boru!), we relaxed and had a few drinks. Next, we move along, passing by Cork and Castle Blarney before hanging our hats in Killarney.
Maps of our travels
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