Thursday 11th June
We were all awake for at least 3 hours during the night as a
storm blew in. We’ve encountered strong winds before in Kiwi, but this was the
worst! I got up to go to the loo and
check on Rio, his little face looked up at me as if to say “I’m scared Mum” 😢
I picked him up and took him back to bed with us. He settled down almost
immediately but didn’t sleep. It was scary, but common sense prevailed as deep
down I knew we wouldn’t blow over! (I
asked Jem if that last sentence made sense. This was his answer “Yes, that
makes total sense! It perfectly captures that classic mental battle you get
during a wild Atlantic storm—where your gut is telling you one thing (the wind
is roaring and the vehicle is rocking), but your logical brain steps in to
remind you that you are fundamentally safe and grounded.”) In fact, we were
rocking so much I actually felt sea sick!
The wind had calmed down by the morning but the fog had come
on and it remained foggy and wet all day.
Our first stop should have been at Altar Wedge Tomb but
there were three motorhomes parked in the car park without any consideration
for others, so we couldn’t stop. I was sad as it was one place I had wanted to
go. Dating back to around 2500–2000
BC, this wedge tomb was constructed at the transition point between the
Neolithic (Stone Age) and the Early Bronze Age.
We drove on to Schull harbour and parked up for a coffee. It
was a pretty harbour with boats bobbing around, I bet in the sunshine it would
be even prettier. In the early 17th century, Schull and nearby
Baltimore were notorious strongholds for English pirates. The deep, sheltered
waters of the harbour provided the perfect hiding spot for rogue fleets trading
in plundered silks, spices, and timber, away from the watchful eyes of the
Crown.
We continued on the WAW to Baltimore where we couldn’t find
anywhere to park as there was going to be a sailing event over the
weekend. We gave up in the end and moved
on. There were keel boats on their
trailers parked everywhere in Baltimore.
The boats were 1720s, a high-performance racing keelboat that holds a
special place in modern sailing history.
Designed in 1994 by Tony Castro, it was named "1720" to
commemorate the founding year of the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Ireland - the
oldest yacht club in the world. It was specifically built to bridge the gap
between fast, active dinghy racing and larger, more expensive keelboats. The 2026 1720 National Championships were
being hosted by the Baltimore Sailing Club.
We moved on to Tragumna where we thought we might stay the
night, but it wasn’t a very inspiring place, especially with the grey day, so
we had lunch and moved on again.
Our next goal was Rosscarbery Pier, where there is a park up
on the pier. When we got there we found
a good sized parking area before the pier so parked up there. We were sheltered under a cliff so we hoped
we have a quiet night.
When we arrived, the tide was pretty high with the water
breaking on the rocks in front of us.
Sadly,
I didn’t take any photos.
As the tide
went out the bay got bigger and bigger, and about 8.30pm we decided to take Rio
for a walk onto the beach with the ball.
We didn’t have the whole beach to walk on as there is a river that runs
down to the sea dividing the beach.
We
have found that is quite common on the beaches we have visited.
On the pier is a plaque to commemorate Thomas Donovan, his
daughter aged 12, his nieces aged 11 and 15 and his nephew aged 6. On Sunday August 4th 1957, a devastating
accident occurred at the pier when their car went over the edge into about 12
feet of water. Thomas's brother,
Cornelius, witnessed the car go into the water and immediately dove into the
sea, making desperate, heroic attempts to smash the windows and pull open the
car doors, but tragically, the vehicle submerged too quickly and all five occupants
drowned. A subsequent inquest suggested that Mr. O'Donovan may have suffered
sudden heart failure at the wheel, leading to the loss of control.
Doing my research for the legend/myth of the day I found the
following.
Perhaps the most fascinating piece of local lore is actually
a historical event that felt like a myth to those who witnessed it. On November
1st 1755, the massive Lisbon earthquake triggered a tsunami that travelled all
the way up to the West Cork coast. The water in Rosscarbery Estuary suddenly receded
completely, leaving the old quays and sea floor bone dry, before a massive,
quiet wall of water rushed back in, permanently altering the shape of the
shoreline. For generations, this bizarre "day the sea disappeared and
returned" was told as a legendary, apocalyptic tale in local taverns long
before people understood the seismic science behind it.
Here is today’s myth.
Clíodhna was a sea spirit or goddess whose voice could be
heard in the roaring of the waves before a great storm. Local lore places her palace nearby at
Carraig Clíodhna (a massive rock formation just down the coast). Old fishermen
at Rosscarbery Pier and the nearby strands historically watched the wave
patterns intensify when a sudden, exceptionally loud sequence of three waves
(known traditionally as Tonn Chlíodhna or Clíodhna's Wave) was taken as a
direct warning from the goddess to secure the boats at the pier and stay off
the water.
The What3words for Thursday were
https://w3w.co/resetting.disorderly.flaking
Friday 12th June
We were very lazy this morning, well maybe it was me that
was being lazy! We were in no rush as we
are slowing down a bit now.
Richard took Rio onto the beach while I jumped in the shower
and we were ready to leave at 11.30am.
We drove past Galley Head which is one of West Cork's most
striking promontories. Anchored by the historic Galley Head Lighthouse, which
was constructed in 1875.
Together with
the Fastnet Rock, it serves as one of the most powerful lighthouse
installations in Europe. The station famously played a role in maritime
history, witnessing the tragedy of the RMS Lusitania in 1915 and acting as a
critical landmark for transatlantic shipping.
The road to the lighthouse is not suitable for motorhomes so, sadly, we had
to miss it out.
I wanted to visit Inchydoney Beach but there was nowhere to
park a motorhome but we had already passed some beautiful beaches - the area
certainly has an abundance of them.
Inchydoney is widely considered one of the most beautiful beaches along
the Wild Atlantic Way - from what I saw I wholeheartedly agree!
We headed to the West Cork Model Railway Village in
Clonakilty which features a 1:24 scale replica of West Cork towns from the
1940s, with working miniature trains.
You can also catch a full-sized "Choo Choo" road train tour
into Clonakilty town. The site is not dog friendly and, as the day had turned
quite warm, we couldn’t leave Rio, I
stayed in Kiwi while Richard had a quick look round. Richard loves anything to
do with model railways.
We then drove to Timoleague Friary which was founded in the
late 13th century (around 1240) by the Franciscan order. The friary survived
centuries of turbulent history, including a dramatic expansion in the 14th
century and eventual burning by English forces in 1642. During the medieval period, the sea came
right up to the friary walls, allowing ships to sail directly into Timoleague
from Spain and France. The friars became incredibly wealthy by controlling a
highly lucrative trade in imported Spanish wine.
The friary managed to survive the initial Dissolution of the
Monasteries under Henry VIII, with the friars continually returning to the
site. However, its ultimate downfall came during the Confederate Wars. In 1642, English forces led by Lord Forbes arrived by sea.
To punish the local population and strip the region of resources, Forbes’
soldiers plundered the village and set fire to the friary. The fire completely
destroyed the wooden roof, the extensive library, and the interior furnishings,
leaving the stone shell that stands today.
We were amazed at the number of gravestones in the Friary
itself. In medieval and post-medieval Catholic belief, being buried as
physically close to the high altar or within the church walls was thought to
bring you closer to God and ensure extra prayers. Originally, only the ultra-wealthy
Anglo-Norman lords and Irish chieftains could afford to be buried under the
church floor. However, once the roof
fell in and the building became a ruin, the interior essentially became an open
public cemetery. Local families scrambled to secure burial plots inside the
nave, chancel, and side chapels, resulting in the upright headstones and Celtic
crosses you see standing directly between the stone arches today. Because Irish law historically gave families
an ancestral right to be buried in their historic family plots, people
continued to be laid to rest inside the friary walls well into the 20th
century. Eventually, the ground became
so physically full that it was impossible to dig a new grave without disturbing
an old one. To protect the structural integrity of the medieval ruins and
ensure dignity for the dead, the old friary grounds were eventually closed to
new burials, and a newer, modern cemetery extension was opened nearby to take
the pressure off.
We had chosen a camp site for the night to do the final load
of laundry before we got home. The site was lovely with old farm buildings
having been converted into toilets, showers, kitchen and a laundry.
We were warned that a large group of French people were
staying at the end of a car rally. They were having food and music as well as
presentations and it could be a bit noisy!
We had seen some of the cars a few days ago and of course I had to do
some research.
It was L'Odyssée des
Gaulois (ODG) Ireland 2026 Rally, a massive French tourist road trip featuring
about 100 crews who came over on the ferry from Roscoff to Cork.
The ODG is a light-hearted, non-competitive French touring
rally. The organizers prioritize cars that have "lived a little,"
focusing on vehicles over 15 years old with plenty of character.
The French crews love entering with standard,
utilitarian everyday heroes like the Citroën C15 van, early Renault Scénics,
and Fiat Multiplas strictly for the laugh and the sense of adventure.
The whole point of their trip is an easy-going,
1,500 km social loop around the Wild Atlantic Way, stopping off at campsites,
enjoying local pubs, and completing silly daily photo challenges.
The legend for today.
The very origin of the town of Timoleague and the friary
rests on a famous miracle layout. Long before the Franciscans built the stone
abbey in the 13th century, a 7th century Irish saint named St. Molaga arrived
to build a monastery (hence the name Tigh Molaige, meaning "House of
Molaga").
According to folklore,
Molaga and his disciples originally attempted to build their settlement a mile
west of the current site. However, every single day they laboured to lay the
foundations, the stone walls mysteriously collapsed into piles of rubble
overnight. Taking this as a clear sign that God rejected the location, St.
Molaga prayed for guidance. He blessed a candle, secured it inside a rolled-up
sheaf of corn, lit it, and set it adrift on the waters of the Argideen River
estuary. The candle floated peacefully down the current until it drifted ashore
on a distinct, sharp bend in the riverbank. On that exact landing spot, the
walls stayed standing, and the sacred foundations were born.
The What3words for Friday were
https://w3w.co/closely.halfway.item
Saturday 13th June
The French group were very good last night. The live music
finished about midnight, then we were entertained by some singing. Then it all
went quiet
😃
The group started leaving about 9am and most of them treated
us to tunes played on their car horns as they left. Some were excellent. There
was a little dog opposite us who hated the car horns and barked at each one.
We set off for Kinsale, the end of the Wild Atlantic Way. As
we have found over the past few days it’s not unusual to turn a corner and find
a stunning beach. Most have nowhere to park but today we found a car park at
Garranefeen Beach. Fortunately, there was no one behind us and Richard was able
to do a quick right turn into the car park.
We took the ball thrower and almost managed to exhaust Rio - not an easy
job!
We stayed where we were for an hour
or so before continuing our journey.
The last place to visit on the WAW was the Lusitania Museum
and Old Head Signal Tower. The tower was
originally built in 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars as part of a nationwide
coastal defence network. The ground floor explores the history of Signal
Towers. The first floor is all about RMS
Lusitania which was torpedoed by a German U-boat during WWI. Up some rather
lovely wooden stairs and you are out on the roof where you get a 360 degree
view around you - it was amazing.
Outside is the Lusitania Memorial Garden, which is dominated by a 65
foot bronze sculpture, it lists the names of all 1,198 passengers and crew who
were tragically lost. Also, outside is a
replica of the original wooden mast system used to hoist the geometric shapes
and flags to communicate with the next towers in line.
We didn’t go through Kinsale as Google was showing all the
roads in red. Whether there is a sign somewhere which says “well done you have
completed the 1500 miles of the Wild Atlantic Way “ or not I will never know!
We were heading to Charles Fort for our park up for the
night, but when we got there it was rammed with cars!
How dare they
🤣 We couldn’t turn round so ended up going
through a village called Summercove.
It
reminded us of a Cornish village which you wouldn’t dream of driving a
motorhome through.
Add to that a wedding
reception going on with all its accompanying cars. It was chaos and one wedding
guest coming down the road had no intention of reversing, expecting both a car
and us to go backwards.
It was not an
experience I would like to repeat.
As we got back into Kinsale we found some linear parking so quickly pulled in. We had a short wander round the town then waited it out until Charles Fort closed and the car park emptied out.
We set off to try Charles Fort again but it was just as bad,
in fact it was probably worse as there were motorhomes hovering waiting to grab
a space to park up for the night.
We also discovered a sports ground opposite with bouncy
castles and masses of people, so I guess they all had cars too. We pulled over to wait for a space to come
available. Finally, about 9pm we were
able to get completely off the road.
There was a fish and chip van so we decided to treat
ourselves to a takeaway.
You are not
going to believe this, but it took 2 hours to get our food. I had been queuing
for about 20 minutes when we were told that they wouldn’t be taking any more
orders for about half an hour. I went back to Kiwi for 20 minutes then walked
back to the chipper (as they call the chippy in Ireland). They weren’t taking
orders for another 20 minutes which turned into about 40 minutes. I was the
fourth person in the queue and when they got to me, they had run out of
prepared fish so I had to wait again. HOWEVER, the fish and chips were
excellent. The jury is still out as to whether the wait was worth it!
And, before you ask why I didn’t give up, it
became a matter of principle - we were going to have fish and chips!
Today’s legend
Over the centuries, numerous sentries, local caretakers, and
visitors have reported the sound of disembodied marching. The rhythmic, heavy
thud of military boots echoing across the central parade ground has been heard
clear as day when the courtyard is completely empty. Occasionally, people
have caught brief glimpses of figures dressed in old-fashioned British military
uniforms (the "Redcoats") walking along the high bastions at
twilight, only to vanish into thin air when approached.
The What3words for Saturday were
https://w3w.co/hugely.inkwell.governors
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