Episode 2

Finally it happened, we set off. Poor Heather must have heaved a sigh of relief at our departure although she would never admit it. Trevor, the cat will miss his back being rubbed, he liked that: David had seen a Landrover get together that he fancied attending so off we set to attend that after which we were going to head to Ireland for a few weeks.

One Friday afternoon in dismal but not wet weather we belted up the motorway towards the midlands, not exactly sure where we ended up but it was somewhere quite near Rugby. This landrover do was taking place in a field attached to a caravan park and we were to camp there for 3 night. The first night there was very few of us hardy souls here and it rained much of the night.

The weather didn't really improve but we did go out 'green laneing’. This means driving around narrow dirt farm tracks and through fields often with cows and sheep as obstacles. There was a great deal of mud and water and the car was barely recognizable by the end of the day. David did get some compliments for the way he handled the car through those conditions as he did as well as those with big off road tyres. We have just road tyres. One fellow slid into a ditch when he got a bit too close to the edge that then collapsed. He had to get towed out.

On the Sunday with the weather equally as bad we got a call from someone that wanted to buy the car David had acquired just when Lyn arrived in the UK. He had used it while the Rangie was out of commission. So we belted back down the motorway and returned to Arundel. The fellow bought the car and D more than covered his expenses on it. That was nice. Later that same afternoon we headed off again towards Wales and camped at Hetty Pegglars Tump, an ancient burial chamber that we’d camped beside last year.

Then we drove on towards Hereford and into Wales. Didn’t see any of those Hereford cattle, not any cattle, just sheep and crops: We followed the Wye valley up into Wales and to Brecon on the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park: A lovely part of Wales with steep mountains and fast flowing streams and sheep with black faces. We headed west to Pembroke where we caught the ferry to Rosslare in Ireland.

L bought a guide book called the Back Roads of Ireland so we are now exploring the country at a leisurely pace, thank goodness; don’t think my nerves could have stood too much more of belting up and down motorways, all very boring:

Followed a walking tour around Kilkenny and seen some churches and the castle and some other points of interest. Might have seen more if the map had been somewhat more accurate but due to it’s short comings we did come across an ‘Elvis’ garden which was different to say the least. I insisted on having my photo taken with Elvis. It’s a very pleasant and easy going town: We visited an ancient fort that although it doesn’t look much being just 2 concentric circles of earthen walls with 2 concentric circles of dry stone walls inside, the outer earthen walls are 4000 or more years old, going back into the Bronze age. It’s position commanded quite a view.

I must say that life here in Ireland does not seem quite as hectic as it does in the UK and elsewhere, it seems to move at a more leisurely pace and once it begins to get dark then the traffic seems to come to a stop, admittedly that isn’t until about 10pm, but then it’s not in a hurry to get going again in the morning being 9am before much seems to happen.

We spent a day in Waterford taking in the sites and strolling around the quite pleasant city. The city is one of the oldest in Ireland and dates from 914AD when the Vikings landed here and formed a settlement. The Normans arrived in the 1100’s and outsed the Vikings and a few centuries later the French Huguenots were given sanctuary here. So quite a history; often turbulent: The name is a translation of the original Norse name given it by the Vikings.

Waterford being famous for it’s crystal we had a look in the Waterford crystal showrooms and most of the items on display are magnificent works of art with prices to match. Back in 1994 when my humans were last here they did a tour of the factory. Since that time it has closed down and now re-opened under new ownership and extremely flash new premises. While walking around the town we came across another glass works and there we could stand and watch the artisan at work. How he shapes the glass and adds colour, it is very hot work and L nearly passed out in the hot workshop. We did get to see the raw material they use which looks like a small white pellet. It comes from Sweden. This workshop uses a lead free pellet, however, Waterford and many other crystal manufacturers use one with a lead content and the fellow here told us that the workers at those places are regularely tested for lead in their blood; it is one of the hazards of the profession.

Reginald’s tower is quite an historic landmark in the city. It overlooks the harbour and dates from the 13th century. As part of the harbours defences it had a cannon mounted on top and in one battle a cannon ball that was fired at it has become lodged in the stone wall, not far from the top and almost directly above the entrance door. The tower has also been used as a mint, a prison, and a military store, now it houses an interesting museum telling the history of the city.

A very pretty little town is Lismore with a lovely 13th cent castle nestled amongst the trees overlooking the river. It is the one of the seats of the Dukes of Devonshire and at one time Fred Astaire’s sister, Adele, lived here, she was married to a member of the Dukes family.

Lismore’s origins are much older however, St Carthage arrived here in 635 AD and started a monastery. The Catholic Church, although not that old, part of it dates from the 13th cent, is dedicated to this saint.

The countryside is lush and green, after all this is the ‘Emerald Isle’, with the fields divided by hedges or stone fences. There are fields of sheep, others of black and white cows, and quite a lot of horses too. No wildflife of course, apart from a few creatures that sort of co-exist with humans, there are far too many people for that. There does seem to be quite an abundance of birdlife.

Ireland once had vast areas of bogs; wet lands usually underlaid with peat. All but a small percentage have been drained for agriculture or urban development. There are a few that are now being preserved and we visited one, Fenor Bog. The wild flowers were ever so pretty and the bird song almost deafening. We looked for otters in the water and badgers in the woods but didn’t see either. We have been looking for otters at a number of spots where we have seen signs mentioning them but still not seen one. My humans are desperate to see some otters;

The guide book talks about the lovely golden sand beaches along the southern coast: This isn’t the sort of golden sandy beaches us Australians are used to. To Lyn it’s a fairly normal sand colour, and it is fine sand, but it lacks sparkle somehow, and certainly lacks hot sunshine and the water is icy cold. L is aware that it is not yet summer and has been assured that it can get quite hot, the sun that is, the water will get a little warmer but Burnett Heads this isn’t.

Along the coast from Waterford to Dungarvan it is known as the Copper Coast. There was once quite a number of copper mines along here and there is one old one that we visited. There used to be a narrow gauge railway line along the cliff tops that took the ore in small wooden trolleys to the port.

The town of Youghal (promounced Yawl) is another that was founded by the Vikings perhaps even before Waterford. The film ’Moby Dick’ was filmed here in 1954. No I can’t remember it either: Sir Walter Raleigh lived for a few years in a house in the town and is credited with introducing the humble spud (potato) to Ireland in the late 1500’s. In the tipping rain, me being left in the car, my humans went off to see the sights of the town and the house where Sir Walter lived, only to find that it was behind high fences and locked gates.

At Ballycotton, don’t you just love these names, we came across an old life boat that has just been rescued from rotting in some dock in Dublin and placed on a concrete pad here where it will now be restored. It was once stationed here from 1930 to 1959 and did quite a lot of rescues in that time. The ship and the crew were awarded bravery medals for the rescue of the Daunt light ship (a floating lighthouse) in February 1936. Good to see that she is going to be restored and kept in a place of honour.

In Middleton we stopped and looked into the Jameson’s Irish Whiskey distillery: There was a huge cruise ship in the nearby port of Cobh and bus loads of camera totting tourists from it had descended upon the place so we didn’t go in. Pity that, I would really have fancied a bit of a tipple though I don’t suppose L and D would have permitted it. L keeps telling me it will spoil my complexion.

In the port city of Cobh we saw that cruise ship, it was bloody enormous; and to think that the newer ones are considerably larger that this one – phew! The harbour here is one of the deepest natural harbours in the world. It would have to be to have that monster docked right by the shore. The town itself is quite pretty with lovely brightly painted shops all along the street facing the harbour and the huge church perched half way up the steep hill behind and dominating the scene. Cobh was also the last port of call for the Titanic on her fateful maiden voyage:

It didn’t rain for several days, in fact some days had been quite hot. The wind remains somewhat chilly so it’s a good idea to keep a coat handy. I have been wearing a bright green hat (seen in some of the pictures) it’s my leprechaun hat, I am hoping to make contact with the ‘little people’.

© Lynette Regan 18th May 2014