We bid adieu to Chi, Tony, Lynx and Snuff on a rainy Sunday morning (can't believe I haven't packed any shorts!!) and spent the day settling in to Baltimore. Baltimore is a small fishing village on the southern tip of Ireland, known for its piracy past. It has a main square which, in what I believe is the right ratio, has 4 pubs and 1 shop from your essentials. They all overlook the Atlantic. It's a really lovely place to holiday and was very family friendly.

The routine we settled into was heading to the main square in the early evening for a couple of holiday pints whilst Betsy had a bag of crisps/buttons/colouring book/yoghurt/peppa pig on the iPad! (Yes, we are 'those' parents!) Patrick was happy out as long as he had people to look at and something to chew!! Bushes bar in particular was great. To paraphrase our good friend, Cormac - it's a pub that deserves your commitment; it's a place for a session! Alas, with a toddler and a baby in tow, we were unable to commit to Bushes this time, but we will be back I'm sure.

We used Baltimore as a base to explore the South West and on Monday, we headed off to Mizen Head, the most southerly tip of Ireland; next stop America! A comedy day of nearly but not quites followed! The drive there was beautiful, full of quiet meandering roads and twinkling sea views.

We parked up at Mizen Head and opened the car doors. I say opened, but actually all we did was undo the handle and the wind blew the door open!! The wind was crazy! The sort of wind that it is hard to stay standing still in, you could be blown off your feet. Hardy outdoorsy travellers that we are, we scurried into the visitor centre! The visitor centre contained lots of history etc but the main pull of Mizen Hsead is the iconic bridge across the gorge to the signal station that used to guide boats in these treacherous waters. Unfortunately, gale force winds and a double buggy didn't allow for us to get further than the viewing platform! (Secretly I think Ed was quite happy too as it was abit scary!!) We commiserated by having coffee and cake in the (warm, indoors) cafe and piled back in the car. (Ed holding the door against the wind whilst I plugged the kids in so we all kept hold of all our limbs!)

The next stop was Barleycove hotel. We had passed Barleycove beach on the way - a crescent moon golden expanse that wouldn't look out of place in the Caribbean* (*weather not included
*not that I've even been to the Caribbean!)
The hotel had a secure (safe for Betsy!) sun terrace overlooking the beach and was a great spot altogether for a spot of lunch. There was just one problem - they weren't serving lunch!! Their delivery had been delayed and the kitchen was closed!! Oh dear!

We made our way to Crookhaven which is a cute little fishing village and got lunch there. Ed having the first of his go to lunch choice here - chowder.
Success.
Until we picked Patrick up out of the bumbo. He had struck again in his new found hobby - the classic 'up the backer' nappy! (Just to defend him slightly, the poor boy is teething at the moment!) Cue the need to strip him, wipe him down, clean him up and dress him. The only problem being that the bathrooms didn't accommodate baby changing facilities; I'd already changed Patrick on a wooden shelf in the toilet but this job required more elbow room. There was nothing for it but to do a full poo change right there in the pub. Somehow we managed it without attracting and appalling the other eaters!

On the way home, we stopped off in Schull for a playground and an ice cream. We headed back to Baltimore after a fun day despite blustery weather, delayed deliveries and baby explosions!

The next day was much quieter - we strolled around Baltimore and headed to the restaurant at Rolf's for dinner. We went straight to mains knowing that a leisurely three course meal wouldn't really cut it with the small ones with us! We did surf and turf; Ed was on the steak and I went for hake. Both were delicious, and both children behaved brilliantly so we chanced dessert - which it turned out Betsy was very happy about. (I think a bowl of very tasty chocolate icecream helped!!)