The BBC has been asking where do climate change protesters go on holiday? Well this one went to Ireland by ferry. We stayed at my dad's house near Abbeyfeale (thanks, dad). He has an old stone-built cottage set in 2 1/2 acres with stunning views of the Mullaghareik mountains, where he gets to watch swallows and hooded crows, wild hares and pheasants, and gets nettled when I point out there's good eating on some of those. He isn't connected to mains water, but when he turns on his taps he gets spring water that rises on his own land. He isn't served by mains gas, either, nor does his rubbish get collected so he has to be careful about what waste he produces.
Unfortunately it rained every day we were there. We braved the weather to visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. It's a fabulous place to visit - they have restored the 15th century castle there, and recreated lots of 19th century dwellings such as a fisherman's cottage, or a wealthy farmer's house. There is also a 19th century street recreated with a sweet shop, drapers' shop, pub etc. I especially enjoyed the walled gardens and the watermills.
We had better luck with the weather at Craggaunowen, which goes back further to prehistoric times. It has recreations of neolithic 
dwellings, including a ring fort with a souterrain (underground storage for food and valuables), which provided the highlight of the whole trip. Ed spotted a small cluster of bats roosting in there, and we got to watch them from extremely close up. I don't know what's going to happen to them now, as I believe they are protected in Eire as they are here in the UK. Either they'll have to be moved, I guess, or the souterrain closed to the public. Either way we were extremely fortunate to see them.
dwellings, including a ring fort with a souterrain (underground storage for food and valuables), which provided the highlight of the whole trip. Ed spotted a small cluster of bats roosting in there, and we got to watch them from extremely close up. I don't know what's going to happen to them now, as I believe they are protected in Eire as they are here in the UK. Either they'll have to be moved, I guess, or the souterrain closed to the public. Either way we were extremely fortunate to see them.
We also visited King John's Castle in Limerick and saw a trebuchet being fired, went swimming in Tralee Aquadome, the kids played in a den with a rope swing my sister Steph had made the week before among dad's hedgerow, I played traditional music with my sister, Lindsey, who was there at the same time, and we enjoyed cooked Irish breakfasts every day, and delicious home-cooked food every evening. Even the mini-bar was free. It beat staying in a B&B hands down.
5 comments:
Fabulous to have you back. It looks as though you had a great time in some beautiful places, even if it did rain. I hope the fruit flies are subsiding!
Ah, wow - do they still do medieval banquets at Bunratty? I was at one in the 80s - everyone in costume (provided), bones-over-the-shoulders time, and two big wolfhounds who picked everything up off the floor and carried it away. Ab fab.
it sounds like you had loads of fun! I wondered exactly why the bats should have to be eliminated. In the case of my attic, it is their droppings which harbour a toxic mold, that had me alarmed, so landlord notified, the pest-control people came and sealed all the access points, leaving only two exits...after a while, all bats having moved out, the exit points also were sealed up. Now I just have to worry about mice, squirrels, black birds, raccoons and bears -- oh and spiders which are not harmful but leave a mess of droppings all around my back door!
The bats need to be protected, not eliminated. They can't stay where they are. The cave is less than 6-foot high cave and visited regularly by the public. I was worried that if someone accidentally bumped them and they started flying about, my kids might panic and get upset. They're in a bad location, both for the public and for the bats. I'd love to know what happens to them in the end.
Welcome back. Those photos are fabulous. I've always wanted to got to Ireland...it's definitely on my to do list and this wonderful account just makes me want to go all the more.
Post a Comment