Wednesday 17th June
Our last day in Ireland and the sun shone for us.
I had picked Kilmore Quay as our last place to visit. It looked nice and it also had a service
point - only the second one we had found in Ireland. We had had two nights off grid and another
two to come so we needed to do some dumping and get some fresh water.
We went for a mosey round the village and had lovely crab
rolls for lunch followed by an ice cream then a wander on the beach to walk off
the food. We tried to explain to Rio
that it was the last Irish beach he was going to walk on, but I don’t think he
understood!
We relaxed in the afternoon before doing a short drive to
Rosslare where we parked for the night in a supermarket car park!
Jem had told me that Kilmore Quay is a charming, traditional
fishing village famous for its whitewashed thatched cottages, world-class
seafood, and as the gateway to the spectacular Saltee Islands.
I can concur!
It is probably the prettiest village we have seen on our trip and has a
proper harbour, not just a wall.
The waters swirling around Kilmore Quay and the Saltee
Islands are among the most treacherous in Europe. Known historically to sailors
as the "Graveyard of a Thousand Ships," the combination of hidden
rocks, powerful Atlantic currents, and dense sea fogs caused countless maritime
disasters over the centuries. The original name for the headland where the
village sits was Forlorn Point, a testament to how bleak and dangerous the
coast felt to early settlers. For centuries, Kilmore was just a small
cluster of thatched cabins where fishermen launched small canvas boats
(currachs) from the storm-beaten beaches. It wasn't until the 1830s and 1840s
that the first stone pier and harbour walls were built to give the local
fishing fleet a safe haven and create employment during the Famine era.
Many of the iconic whitewashed, thatched cottages you see lining the village
streets today date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, built using local stone
and clay, and roofed with straw thatch to withstand the fierce winter gales.
You can see the Saltee Islands but, as they are bird
sanctuaries, they are a definite no no for dogs.
The two islands sitting — Great Saltee and
Little Saltee - have a history that reads like an adventure novel. During
the 16th and 17th centuries, the caves of the Saltee Islands became a notorious
stronghold for pirates and smugglers who intercepted rich merchant ships
traveling between England, Wales, and the Americas. Following the defeat of the
United Irishmen Rebellion in 1798, two prominent rebel leaders, Bagenal Harvey
and John Henry Colclough, fled Wexford and hid in a remote sea cave on the
Great Saltee Island. They were eventually betrayed, captured in the cave,
brought to Wexford town, and executed. The site is still known today as
Harvey's Cave.
Today’s legend is about the King of the Saltees and, in
fact, is true.
In modern history, the islands are famous for an eccentric
and wonderful tale of independence. In 1943, a Wexford native named Michael
Neale purchased the Saltee Islands. As a young boy, he had made a solemn
promise to his mother that he would one day own the islands and become their
king. In 1956, he officially crowned himself Prince Michael I of the
Saltees in an elaborate ceremony on the island, complete with a custom-made
crown, robes, and a coat of arms. He planted thousands of trees, declared the
islands an absolute sanctuary for nesting seabirds, and even erected a stone
throne on the Great Saltee that remains to this day. His family still owns the
islands and maintains his conservation legacy, keeping them open for
day-trippers to enjoy the wildlife.
The What3words for Wednesday was
https://w3w.co/inhibited.revenge.twinkled
Thursday 18th June
That was probably one of the worst nights ever! 3 motorhomes, 3 campervans and 18 truck
tractor units, the drivers of which seemed to think that it was reasonable to
run their engines on and off all night. The road was also very busy. I’m not joking when I say I got 2 hours
sleep.
We were on road at 7am for our 5 minute journey to the
port. The check in process was simple
and we were soon onboard and in our dog friendly cabin.
The ferry left spot on time - 8.15am, and it was a
relatively smooth crossing though there was some fog around. We arrived in
Fishguard about 11.30 (15 minutes early) but were almost the last vehicle off
the ship at midday.
I’d found a park up a few minutes from the port. Richard had
some lunch and I took Rio for a nice off lead walk down a lovely footpath.
Our next destination was to spend the night with an old
boating friend who lives near Swindon.
We spent a really lovely evening with James catching
up. Rio loved the freedom of a garden
and spent a lot of time mooching about.
Friday 19th June
James cooked us a lovely full English breakfast. That’s both of our single friends we stayed
with, to and from the ferry, who cooked us a lovely breakfast!
We had a two hour drive down to Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire
where we were meeting the family for our annual camping weekend.
Once we had arrived and set up camp, we relaxed sitting
outside – a first in 6 weeks!!
I’m not going to bore everyone with what we did over the
weekend but we had a lovely time and returned home on Sunday, to HOT weather.
Our next trip is to the Loire in September so, hopefully, we
can catch up again then. Thank you for following
me 😊
2643 miles
2 countries
These are a few things that I specifically noticed about Ireland.
Every town has flashing digital lights with the speed limit
you are doing as you enter the village – brilliant idea.
Rings – the Irish love to make driving rings round places
they think tourists would like to go.
Jem tells me that while there is no single official government count of
"ring drives" in Ireland, there are 5 primary, globally famous
coastal loop routes. However, if you
include smaller scenic loops and peninsula routes, there are closer to 12 to 15
well-established ring drives across the island.
We noticed a huge amount of property for sale from small,
terraced houses in towns to large farms.
The west coast of Ireland has the most appalling road
services. Yes, worse than the UK!!
We, including Rio, just loved the amazing beaches in County
Cork.
I loved the bleakness of County Kerry.
The Irish seem to love their flags. Everywhere there are flags flying from lampposts,
telegraph poles and flag poles in gardens.
The flags seem to vary between the County flag and the local football
club!
Possibly the worst thing in Ireland, for motorhomers at
least, is the lack of rubbish bins. If
you are lucky, you might find a small bin with a tiny hole in it to put your
ice cream stick and wrapper, but there is nowhere for motorhomers to put their
rubbish, other than to go to a caravan site.
However, there is no rubbish lying around as there is in the UK.
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