Ireland Day 12 - Dublín to Edinburgh

 We wanted an early start so we were at breakfast by 7.30 so a much calmer start! In the car and away around 8.15am. We were heading north to give ourselves plenty of time to do the scenic coastal route around the Mountains of Mourne. Motorway first and then a nice drive around the coast. We stopped briefly at Newcastle for a leg stretch and our snack lunch before moving north again.

Newcastle and our lunch spot

At another brief stop we came across the worlds oldest clubhouse! 

We had avoided one ferry but came across another at Strangford (area of natural beauty) going to Portaferry, surprising enough!

Then on around Belfast and arrived at the Larne ferry for 2.30 or so. The P and O ferry left at 4, docked by 6 ish and home finally just before 9pm. Happy to be home after a long drive, but we thoroughly enjoyed Ireland! Here is our route! 

Ireland Day 11 - Dublín

 We had a relax start to the day, but there was a chaotic breakfast at the hotel. Heaps of staff all working hard but to little effect! However still had a very nice breakfast and we set off on our Big Bus tour around the city. It took about an hour and a half, with a very good live tour guide - the driver! We enjoyed his craic! On his recommendation we went and had a coffee (yes, coffee) at the Palace Bar, a very pretty and atmospheric pub. One of many in Dublin I am sure! We actually took no photos on the bus tour as Dublin didn’t shine at its best from the top of a bus! 

The Palace Bar with a very dapper American gentleman! 

After the tour we looked for tickets for Book of Kells today but none available, so we browsed Temple Bar and the markets before getting on the Big Bus again to the Guinness Storehouse. We spent 2.5 hours there. A great tour, with tastings and some great multimedia and interactive displays. The final section involved having a Guinness in the Gravity Bar, a circular glass bar set atop the building. Some great views, plus Kay drank, and enjoyed, her first full pint of Guinness! 

We then walked to Nancy Hands pub as part of the bus tour for another smaller glass of Guinness and then got a Uber (as it was raining) back to dinner at the Porterhouse again. It was a good place, live music, good food, and beer! 

Ireland Day 10 - Ballybunion to Dublín

We left about 10.15 after breakfast with Tony and Mags. On Tony’s advice our first stop was Adare, a lovely traditional village but again, like so many lovely places we have found in Ireland,  traffic bound with heavy lorries right through the town. However we were seeking Adare Manor which is the venue for the 2027 Ryder cup. It’s a beautiful estate with a stunning Manor House, immaculate greens and a Michelin star in the restaurant. We blagged our way in, parked up and took a short walk around. All very beautiful! 

The Clubhouse Restaurant 

Padraig’s Golf cart from the last Ryder Cup

The Manor House itself

A slightly odd large bronze toy bear! 

And a much more real red squirrel! 

We then had rather a long haul on mostly quiet motorways to Dublin. We were heading for Brooks Hotel, right in the centre. It made the last mile or two a bit busy but the parking was directly opposite the hotel with a generous discount (40 euros per day and we paid 16 in total for our two nights there). The hotel was super, and in a great location. We wandered to the old Parliament and Trinity College, and then a light snack (on my part a fabulous Seafood Chowder) outside at the Dakota just next to the hotel. Afterwards we wandered across the Liffey, saw the Spike and then wandered back to the Porterhouse Bar which turned out to be a microbrewery where Howard found a stout that wasn’t Guinness. A surprise in Dublín! 

The Liffey

The Spire - built to replace Nelson’s Column, blown up by the IRA

Trinity College - where we DIDN’T grab our chance to see The Book of Kells

Molly Malone’s statue

We had a bit of a chill back at the hotel and then dinner in a Moroccan restaurant near the hotel called Dada - felt appropriate given the Moroccan disaster, the earthquake in Marrakesh. The decor brought back memories of 1984! 

Ireland Day 9 - Ballybunion

An extended breakfast and then golf at noon on Ballybunion’s Cushden course. The weather was far kinder than forecast although the wind did become ferocious on the last 4 holes. It is a lovely golf course and from our views of the Old Course it looks amazing too. We played at very reasonable members guest rates - the Cushden course €125 and Old Course is €300.

Home for drinks and lovely food from Mags, lots of chat, a Guinness Nitrosurge (heaven! says Howard) and a relatively early night.

Ireland Day 8 - Ennis to Ballybunion

 Our Air B and B hostess Louise left enough food to feed an army and insisted we use it, so had a nice relaxed breakfast in her house. And so we went back to the Cliffs of Mohar for another go and found that they were indeed fog free, if not fully cloud free. Although quite impressive we are rather spoilt for cliffs from visits to Orkney thus we’ve were somewhat underwhelmed! However we enjoyed the walks along the cliffs and the views. 

Finally a clear view of the Aran Islands from the Cliffs

And finally the most useless viewing tower for which we queued. Nothing to be seen between the too high parapet. Don’t bother anyone! 

We then headed south looking for a bite of lunch before getting the ferry and onwards to Ballybunion. On the way we stumbled across Trump’s golf course in Ireland at Doonbeg. We spoke to the concierge at the gate who invited us to go in for a bit to eat. However it didn’t appeal so after a quick look round we left

We stopped at Kilkeee for a possible lunch spot but we decided instead to get some takeaway salad and quiche so that we could make the 2:30 ferry from Killimer to Tarbert. We arrived at the ferry and simple just queued up and waited for the ferry to arrive. We had our picnic lunch quickly at the harbour and drove on the ferry when told. It was €23 for a single 20 minute crossing - there’s clearly no road equivalent tariff here! 

The other identical ferry

See from the ferry, Moneypoint is Erie’s largest electricity generation station, is coal-fired,  is one of the largest capital projects at £700 million and is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The plan is to replace coal-fired generation with low carbon and renewable technologies by 2025. Hence the 3 large turbines?

It was really lovely to see Mags and Tony in Ballybunion. After a cup of tea and a catch up they took us on an explore of their beautiful cliffs, only 1 minutes walk from their door. Tony was keen for a swim so we all went for a dip in the sea at Ladies Beach! The weather was gorgeous, the water was bearable and lovely when you finally got in! 

There was golf to be watched on the TV - the Irish Open from Dublin appropriately - a gin and tonic and then a lovely stroll into town to McMunns Bar for some lovely food and great live music.