Irish Country Seaside

What do you think of when you hear “Ireland”? Rain rolling over distant fields of green dotted with white spots of sheep? Chimney smoke curling from whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs? Cheerful rosy-complexioned people offering tips about cooking potatoes? Crumbling stone castles standing sentinel on the horizon?

That’s exactly what we’ve found here. And, of course, much more.

We’ve started our time here in the southeast corner, an agricultural area sparsely towned and generously cowed and sheeped. Our little cottage (once the stables) has a coal-burning fireplace, a one-lane windy overgrown driveway, creaky floorboards, and a horseshoe above the front door. A haven.

It’s been a very different travel experience for us, having a car to drive and take care of. That one-lane driveway? The roads are not much different. (Why have 2 lanes if 50% of the time there’s only 1 car on the road?) We tried walking to Tintern Abbey from home one day and gave up within 5 minutes of tractors compelling us onto the “shoulder” of stinging nettle. So we’ve done day trips in the car to fascinating places.

First up, the seaside. Of course not everyone goes on holiday to Ireland for the beaches. But we did! We’ve had several days of simply playing in the sand, collecting shells, skipping rocks, and wandering along the ocean.

We also found the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world at Hook Head. The current structure was built 800 years ago, and has remained intact since that time. The walls are immensely thick, containing the spiraling steps that go up all 3 stories from one vaulted room to another. The last keeper lived there until 1996 when it became automated; guess I missed being hired at my dream job.

Afterward we went down to the ocean looking for seals (we spotted one from the lighthouse) and rock-hopped until the rain drove us inland. We didn’t find seals, but lots of barnacles and seaweed and fossils and caves and slimy red pillowy thingies (sea life is weird).

And we went to a 12th century Cistercian abbey to get lost in their hedge maze. (Really, it was quite difficult to navigate. It took us 30 minutes to get to the middle, and the grownups weren’t taking it easy on the kids, either.)

Talk about an evocative setting. You can just feel centuries of life stories oozing from the cracks.

We also spent a day at an Irish cultural center which took us through different periods of the country’s history. We walked from site to site, on a personal tour (no one else showed up!) learning about how people lived from first inhabitants, to early Christian monks, to the Vikings, to the Normans. I’ve decided I want to live on a crannog, a man-made island with no access except by boat or secret submerged stepping stones.

Plus we went on a “hike.” It was only forest service roads with very little in the way of views, or topography, or wildlife, or anything else interesting. But we did manage to find a windswept rock outcropping to make ourselves feel like it was worth it!