Dungarvan to Roche Point

Another day trip to the south of Ireland, we went from Dungarvan where we had left of to Roche Point which is close to Cork. It was a beautiful day and it was very quiet everywhere now that the holidays are over. Some great beaches, ports and towns. Ireland at it’s best (so far)

Various in Dublin

Today was buy my kayaking stuff day. We started of at the Grand Canal Dock to buy a wet suit. We then decided to go to the pier that shields the harbor at the Liffey river. It is very long with great views from Howth down to Dalkey and some beautiful lighthouses. (I am always a sucker for those) Then we had a nice Thai lunch outside in Dun Laoghaire. We picked up the rest of the gear including a sit on top kayak. Then quickly to Loughshinny for a quick paddle before darkness. The best first trip ever……..I found a group of about twenty seals lounging on the rocks with the low water. 

Balbriggan

We took advantage of the first sunny day in weeks to go up the coast a bit. We started of in Balbriggan which has a nice little harbor but not much else. We had a beer overlooking the harbor and the big bridge and then went to dinner in Skerries where there was a motorcycle meet.

Skerries

Skerries is just a short drive north of Malahide where we live. It is one of our favorite places to go to while away a few hours in the weekend. There is a large sandy beach in the south with great views over the various little islands and Rockabil lighthouse. In the north there is a more rocky beach with a little harbor that has some restaurants with great views.

Warrenpoint to Killough (Northern Ireland) Part 2

After Annalong we drove on to Newcastle which is a very unirish Victorian beach resort. It is dominated by the The Mournes mountains which are just behind it. J bought some detailed maps and routes of hikes for me in the tourist office.

Then we followed the coast and ended up in St John’s point where there is a beautiful lighthouse and the remnants of the old church or hermits house St John used to live in.

After a short stop in the lovely village of Killough we drove through the Mournes back home. En route we spotted a field full of sheep and lambs so we stopped there. All the sheep and lambs started running towards us…….and bleating at the top of their voices. It sounded like the ‘loudness of the sheep’ and we moved off quickly to continue our drive through the Mournes mountain range. Definately going hiking there when I am done with the Wicklows.

Warrenpoint to Killough (Northern Ireland) Part 1

Today J and I made our first trip into Northern Ireland. When we just started we went up to Carlingford but never made it further. So today we started out by driving to Warrenpoint.

Our first real stop was at Green Castle which is between the Carlingford Lough and the sea. There is a castle there (that you can’t reach), a nice beach with a jetty and lighthouse. We absolutely loved it!

The next stop was at Annalong where we ate some lunch on the beach. In the little harbor we discovered really cool birds. They are completely black with partly white wings and very red feet and tongues. They are called Guillemots and apparently they go completely white in winter and are related to Puffins. They come to Annalong to breed only and they do that in the cracks in the harbor walls. They are incredibly fast swimmers under water. 

Dun Laoghaire (pronounce Dun Leary)

We went to Dun Laghoire today which is in between Dalkey and Dublin. Unfortunately it was quite rainy but a lovely day none the less.

We started off with a nice walk along the promenade ending in the freshly painted but abandoned outdoor pool on the seaside, There is a artisan food market in the People’s park there every Sunday. Some lovely food there, I had a sausage sandwich in honor of our time in Berlin.

Then a very wet and rainy walk along the pier to the lighthouse where we had an icecream.