Outward journey to Ireland
Monday morning, the 4th of July, we woke up at an indecent hour, around 4:30 AM. After packing the last things in our car we left around 5:30 AM for our 4-week holiday to Ireland.
Just after we left it started to rain. On the radio the mentioned heavy weather near The Hague and they advised people not to go there while we were on our way to the harbour in Hook of Holland, just south of The Hague, to go aboard the Stena HSS ferry to England. At 6:15 AM we arrived at the harbour but we had to wait until 6:50 before we were allowed to board the ferry. Aboard we ate our breakfast and in the shop we bought headlight stickers. The headlights of our car are set for driving on the right side and therefore they could possibly blind oncoming drivers in England and Ireland. After a successful crossing we arrived at 10:10 AM English time in Harwich. After leaving the ferry we were on our way to Wales for our first stay this holiday. Driving on the left was no problem; we've done it before only never in a car with the steering wheel on the left side. The road from the harbour has many signs saying you have to drive on the left side in different languages. Also in England we had very bad weather which started to clear by the time we reached Cambridge.
Somewhere between Cambridge and Birmingham we wanted to stop at a parking place to eat our lunch, but their
are hardly any parking places along the motorway with benches and tables. So we stopped
at a parking place near Birmingham and had lunch near our car. From Birmingham we
continued via Shrewsbury, Wrexham en Chester into Wales. When we drove on the coastal
road between Chester and Cowny the sky started to clear and in no time we were facing
a bright blue sky and we had to search for our sunglasses. After Bangor we crossed a
bridge to Anglesey. Immediately after we crossed the bridge we left the highway to
go to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the place with the
longest name in Great-Britain. The railway station was a real tourist trap, we have never
seen such a small station with such a large parking lot. After a short visit to the
railway station and the souvenir shop we continued our way to Valley where we had booked
a hotel to stay the night
The next day we didn't have to get up very early. After breakfast we left at around 8 AM toward Holyhead, only a few kilometres from the hotel. At 8:30 we could board the ferry to Ireland where we arrived at 9:30 in Dún Laoghaire. Once we were on Irish soil we head for Shankill where we had booked a guesthouse. It took us a while to find the Brides Glen Farmhouse as the directions were not very clear but when got there, we were kindly received by Ms. Stevenson. In the afternoon we went for a lunch meeting with the parents of Hillekes friend Deirdre who she knew from the time she lived in Ireland and who now lives in Canada. The Noland don't live far from the guesthouse, only a few minutes drive. We were kindly received and we had a lovely, extensive lunch. Around 4 PM we left the Nolans and Hilleke showed Arjan and Ciska the house where she used to live when she and her family lived in Ireland. We also went to see her former school in Blackrock. The remaining part of the afternoon we spent at the coast in the neighbourhood of Dúnn Laoghaire and Killiney Bay.
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains, a rough mountainous area south of Dublin, is an impressive part of Ireland. Our tour through the Wicklow Mountains started with visiting Glendalough.
This is a monastic community founded by the holy Kevin in the 6th century. The settlement expanded for the next 600 years. In 1398 an English army destroyed much of the complex. Most of the buildings that survived date back from the 8th to the 12th century. The round tower is one of the best preserved in Ireland. While we were walking around and visiting the tower, cathedral and church it rained now and then. One moment it drizzled and the next moment it was dry again. After a nice walk along the Lower Lake up to the Upper Lake at Glendalough we continued our tour and our next stop was at Wicklow Gap. There is was dry, but very windy and not very warm, about 10 degrees centigrade. From the Wicklow Gap we had a nice view over the surroundings. We didn't stay long because of the low temperature and the fierce wind. We moved on via Blessington to Sally Gap. There there was really nothing to do, so without stopping we continued to Lough Tay. From a high point we had a great view over the valley of the two lakes and the Guinness estate. And as the weather had cleared the view indeed was great. Via Enniskerry we went to a pub, Johnnie Fox's Pub, the highest pub in Ireland. There we had something to drink and we also decided to eat there. After a great seafood meal we returned to our guesthouse.
Dublin
To visit Ireland's capital, Dublin, we took public transport. With our car we drove to Shankill station where took a DART train (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) to the centre of Dublin. When we arrived in Dublin we walked towards the Tourist Office. On the way we came along Trinity College where we saw the world famous Book of Kells. This book, made around 800 AC by the monks of Iona, a largely illustrated copy of the four gospels in Latin.
You can only see one page of the beautiful book. Every 5 months the page is turned, so it will take you a long time to see the whole book. in Trinity College we also visited the Long Room. This is the old, 65-meter long, old library of the university with about 200,000 old books. In the shop we bought some cards of the Book of Kells before we walked to the Tourist Office to get some more information about the city. From the Tourist Office we went to Bewley's to have something to eat and drink. Our walk continued through Temple Bar, the entertainment district of Dublin, and to the old Jameson distillery. There we did a tour that ended in the bar with a glass of whiskey. For children there are soft drinks available. In the distillery shop wee bought some souvenirs, among which the 12 year distillery reserve whiskey which is only available in this shop. Via O'Connell street with the ugly Spire of Dublin (or Monument of Light), a 120 metre high stainless steel spire in the centre of the street. Hilleke bought some books at Easons bookstore while Arjan and Ciska took some pictures. Our walk ended at the Hard Rock café where we first had a drink in the bar before we went to the restaurant to have something to eat. After this dinner we walked back to station to return to Shankill.
Irish history: Monasterboice, Mellifont Abbey, Newgrange and Clonmacnoise
A trip through early Irish history along Monasterboice, Mellifont Abbey, Newgrange and Clonmacnoise. Monasterboice has some of the finest High Crosses in Ireland. From Shankill we took the new M50 motorway around Dublin and the northbound M1.
We had to pay a highway toll twice for this motorway.
After about an hour we arrived at Monasterboice. It was a quiet place, until a busload of Italian
tourists arrived. But luckily they also left very soon again and we had this place back to ourselves.
The Muiredach High Cross is one of the finest Celtic crosses in Ireland and it has some well
preserved biblical pictures.
Not far from Monasterboice is Mellifont Abbey (Mellifont = Honey fountain). Mellifont Abbey is the
oldest Cistercian monastery in Ireland, well that counts for the ruins that are left of it. The
monastery was founded in 1142 by order of Maelaghin, the archbishop of Armagh. Until 1539 the abbey
had supreme power. In that year it was closed and converted into a fortified house. In 1690 the
abbey was used by William III as his headquarter during the Battle of the Boyne.
From Mellifont Abbey we went to Newgrange. The signs to Newgrange were not very clear. It was already
very crowded when we arrived there. Actually we should have visited Newgrange first before Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey.
Now we had to wait for 2.5 hours to join a tour to the Newgrange tomb. In the mean
time we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch and visited the exhibition about Newgrange and the other tombs at the
site. The origin of Newgrange, one of the most important passage graves of Europe, is not clear. It was
build around 3200 BC and never destroyed by any of the oppressors. In 1699 the complex was re-discovered
and in the sixties and seventies of the last century it has been restored to its former glory. Around
December 21, winter solstice, the sun shines exactly through the hole above the entrance and lights the
niche at the end of the 19 meter passage in the tomb. During the tour into the tomb this effect is recreated
using an ordinary lamp, but for sure it is not so impressive as the event on December 21.
Every year there is a lottery and then 15 lucky people are drawn that may witness the event on December 21.
After this very impressive visit it had become rather late. We had also planned to visit the Hill of Tara,
but as Newgrange took so much time there was no more time left to visit that site.
The next day, on route from our guesthouse in Shankill to our next cottage in Boyle, we paid a visit
to Clonmacnoise. The first part over the M50 and M6 motorways we made quite some progress, but the M6 is still
under construction and when it becomes the N6 the average speed slows down. Around noon we arrived at
Clonmacnoise. This monastic community was founded in 548 AC by St. Ciarán and is situated on an
important crossing of (water)ways in Ireland. In the course of time it has been sacked several times by
the Vikings and other troops. The decline started in the 13th century when it became the seat of a second
grade bishop. And in 1552 it was completely destroyed by an English garrison from Athlone who only left
some ruins. Since 1877 Clonmacnoise is a national monument. The site, beautifully situated in a bend of
the river Shannon, has the ruins of several temples, a cathedral and also two round towers. There are
also a number of High Crosses. The ones on the site are copies, the originals can be found in the museum
in the visitors centre. After we had something to eat and drink we left after about an hour from this
impressive monument.
TIP: At Mellifont Abbey we also bought for each of us an OPW Heritage Card. With this
card many historic sites, gardens and parks can be entered for free. When you are visiting for at least two weeks
and intend to visit some of these sites buying such a card can be profitable. For more information see
https://heritageireland.ie/. Remark: This card can only be used
in the Republic of Ireland, not in Northern-Ireland.
Blackwater and the Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway
Near Clonmacnoise, in Shannonbridge, there is a narrow gauge railway through the Blackwater bog,
the Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway. With a small train you go through a small part of this
extensive, peat producing, bog area. During the ride the guide tells a lot about how the peat is
digged nowadays. Halfway the ride, the train stops and you can walk around over the resilient peat and
the train driver demonstrates how the peat was digged in former times, nowadays all is done by machines.
The railway is also used to transport the peat away from the area, peat is still responsible for
about 10% of the Irish electricity production. This informative train ride through the bog lasts for
about an hour and is a recommended tour when you are in the neighbourhood.
After this interesting tour we drove to Boyle to go to our next cottage. On the way we phoned the owner and agreed on the a place to meet each other. When we arrived in Boyle we only had to wait for a few minutes until the owner arrived. We followed him out of town and the roads narrowed on each turn. After a ride of about 10 minutes we arrived at the house. It lies completely isolated near a lake and in the immediate surroundings there is no other house to see. The cottage is only two years old and is fitted with all modern conveniences: dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, 2 bathrooms, 2 sleeping rooms, 2 televisions, a large kitchen-living room combination and another living room.
