The Rugged Hook Peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland

We arrived down to Hook Peninsula in Wexford after a three plus hour journey from Louth, into howling winds and hail from Storm Hector, and I thought, “Ah here now! What have I arrived into!?!” It feels like you are on the edge of the world on that peninsula. Luckily, when we woke up the next morning, it was birds chirping, clear blue skies and a little heat in the air (for Ireland!!) This day was especially good because my mom, and my sister and her kids drove up from Cork to join us for a few nights. Here are some of the things we did while on Hook Peninsula.

Hook Lighthouse

Hook Lighthouse was built 800 years ago and is the oldest operational lighthouse in the world. We had smashing views of the lighthouse that morning against the backdrop of the blue sky and the rugged Irish Sea.

You can actually take a tour of the lighthouse but our crew had more fun exploring the rocks and pools under the lighthouse.

And then Gran tried to show her American granddaughter how to play rugby…..or at least her version of rugby….

Sandeel Bay

There was a lovely little sheltered beach called Sandeel Bay Beach right by our holiday home. It was evening time when we arrived and the tide was in so the beach was not accessible for us. The cousins didn’t care in the slightest as there was a sliver of sand at the top of the bay that they were able to play on. The world’s most expensive buckets and spades came in handy yet again!

Lotus Hall

There are ruins and abandoned houses and manors all over this part of the country, and I wondered what stories each one could tell. A random field hid what looked like the wall of a tower.

And as you round a corner another sudden, dilapidated, forgotten house greets you. So it came as no surprise to learn that Ireland’s most haunted house is on Hook Peninsula.

Lotus Hall is a sight to behold and it’s desolation and loneliness can be felt from far away.

I decided to take the forty five minute tour sans kids and I’m really glad I did. The tour guide ensured he kept it interesting by leading us into dark, spooky rooms and telling the Loftus story with the aid of lighting and pyrotechnics. The nine year old that was part of our small tour group was literally whimpering and burying her head in her mom’s shoulder. The house has had many owners and each owner has befallen some kind of tragic fate. The last owner dissapeared in the late 1990’s and was ‘found’ two years later in an English nursing home. When asked why she suddenly left and didn’t tell anyone, she replied, “The House told me it was time to leave.” The guide highlights facts like the house was inherited by the Loftus Family in 1666, and that there are 9 windows at the top, in the middle and on the bottom. Turn 999 upside down and….you get the idea!

You are not allowed to take photos while inside the house which is a shame. There is a magnificent staircase in the house, sister to the staircase in the Titanic, and the staircase at the Pope’s house. (Do you call it the Pope’s house??? Or palace? Or residence?) There is no way I would be able for the night time Lock In that happens once a month.

A movie was made about the house last year and will be shown in theatres soon. Not sure I’ll be watching it….. scary movies like this one mean I don’t sleep for weeks.

D loved photographing me holding up traffic trying to take a photo of Loftus Hall and booking it back to my car.

Templetown Church

Speaking of ruins, we ate at Templers Inn the first evening and there were some pretty cool ruins of Templetown Church across the way. Coincidentally Templers Inn had some of the best fish and chips (breaded monkfish) I have ever had! The church sits on a graveyard overlooking the sea.

Tintern Abbey and Gardens.

As far as abbey ruins go, these ones feel pretty restored. FYI- the place does not feel the most kid friendly. We grabbed a cuppa in the tearooms and it felt a little like we were being ‘watched over’ with the littles. So we decided not to go in and instead take a stroll around the vast, winding gardens.

We came across the old ruins of the gardeners house. The gardens are huge- I am in awe of the job he must have had!

Duncannon

This little village has a lot going for it. There is a vast windy beach, where the cousins built yet more castles for a little while.

D took her two home for a nap and mom and I took my littles for a ramble. We discovered Duncannon Fort.

The fort was closed on this particular day, but we met two donkeys which delighted the kids. They called them Harry and Sally.

There’s also a lovely little harbor at the end of the village.

A fabulous two nights in Wexford! As I pulled back into Cork, I checked the odometer. 2207 kilometers clocked around Ireland in the last sixteen days. An absolutely brilliant trip!

County Antrim and County Derry, Northern Ireland: My Happy Place!

My dad always says that when he wins the loto, he will buy his second home in The Isle of Palms in South Carolina. Can’t say I blame him- it’s a beautiful part of the world. This weekend, I found my ‘loto home’ location. It’s in Portballintrae, Co Antrim!

This place, as well as Northern Ireland in general, is STUN-NING! When we visited Slovenia a couple of months ago, I thought, “This is it! Nothing can beat the beauty of this country.” Who knew that I would be proven wrong by a corner of my own home country! County Antrim and County Derry were spectacular. It helped that we had good weather for our four nights there and our Airbnb was fabulous. Here is the view from our living room window. The Giant’s Causeway is behind that cliff.

The view of the back was quite lovely too.

And when I lay on the couch after putting the kids to bed, the view from the skylight was fab!

Here are some of the highlights from the Northern Irish portion of our trip.

The Giant’s Causeway

Let’s start with the obvious one. I was not expecting much from The Giant’s Causeway as I had heard many times that it was overrated. Along with our talented drama teacher I have taught my Seattle class a play about the story of The Giant’s Causeway for over ten years, but had never been there myself. So with our house five minutes away, the kids and I got up relatively early on the first day and hit for Antrim’s main attraction.

…..and I LOVED it!! We spent two hours there. As expected, it was busy enough when we got there at 9.30am. It was heaving with people when we left.

I had told the kids the story of Oonagh, Finn McCool and Benandonner on the way down to the causeway and they were fairly certain they had found Finn’s big toe in this next photo.

Money saving tip for The Giant’s Causeway: The National Trust would have you believe with their signage that there is an entrance fee for the attraction. It is actually free to walk down to The Giant’s Causeway. The fee is for the visitor center and parking at the center. Instead we saved a bucketload by parking at the railway station three minutes away, paying 6 pounds to park the car for the day, and strolling down through the tunnel to the volcanic formation.

Who knew rocks could be so much fun!

Portballintrae Beach

The North really has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world! There is one tiny shop at Portballintrae Beach and, as I had promised my kids some buckets and spades, we took a wander in to buy some. There was no prices on anything and when I got to the counter and the lady charged me 10 pounds sterling for two crappy, plastic buckets and spades, I was fuming. I was thinking What A Rip Off! the whole way down to the beach….that was until the kids spent three glorious hours having a whale of a time digging and playing. Best 15 bucks (when you currency convert!) I ever spent!!

Dunluce Castle

We finished our first evening by taking the five minute spin out to the Medieval ruins of Dunluce Castle. These haunting ruins have a dramatic effect on the rugged Antrim coastline. It’s a really cool, unique sight that smacks you right in the eyeballs as you round an unassuming corner in your car.

Ballintoy Harbor

The next day we hopped in the car, headed west and saw where the day took us. This is where my Game of Thrones obsession continues. Last month in Croatia I visited many of the GOT filming locations. Little did I know that Northern Ireland has just as many, if not more, GOT locations. (For the non- GOT fans, sorry for making you trawl through my slight addiction! There’s lots more to come…..) Ballintoy was the setting for the Port of Pyke which hosted Theon’s return to his sister Yara and the Iron Islands.

The kids had a blast climbing up on the rocky dunes and looking for fish in the rock pools.

Kinbane Castle

Next up was the small but stunning Kinbane ruins. This is one of the unknown, quiet castles in the area sitting on a little headland jutting out into North Channel. We counted 135 steep steps down to the ruins…..which meant 135 steeeep steps back up the cliff! I thought this was an amazing gem to find- the kids, not so much!

Ballycastle Forest and Loughareema.

We stopped off briefly at Ballycastle Forest as it makes a cameo in GOT as the whitewalker forest.

Loughameera is five minutes up the road from the forest and is known as The Dissapearing Lake. Once a year, the lake completely disappears. We just so happened to be there during its vanishing time. Apparently this is because of an underground sinkhole but the myths and folklore surrounding it are much better. At this point, the kids were exhausted from the Kinbane climb and wouldn’t even get out of the car for me!

Next time I am hoping to get a picture of a full lake!

Cushendun

This is a small fishing village right in the heart of The Nine Glens of Antrim. It is home to Glenmona House and Church with a lovely beach across the road.

The kids met Eireen The Goat and fell in love!

Ok, ok….I’m not going to lie. The real reason we visited Cushendon is because this is home to the caves that Melissandre gave birth to a demon on Game of Thrones. They are called The Red Caves and are pretty small and not all that awe inspiring. BUT…..we found out that the GOT crew had been there the day before filming!! You can see the equipment in the cave photos. The guy that worked there seemed to think the death of a major character would happen at this location. Hmmmmmm.

The Dark Hedges

On the morning of Day Three, we headed straight for The Dark Hedges on Bregagh Road. This road was iconic long before GOT featured it, and last year was voted one of the most beautiful places in the world so I knew it was going to be busy! It is basically an enchanting avenue of beech trees planted in the 18th century by the Stuart family. Their manor is opposite the most photographed attraction in Northern Ireland.

On their own, the singular beech tree isn’t anything special, but a street of them and you have something visually stunning. The ghost of Lady Grey is said to make an appearance around dusk on some evenings.

And in keeping with the theme of this post, here is the scene GOT used The Dark Hedges.

Downhill Demesne and Mussenden Temple

This was one of my favorites to visit. The Demesne takes about an hour to walk around and is made up of the grand ruins of The Downhill Mansion, The Mussenden Temple, and The Belvedere Temple along with a walled garden.

The view of Downhill Strand Beach from the Mussenden Temple is spectacular.

This was the final GOT filming location we visited- Stanis and Melissandre burned the old Gods on Dragonstone here. (Couldn’t find a picture of this.)

After rambling around for an hour on the demesne, we headed down to the strand for some beach fun! Always a favorite for my two littles!

The Walls Of Derry.

The Walking Tour of Derry is voted the number one attraction on Trip Advisor so I had to see for myself. It costs 4 pounds and was so much value for money. Growing up in the South, there was something about The Troubles and the bombs on the telly nearly every night! In fact, when I asked my mom how come they had never taken us to Antrim and Derry before (my folks ‘dragged’ us all around Ireland every summer in a trailer tent when we were kids) she said, “Well it wasn’t exactly the safest place to come with kids!” Duh! Amazing how two decades of peace can kind of make you forget. This tour gave personal insights in to The Troubles in Northern Ireland, as well as the general history of Derry. Our tour guide Tony was excellent and I learned a lot!

We saw The Peace Walls of Derry…..

….the second most bombed building during The Troubles (bombed 12 times)…..

…..the parking lot outside the second most bombed building where the English army had a massive base!!…..

….The Bogside and the iconic murals of The Bogside…..

……and The Apprenticeboys building peering down on The Bogside.

An excellent tour well worth doing. Long may peace last!

Bushmills

On our last morning we took a stroll around the historic town of Bushmills. I am not a whiskey connoisseur so had little interest in the Bushmills whiskey tour, but I heard it’s supposed to be very good. Now if there had been a famous winery tour……

Northern Ireland, you have blown my socks off! We will absolutely be back next year. And then we will do some of the things we missed this time- like the Carrick a Rede bridge, The Gobbins cliff experience and Rathlin Island. Next up- County Louth!

Wicklow: Ireland’s Garden County.

Um- there’s a bloomin pyramid in Wicklow! More on that later!

And now we come to the portion of the adventure that’s just Mommy, Ro Ro and KJ traveling around Ireland. First up, the gorgeous county of Wicklow.

Before I get going, I want to preface this post. If you see me in a photo (that is not a selfie) and a head or limb is chopped off, it is because a four or six year old took the photo. Cases in point:

We had a whale of a time in Wicklow. I think it is the county that inspired many of the Irish fairytales and folklore. It’s a beautiful place with so much to do- we stayed four nights and could have easily stayed another three. It also helped that the weather was savage most of the time! Here are some of the adventures we had while in Wicklow.

Aughrim

This was our base and it was ideal. Our Airbnb was in the small Aughrim Holiday Village where the kids had new friends to play with every evening. The tiny town of Aughrim has won the Tidy Towns competition a few times and I can see why. The place is spotless. It’s a charming spot with lovely walking trails winding around the outskirts of the town.

Kilmacurragh Botanic Gardens

This place is gorgeous. We packed a picnic, wandered around for an hour and soaked in the sunshine. The Cromwell seized Kilmacurragh House now sits in ruins after a 1976 fire. Rumor has it a renovation may be in its future.

The good old game of banana phone is still alive with my two!

Brittas Bay Beach

Brittas Bay Beach is a lovely, sandy Irish beach on the coast of Wicklow. We went on a glorious June bank holiday Monday not realizing that half of Dublin would also be there. Rock collecting and burying each other in the sand kept my two very busy. They also took a dip in the Irish Sea.

Glendalough

No trip to Ireland, not mind Wicklow, is complete without a visit to Glendalough. The name actually means ‘the valley of the two lakes’. It has monastic city ruins right in between the two lakes. We got in early to avoid the crazy crowds (it was still pretty busy) and parked at the lower lake. It costs 4 euro to park, but entry in is actually free.

There are nine walking trails of varying length at Glendalough. We followed the pink trail which fed in to the beige trail. This led us to the upper lake, on a steep climb up along Poulanass waterfall and down past Reefert Church. All in all, a three hour leisurely adventure including the trip to the monastic city.

If you ask my two littles what the highlight of Glendalough was, it will have nothing to do with the cool ruins or the beautiful surroundings. They will tell you all about the sheep that ‘followed’ us some of the way.

Clara Lara Fun Park

This is an outdoor park for kids five minutes away from Glendalough with a waterslide, a little race track, mini golf, lots of playgrounds and outdoor water activities. The promise of this park after Glendalough was the reason the kids hiked so well for me. Bribery at its finest! Poor KJ though- there are height restrictions on a lot of the activities. This place is more suited for six year olds and above. You also need a change of clothes for the kids. I did not realize this and Ro was like a drenched rat in the back of the car for the twenty minute journey home. Well worth it though. This was the highlight of her trip in Wicklow.

KJ did in fact do the waterslide one time, but I was too busy yelling at him to hold on tight that I didn’t get a picture. He said ‘he almost losted his brain’ doing it so once was enough for him.

Avoca Village

This small village has a few things going for it. First off there is Avoca Weaving Mill where three sisters started a now thriving business in 1723. You can take a self guided tour of the operating mill. One of the workers gave my two littles some yarn and made their day! It really is the little things with those two!

Avoca is also the setting for the the 90’s Irish soap Ballykissangel. (Game Of Thrones, Eat Your Heart Out!)

The Meeting of the Waters is also in the Avoca Vale. This is where the Avonmore and the Beg Rivers come together to form the Avoca River. It is the famed place that Thomas Moore wrote the verses of his most well known Irish poem.

Greenam Maze and Farm

My two LOVED this place. Obviously enough, there is a maze. We spent twenty minutes inside it but could not solve it! Actually, we were lucky to get out again. Lol!

The farm itself is pretty small but the nature walk around the grounds has lots of beautiful fairy doors and a treasure hunt with clues that kept the two littles enthralled and at the end they got to pick a ‘gold’ chocolate coin.

There are also two small farm museums here. One of them had a bottle exhibit. I am a self professed history nerd and I could have spent a lot longer in this room if I had been kid free.

Hidden Valley

This was the one attraction that was way over-priced in my opinion. It is a holiday home park that has a few activities for kids, especially on the weekends. Alas, we did not go on a weekend. We got a playground and a nice paddle boat ride out of it though.

Kilbride Old Cemetery and the Howard Mausoleum Pyramid

This was one of the highlights of my Wicklow trip. The cemetery itself is tiny, forgotten and hard to find! The GPS coordinates for this place are close but not exact. I’m so glad I persevered though. The Howard Mausoleum Pyramid was commissioned by Ralph Howard, the Viscount of Wicklow, in 1785 at the height of neoclassicism. Eight people have been laid to rest in this pyramid.

Powerscourt Estate and Gardens

Yep- this one might have been my Wicklow favorite. It is one of the many grand mansions in Wicklow but it is the gardens that sets this one apart. Just gorgeous. Two glorious hours were spent here.