Travels Unraveled

Slainte agus go neiri an mbother leather / Cheers may the road rise to meet you.
From Andrew Woods – a true irishman who sat beside me at a pub, He had me practice the Irish version. I told him how fitting this was as that’s how I started my Ireland travel blog. He typed it out for me. 🍀

Donegal to Galway

The Wild Atlantic Way is the coastal drive in Ireland that follows the west coast. In the northern counties of Ireland. The drive is much like the Causeway in Northern Ireland. We were on The WAW earlier on our trip this time we traveled Donegal to Galway.

And of course a few more distilleries, lots more pubs and the ocean beaches, cliffs and harbors.

The island of Ireland is ringed by mountains. This a unique mountain view.

Another off-hours experience, this time in a pub. The owner led us through the kitchen, behind a bar, into another hidden room, which had a small bar, men playing cards, smoking cigarettes, and drinking beer. In the traditional pubs, the bartenders are sure to place the beer name on the glass, facing the customer.

Seaside abbey ruins in Donegal. Surrounded by a cemetery that is well tended. Not a bad forever place.

What, Winter swimming? It wasn’t a warm day or warm water when we were there and there were a lot of people swimming.

Causeway Coast Turns into Golf Coast

The Causeway Coastal Route weaves along the coast of Northern Ireland. Such a beautiful drive with scenic ocean views, cliffs, basalt formations, beaches, villages, castles, ruins and golf courses. Including Royal Portrush Golf Club’s The Dunluce, which was home to The Open 2025.

By car, one can move freely between Northern Ireland and Ireland, without even noticing that you are traveling between the countries. There are still signs of tension between the two, for example Londonderry Derry is a village located near the western border of Northern Ireland and depending on who you are talking to it is referred to as Londonderry to show support of British influences or just Derry.

Sand dunes that the golf courses set on top of.

Portstewart Cliff Path part of the larger Causeway Coast Way walking trail in Northern Ireland.

Bushmills Not Just a Distillery

Back by ferry to Northern Ireland. On to Old Bushmills Distillery the oldest distillery in the world (of course with some caveats). Licenced in 1608. One of two distilleries to survive Ireland’s war for independence, America’ prohibition and blended of Irish whiskey with no rules.

Bushmills is also the name of the Northern Ireland village. From the Old Bushmills Distillery website: “Without the village there would be no whiskey, and without the whiskey there would be no village.”

Full Irish Breakfast – Bacon, Sausage, Tomato, Mushroom, Black & White Pudding, Baked Beans, Hash Brown with Fried or Scrambled Eggs, Brown Bread or Toast – no lunch needed after that!

Bushmills pub bartender and proud maker of this coffee martini.

Berry Season and So Much More

All over Ireland and the UK there are blackberry brambles growing and ready for picking along almost every roadway and walkway. I have picked and eaten many along the way. They are also made into a sweet tart compote with red and black currents and strawberries. Served on its own or with yogurt for breakfast or made into delicious desserts.

Sheep, cattle, rock fences, hedge fences, rock fences hidden in the hedges, to the demise of many car mirrors.

Curling stone is from an island in Scotland, so many unique basalt formations.

And I had to check out Aldi’s aisle of shame, No purchase from that aisle but I did buy an excellent Scotch at a great price!

A Dip into Wales

The ferry takes three and a half hours from Ireland to Fishgaurd in Wales. Wales is one of the four countries that makes up the United Kingdom.

Right away, we noticed Welsh language on the signage (along with English, thankfully) and we are no longer using metric and the Euro. The speed limit is in Miles per hour. It took a bit to figure that out, so we held up traffic awhile but still driving on the left and very narrow streets.

It was notably drier and warmer than in southern Ireland. In Aberystwyth, a beach town where we stayed, it was 36 Celsius! Yes, they use Celsius. That’s around 97 degrees F with air NO conditioning and very few places with fans. Everyone who could be was at the beach, this is terribly hot.

Colorful townhomes line the streets in this area of Wales.

Rock formation at the Aberystwyth Beach.

No lifts and plaid carpet on the stairs in all the beach hotels.

Dinner at the pub, very nice. Hot and sunburnt folks all around.

A beautiful sunset from my room, we could finally open the curtains.
It did cool quickly at night.

Views along the water front. There was a lot of scaffolding in place around the water front. It appeared they were keeping up or revitalizing the area.

Castle in the background with the history of the area in the wall.

The First Pub. Wait, What? Didn’t We Just Do That?

Didn’t we just visit the oldest pub? Now we have the pub that claims to be the first. A check-in with the bartender to find out it’s the first when you get off the ferry at Rosslare, Co. Wexford, he’s offered with a grin.

Funny it’s also the last pub before you get on the ferry. Clever and only a few meters ahead of (or after dependingon your direction) the neighboring pub.

Fresh prawns and mushy peas from the neighboring pub.

There are many B&Bs throughout ireland. This one was just the Bedroom in a refurbished house, which had several guest rooms. Kitchen fridge and sink, and dining area open for use. Very nice!

Hard to see, but the owner of this guest house had a sense of humor. His property was gaurded by highly trained security chickens.

The rosters and ducks in the neighborhood helped with the very early wake-up call to catch the ferry to Wales!

The Blarney Stone Kiss

Over hyped and a tourist trap. But still a must IF the line is not too long and yes, the signs that indicate the wait time aren’t accurate. They well underestimate the time to the stone.

There are beautiful gardens around the Blarney Castle, which I wanted to explore further but needed more time.

On the way up, the couple in front of me came for their honeymoon thirty-three years ago. When there was no fee to park or to enter the grounds, no protective ropes or rails, no one to hold on to you and no one to take a photo for you to buy. They still stood in line but skipped the kiss!

The KISS was awkward. The stone was cool and wet. Why wet?

Not the most flattering of photos…but I am now bestowed with the gift of gab!