Day 22 - July 28

Out early to grab a coffee and muffin before getting to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. Very interesting tour about the brewing of stout but to be honest I found the whole section (real movie footage) about the making of the barrels or “coopering” the most interesting. It is now a lost art but even as the company was transitioning from the wooden barrels to steel ones, they kept on the coopers and had them make useful things out of the wood until they had all retired. 

Home of Albert Guinness

We went up to the Gravity Bar to have our free pint and take in the 360 degree views of Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains. 












After this we hopped on our bus to get close to St Patrick's Cathedral again. We ate our picnic lunch in the park and then went to Marsh's library. This was the first public library in Ireland founded in 1701 by Archbishop Marsh. 

The library is exactly as it was 300 years ago. It smelled of old knowledge and musty books.  No one is allowed to touch the books but it was fascinating to see the books and the topics that had been written about. 




After some time in the library, we were back on the bus to go to St Michan's Church. A church had been on that site for over 900 years with the present building there since about 1685. The organ is still in use and is one of the oldest in the country. It is believed that Handel practiced his Messiah here before it was performed in public. Our tour started soon after we had wandered around the church and we were taken down into the crypt to see the mummies. 



The vaults with doors on them were off limits but those with the doors gone showed caskets lying every which way and you could see the skeletons of some while you could see the skin and nails of others. The bodies have been well preserved down there (300 + years) due to the combination of CO2, Methane and limestone. The bodies we could see had stories attached to them - the nun, the thief (missing a hand) and the Crusader who stood at least six and a half feet tall 300 years ago. His legs had been broken so he would fit in the coffin. All interesting but not for the faint of heart! Sorry no pictures allowed.

Back to the hotel to clean up and then out for dinner to a tapas restaurant. Really good food and a chance to talk about our past three weeks and the time to come. 
Back to pack and bed early for our early wake up. 

Day 21 - July 27

We were up early to get the car back as we had run out of time the day before and we were tired from driving in the rush hour traffic. Instead we traded late day rush hour for early morning. Needless to say, after we had dropped off the car we were ready to find a coffee!

Our first stop was the Kilmainham Gaol where we grabbed a coffee and waited for our tour to begin. There was so much history here that the tour guide was able to cram into the one hour tour. A lot of it covered the political uprisings of the people and the executions carried out by the government and then the executions carried out by people against their own people. Not an upbeat way to start the day!

We got on the hop on/hop off bus which we took for the next 90 minutes so we could have a better understanding of the city. There is commentary as you pass through certain areas or buildings. We loved the Georgian area - architecture from 1740-1830. These areas also included the Georgian Squares (parks) which could only be used by the residents who lined the streets there. Now of course they are open to the public. Then there was the medieval section. Hard to believe the shops, homes and buildings are still used from this time. There really didn't seem to be many modifications!

We were taken back and forth across the River Liffey, over the various bridges, all the while enjoying sun and wind on the top of the bus. 

Hopped off at St Patrick's Cathedral and gloried in the splendour of the spirituality and architecture of the 900 year old building. So much to look at - beautiful windows, stonework, history etc. Also it is the largest church in Ireland and has the tallest spire at 141 feet. 

From St Patrick's we went to Christ Church Cathedral.

 This is the oldest building in Dublin as the known records indicate it was founded in 1030. The cathedral is located in medieval Dublin. At one point in its history it would have dominated the skyline but now it is quite sandwiched among the more modern buildings. It's beautiful interior and exterior have been used extensively in many movies and TV series such as The Tudors.

 

Many of the actors outfits and dresses were displayed in the crypt below. The tower always had a bell but as years went on, more bells were added. In 1999, 7bells were added to the ring to make a total of 19 - a world record for bells rung this way. 

BTW ... In case you are wondering why 2 Cathedrals ... St.Patrick's is outside the old city walls and Christ Church was inside the city walls.

After all this history, we were exhausted and headed back to our hotel to rest and clean up a bit. We made our way back downtown to have dinner. We chatted with the owner of the lovely little Italian restaurant we had chosen and he presented us with glasses of Prosecco. 

Very kind of him! Next we hopped back on the bus for an evening tour of the city with live singing. 

Hotel owned by Bono and The Edge (of the band U2)

Back to the hotel at 11:00 just exhausted!

Day 20 - July 26

We had got up at 7:30am to see the cows being milked and although we could hear them and smell them we couldn't actually find the place to be. Instead we had an amazing breakfast in the dining room set up with a massive sideboard holding all sorts of wonderful things.  We wandered around the castle gardens after breakfast and had a quick look at the castle. 

Unfortunately there was something in it that freaked me out so I only made it to the first level. Very old structure with nothing remaining of its history in terms of what it was for or who it belonged to. 

 














Sadly we had to leave this beautiful place and get on with our date.  It was only a short 10 minute drive to our first stop, Irish National Heritage Park. 


This was a fascinating park with the smells sounds and structures from the people of Ireland from thousands of years ago. It was an open-air museum which recreated the stages in Ireland's cultural evolution. Our guide was awesome with tons of information as well as being able to bring the history to life for all of us.
 


After a couple of hours at the park and a quick bite of Seafood chowder in the restaurant, we headed inland toward Avoca, Laragh and Glendalough. These were beautiful little towns situated in the Wicklow mountains. We would drive down a road which was a in a dense forest and then come out into sunshine and rolling fields of different colours. All beautiful!



Glendalough is the historic site of a monastic village that was founded by St Kevin in the 6th century. The ruins were of several buildings as well as a massive cemetery still in use today. Of the grave markers I could read, the earliest date I could see was 1732.  






A lot of the buildings were from the 12th century. It was an amazing feeling to run our hands over these old stones. You could easily visualize the monks working the fields and moving to the church for prayers. The sun was shining and people visiting just moved quietly through the churchyard and oak trees. 






After that calm setting, getting into Dublin was a bit of a shock!  Of course we arrived at rush hour so it was busy. We found the hotel but it took us a bit of time to figure out how to actually get to it!  Once we were settled we headed out for dinner. We couldn't find anything that didn't have a long wait so we went back to the hotel and ate at the Bistro. 

Back to the room to figure out our attack on the city for tomorrow. 

Day 19 - July 25

We had a lovely relaxed breakfast as Chris was not going to drive us back to Anuscaul until everyone at the B & B had eaten. We conversed with a family from Buffalo who were in Ireland for a close friend's wedding.  There was a very good rumour that Bono was going to be performing at the wedding as the groom knew him and he had already been in touch with the bride regarding a song. 

Back to our car in Annascaul and we headed off under cloudy skies to the east coast.  We took a small road to Inch Beach which is actually miles long;  then continued to follow the coastline up to Milltown and eventually Killarney, Cork and Waterford. We were able to get a good map which would allow us to have a more scenic views rather than the Motorways would give us. 

Due to our late start, the day was pretty much driving – and through a bit of rain from time to time.  We stopped only once in Dungarvan to have a coffee and a slice of Chocolate Biscuit Cake which we later found out is one of Prince William’s childhood favorites. 

We arrived in Killean CastleGuest House around 5 pm down a small tree arched road; what a treat. 

The castle and manor house we are staying at in Kilmartin, are amazing!  The castle dates from the 15th century with the manor house being added in the 17th century. We were welcomed into the house by Kathleen who was the epitome of a Lady. She had her hair done just right and she was wearing a sweater set with her skirt. She showed us our room which seemed like such luxury!  There was a sitting area with a small couch, table with bottles spring water from the grounds, a writing desk and a divan! All lovely and old! I opened all the windows to admire the beautiful trees and the croquet set on the lawn.

As I was sorting out my luggage I could hear harp music playing. This is a working farm with dairy cows, crops and sheep. There was a lovely sitting room for us to relax in as well as a little nook with lots of information about the area. Everything in the home suites the style of the house but was very functional. Yes, I could live here!  

Dinner was in town at Greenacres restaurant recommended to us by Kathleen. I had a massive pot of mussels and then strawberry syllabub for dessert. Definitely making that one again!

Back to the house to explore a bit more but as it was getting dark we would have to wait to explore the castle tomorrow. 

Day 18 - July 24

We had a wonderful breakfast at the B&B before leaving this morning at 9:45.  Short as it was, Gorman’s Hilltop Guest house was such a treat, wish we could have stayed longer. 

Today would be our last and most difficult day of hiking on The Dingle Way … 25 km over the mountain pass, Mas an Tiompain or Masatiompan (763m / 2140’), which means “rump of the drum”.

It was a quiet and gentle walk through back country lanes, past many old abandoned farmhouses and many new, updated residences, sprinkled in the many green colored pastures.  

 

Everywhere you look, there are remnants of the life of old (pre-1900) ...you can almost see the generations of change as you walk through small country lanes.  At one point, we saw a beautiful new home, tucked on the side of a hill, gated property, with lovely landscaping. It appears the owners give the sheep a day off from grazing, to help out  with the lawncare!

We eventually made it up to a small parking lot which marked the head of the trail over the col (pass).  This is where things got interesting.  Essentially our guide said “follow the Way posts” which we did … for the better part of 2 hours.  The terrain was mixed grass / grazing area for sheep, with rocks and boggy areas.  At one point, it followed the line of an original military road, started by the English but never finished.  

The waters that flow down these mountains eventually carve deep channels through the soft soil over the rocks, which makes for difficult footing at times, and in some places very muddy.  Jenn lost her balance at one point today, and planted her boot in a deep bog of mud, which sunk to the top of her socks.  Not impressed.

The ascent leveled off a bit so we decided to take a break and have lunch.  

We had a very peaceful snack on our tarp, overlooking the Atlantic ocean and the terrain we had walked the past 2 days.  Incredible!  The was no wind to speak of and the sheep were off in the distance where we couldn’t hear them.  After our snack, we headed up the last 500’ to the col where we stopped to chat with a couple of young backpackers from Hamburg, who were heading down our side, in the opposite direction.

Glen was counting it down the altitude on the GPS as we neared the top, and anticlimactically ... we were there.  Jenn first as Glen had fallen behind talking with the other hikers.

Once we reached the top (2139'), we found an Ogham Stone marker at the top.  These stones date back to around AD 400.   Ogham refers to the alphabet used to inscribe the stone.  Unfortunately there are no details on this specific stone.  We took in the views for a short time and then headed down the other side to the North. 

Probably due to the opposite exposure, the terrain was a bit different down this side.  We descended a very steep section for 45 minutes, before things started to level off into a high grassy area – and bog. 

We carried on down, through rocks and bog, following marking posts and at one point, a very large yellow arrow painted on a massive boulder.  Eventually, we came to a switchback that led to a gravel road, that lead on for a few kilometers.  

At one point, we came upon 3 pyramids of what looked like bricks.  After closer examination, we think these were bricks of peat.  The sides of the hills looked as if they had been mined …huge vertical cuts into the side of the hills, which we initially thought were mudslides or other erosion.  Very interesting to see. 

We eventually came down to meet a lot of grazing sheep, some on our path.  This led into a more inhabited area … the outskirts of the village area of Brandon.  We decided to bypass Brandon and head directly to Cloghane, after getting some tips from a local resident. 

We arrived at O’Connor’s pub (the only one in town) around 6:45 … and had a well deserved pint and full dinners.  

It was only a short 5 min walk up to the Ridgeview B&B.  A long day, but very rewarding.

Km Hiked & Climbed = 27.2

P.S.  Jenn was amazing today.  She has battled these past four days with a painful ankle / Achilles heel …. I’m so proud of her.