UK Roadtrip Take Two - The Ring of Kerry

22nd September


This morning being a Saturday, we decided to do the day I had planned in reverse, heading into Cork first to do some shopping before heading out to do a small section of the Ring of Kerry.


We headed into Cork for our shopping of the day, but not finding too many exciting shops or fun things to buy, we endeavoured onwards. 


The Ring of Kerry is a 179-kilometre-long circular tourist route in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. Clockwise from Killarney it follows the N71 to Kenmare, then the N70 around the Iveragh Peninsula to Killorglin – passing through Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen, and Glenbeigh – before returning to Killarney via the N72. "The Ring" is a popular day trip and numerous bus companies offer circuits during the summer months. As the narrow roads make it difficult for tour coaches to pass, all tour buses run in an anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise) direction, traveling via Killorglin first.


We were starting in Kenmare and driving up through Molls Gap, to Killarney before diverting off the ring to head home.  Whilst we were only doing a small section of the ring, the views and scenery were absolutely amazingly breathtaking.  This drive took us majority of the rest of the afternoon but we managed to squeeze in a quick stop at Muckross House and Ross Tower. 


Muckross House is located on the small Muckross Peninsula between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane, two of the lakes of Killarney, 6 kilometres from the town of Killarney. In 1932 it was presented by William Bowers Bourn and Arthur Rose Vincent to the Irish nation. It thus became the first National Park in the Republic of Ireland and formed the basis of the present day Killarney National Park. With sixty-five rooms, it was built in the Tudor style. Extensive improvements were undertaken in the 1850s in preparation for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1861. It is said that these improvements for the Queen's visit were a contributory factor in the financial difficulties suffered by the Herbert family which resulted in the sale of the estate. In 1899 it was bought by Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun who wanted to preserve the dramatic landscape. He did not live in the house himself, but rented it out to wealthy groups as a hunting lodge.


Ross Castle was built in the late 15th century by local ruling clan the O'Donoghues Mor (Ross), though ownership changed hands during the Second Desmond Rebellion of the 1580s to the MacCarthy Mór. The castle was amongst the last to surrender to Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads during the Irish Confederate Wars, and was only taken when artillery was brought by boat via the River Laune. Lord Muskerry (MacCarty) held the castle against Edmund Ludlow who marched to Ross with 4,000 foot soldiers and 200 horse; however, it was by water that he attacked the stronghold. The Irish had a prophecy that Ross could never be taken until a warship could swim on the lake, an unbelievable prospect.

Ross may all assault disdain

Till on Lough Lein strange ship shall sail.

The ships were built in Kinsale, brought by water to Killorglin and then dragged by oxen to Ross Castle. The sight of the ships unnerved the onlookers and the castle soon submitted.  At the end of the wars, the Brownes were able to show that their heir was too young to have taken part in the rebellion and they retained the lands. By about 1688, they had erected a mansion house near the castle, but their adherence to James II of England caused them to be exiled. The castle became a military barracks, which remained so until early in the 19th century. The Brownes did not return to live at Ross but built Kenmare House near Killarney.

The Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry

Muckross House

 

 

Ross Castle

Knocknakilla Stone Circle (we found on the way home!)

Knocknakilla Stone Circle

UK Roadtrip Take Two - Dublin to Blarney

21st September

This morning we were up showered, dressed, car packed and on the road by 8.30am, I was very impressed at us!  Our final destination Blarney, we had many stops programmed to stop at along the way!

First stop 2 hrs in, was Kilkenny. Here we wandered the town centre and visited the Castle.  Built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways, Kilkenny Castle was a symbol of Norman occupation.  In its original thirteenth-century condition it would have formed an important element of the defences of the town with four large circular corner towers and a massive ditch, part of which can still be seen today on the Parade. The property was transferred to the people of Kilkenny in 1967 for £50 and the castle and grounds are now managed by the Office of Public Works. The Castle went through major renovations and restorations to restore it to its former glory post 1967 before opening to the public, as majority of the wooden floors and roof had rotted away and the stone work was crumbling underfoot. 

Next up, and the main stop for the day was Waterford. Home to the House of Waterford Crystal, we  embarked on a fully guided tour which took us through the home of Waterford Crystal’s manufacturing facility. During the factory tour we heard and saw exactly how the stunning crystal is made. The Master craftsman demonstrated the traditional methods that are still used to this day as they went about their normal work day. 

After the tour we embarked on a browse through the Waterford Crystal shop.  Too scared to touch much and a bit too pricey for our budgets we headed out to browse the town shopping, before hopping back into the car and making the 2 hour drive to Blarney.

In Blarney, our accommodation was a converted cattle yard on a working dairy farm.  A beautiful new building we highly recommend, our host met us at the door and gave us the full tour before we retired to our little beds!

Kilkenny Castle

 

Kilkenny Castle Dining Room and Grounds

Kilkenny Picture Gallery

Kilkenny Inner Courtyard

Coffee and lunch on the go!

 

The most expensive piece in the store: Cinderella's Carriage

The only blue Waterford Crystal Jug in existance

The spare NFL Trophy!!

 

The Tradesmen.  It is a 4 year apprenticeship and a further 3 years to become a master in one aspect of the craft

The spare 9/11 memorial piece, the main is on display at the closest Fire Department to the site of the Twin Towers

UK Roadtrip Take Two - Dublin Day Two

20th September




This morning it was an early start heading off to Trinity College and the Book of Kells.  A little birdie (thanks Rachael!) told us to get there early as the queues formed quickly.  After planning a list of areas we could park, we got parking in the first and cheapest place I had planned for us and we walked into Trinity College with all the other students.  Trinity College, officially the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin.  The college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother" of a new university.  It was modelled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but unlike these other ancient universities, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes.
Trinity College is surrounded by central Dublin and is located on College Green, opposite the historic Irish Houses of Parliament. The college proper occupies 190,000 m² (47 acres), with many of its buildings ranged around large quadrangles (known as 'squares') and two playing fields.
The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, containing over 6.2 million printed volumes and significant quantities of manuscripts, including the Book of Kells, the book we were here to see!


The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created c. 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.


The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospel books in extravagance and complexity. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with Christian symbolism and so further emphasise the themes of the major illustrations.


The manuscript today comprises 340 folios and, since 1953, has been bound in four volumes. The leaves are on high-quality calf vellum, and the unprecedentedly elaborate ornamentation that covers them includes ten full-page illustrations and text pages that are vibrant with decorated initials and interlinear miniatures and mark the furthest extension of the anti-classical and energetic qualities of the artwork. The script of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The lettering is in iron gall ink, and the colours used were derived from a wide range of substances, many of which were imports from distant lands.
The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, which was its home for centuries, before being sent to Dublin for safe keeping. Today, it is on permanent display at Trinity College Library. The Library usually displays two of the current four volumes at a time, one showing a major illustration and the other showing typical text pages, and the entire manuscript can be viewed on the Library's Digital Collections Repository. Of course, with our track record in Dublin, an alarm had gone off within the exhibition the week prior, and as a result the book had been removed to the library's vault for evaluation and conditioning reports.  Instead on display was a very fine replica.  We were still able to see the exhibition and the long reading room in the library which were just as impressive. 
After finishing up in the library, we wandered out of Trinity College, and into the city.  We walked down the main street of Dublin and then back to the car through the Temple Bar District.  Here we found the typical Irish pubs with beautiful hanging baskets of flowers outside their doors. 
Once we got back to the car and had a snack, we piled in and drove out of the city to do some factory outlet shopping! We spent the afternoon there, stopping at Tescos twice on the way home to get dinner and then some more things we forgot!

The Book of Kells Exhibition

 

 

The Long Room in the Library

Trinity College

 

Temple Bar

UK Roadtrip Take Two - Dublin

19th September


Today was another day, and it could not have been worse or more stressful than yesterday if it tried!


We woke this morning and hung out at home for a while before heading off around town.  With my googling and planning the night before we knew almost nothing opened before 1000 here but we were still early to the first shops we went to!!  First good sign of the day, a nice person left a paid parking ticket in the machine for us to find and use!


From our little spot of shopping, we headed into the city to go to the Guinness Storehouse.  Guinness is synonymous with Ireland and no visit to Dublin is complete without a trip to the Guinness Storehouse – the Home of Guinness, or so we were told!

Located in the heart of the legendary St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, the site has been home to the Guinness Brewery since 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a lease for 9,000 years. The Guinness Storehouse building dates back to 1904 and is built in the style of the Chicago School of Architecture. It was once the fermentation plant of the brewery and is now a seven-storey visitor experience dedicated to the history of the making of this world famous beer.

The Guinness Storehouse is the Home of Guinness, where you can discover what goes into the making of each and every pint, and learn about the incredible brand history stretching over 250 years. The tale unfolds across seven floors shaped around a giant pint, which, if filled would contain 14.3 million pints of Guinness. We learnt about the age-old art of brewing that makes Guinness so distinctive; and were able to visit the Tasting rooms, a multisensory tasting experience designed to help you appreciate the distinctive taste of the iconic stout, from the very first velvet sip to the last lingering drop.  It was unique experience wandering through the storehouse and a fascinating tale of the process of how Guinness is and was made.  To finish off the experience, your ticket (if you are over 18!) gives you one free pint of Guinness to enjoy.  I had mine in the Observation Deck on the 7th floor, with some blueberry extract added to take away the bitterness of the hobs.  I definitely recommend going if you are ever in Dublin and definitely adding the blueberry extract makes Guinness that little bit sweeter!


After we finished here we went for a walk almost into Dublin City centre but not quite.  Might as well make use of the free parking at Guinness hey!? We came back to our car and departed the city centre, going for a bit of scenic drive around, mostly due my poor navigational skills and our lack of knowledge of Irish road rules (I'd just got used to the UK system again too!).  We finally made it out and headed out to visit the Irish Girl Guide Headquarters and shop, where Mum and I spent far more than we needed too!


By then it was late afternoon/early evening, so we headed out to the major shopping mall/retail park Mum and I had found the night before and had a wander through there, ending up in Tesco buying our dinner!

 

How they make the barrels

 

The Tasting Rooms

The Guinness Harp and Advertising

 

UK Roadtrip Take Two - Holyhead to Dublin

18th September

Today started off as normal, we got up and sorted our luggage into the car and locked up our little house behind us. We already know our original ferry had been cancelled due to the weather, and we had been moved to a later ferry at 2pm instead. This meant we had more time in the morning to sort ourselves out and do a bit of shopping when we got to Holyhead. 

We found Holyhead and the city centre with no problems and wandered around for a while before getting into the car to head to the ferry.  This was when I found out my phone had decided to go for a walk by itself.  Thankfully a lovely lady had found it and through a very tense 45 mins later, several calls to Australia and back, I managed to meet her in front of the Co-op and retrieve my phone. Thank God for honest people. 

This put us running a bit behind schedule.  We struggled to find a petrol station to fill the hire car up before returning it to the Hertz man.  We must have literally been the last bus load of people onto the ferry as they literally shut the doors behind us.  BUT, we made it onto the ferry!

The ferry was massive! Very nicely set out, with lots of different rooms and forms of entertainment.  We settled our selves in the bar in a booth with two cushy arm chairs. Unfortunately there were no window seats left, but we could see around and outside enough.  The first half of the journey was pleasant enough, the Captain had warned us of rough seas and you did sway a little when you walked around. It wasn't until the second half of the journey the sea sickness started! Let's just say there is definitely no career in the Navy for me!

Once we arrived in Dublin, it was reiterated to us that we were the last on, as all our luggage was the first to come off the boat! So we collected them all, piled them onto a trolley and went to find the Hertz man here.  But there was no Hertz man. 

Our car was waiting in the City for us to collect not at the ferry. 

And the City car rental place was closed.

And our Airbnb Lady was waiting at our accommodation to meet us. (We had informed her of the change of ferry time, however had assumed we could be there straight after we docked).

So now we had to catch a taxi to our accommodation, throw Nan out to organise that and Mum and I took the taxi out to the airport to organise the car.

Thankfully the nice ferry lady rung us a taxi (who took 45 mins to appear!!) and we were on our way.  We threw Nan out the car as we passed, and continued on to the airport.  Again, Thankfully they had an appropriate car we could use as the one we had hired wasn't there!

Mum and I made it back to our Airbnb, stopping for milk along the way and making several unintentional detours when we missed the turn offs and corners and finished a VERY stressful day with a nice cup of tea.  Sorry for the extra grey hairs Mum and Nan!

  

 

UK Road Trip Take Two - Beaumaris and Penhyrn Castle

17th September


We had plans today to catch the train to the top of Snowdonia, one of the highest peaks in England, however due to the weather (fog) and the decreased visibility we decided against it. No point going up if there is nothing to see!!  Instead we made the day trip out to Beaumaris and Beaumaris Castle. 


We dawdled out to Beaumaris, taking in the small towns, shops and scenery as we drove.  Beaumaris Castle was the last of Edward I’s great Welsh fortresses and was built to control the Isle of Anglesey. Although it was only completed long after Welsh resistance had been extinguished, it went on to play an important logistical role in the War of Three Kingdoms and remains a superb example of a castle built with concentric defences.  It definitely was a beautiful castle, with moat still intact and working today!


We headed back off the headland after our tour of the Castle, stopping at a little pup called the Antelope for some lunch.  After refuelling we headed out to the town of Bangor and Penrhyn Castle.


Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables. The present building was created between about 1822 and 1837 to designs by Thomas Hopper, who expanded and transformed the original buildings beyond recognition. A spiral staircase from the original property can still be seen, and a vaulted basement and other masonry were incorporated into the new structure. Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate on the death of his second cousin, Richard Pennant, who had made his fortune from slavery in Jamaica and local slate quarries. The cost of the construction of this vast 'castle' is disputed, and very difficult to work out accurately, as much of the timber came from the family's own forestry, and much of the labour was acquired from within their own workforce at the slate quarry. It cost the Pennant family an estimated £150,000. This is the current equivalent to about £49,500,000.


Unfortunately something we did not realise is that the castle rooms and majority of the grounds are closed to the public due to the Las Vegas film/TV company HBO currently undertaking filming! General speculation is, though no one would confirm, we were just on the set of Season Eight of Game of Thrones!!


After visiting the town of Bangor next to Penrhyn Castle, we headed home to start our packing for our ferry across to Ireland tomorrow.  Our original ferry leaving at 1100 has already been cancelled due to weather conditions tonight and tomorrow morning of the incoming hurricane, so fingers crossed the 1400 ferry we have been moved too still runs!

 

Beaumaris Castle

 

Penrhyn Castle

Walled Gardens at Penrhyn Castle

The scenic drive home!