Ireland Road Trip – Part 1

It is the Easter Holidays and we are hitting the road.

We have just bought our car (with extra seats for Granny & Grandpa when they visit) and we are keen to take off for a road trip – destination IRELAND!

We have a packed 10 Day itinerary ahead with overnight stops at:
Cardiff, Wales (Marker C)
Swansea, Wales (E)
Kilmore Quay, Ireland (I)
Kinsale, Ireland (K) (2 nights)
Glin, Ireland (P) (1 nights)
Portmarnock, Ireland (Q)
Newtown, Wales (T)

DAY 1: Bath, Cardiff

Before crossing the river Severn into Wales, we couldn’t resist a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a trip back to Bath (one of our highlights on our UK trip 11 years ago, along with Cardiff). 

Bath is incredibly picturesque with the river running through a series of bridges through the old town.

After a stroll along the river, we had a picnic lunch in the park alongside the river, opposite the abbey (the green bank in the photo above)

Not your everyday wedding car …

In the early afternoon, we left Bath and crossed the bridge over the river Severn, heading for our overnight stop at Cardiff.

We checked into our hotel and took a stroll through the castle gardens before dinner.  Spring was busy springing all about and the girls enjoyed the time climbing trees and playing in the gardens.

Sazzie being a monkey on the tree.

View of Cardiff Castle (just ignore the tall sky scraper in the background).

After our walk, we headed to the docks for fish & chips for dinner.

DAY 2:  Cardiff, Barry, Swansea

In the morning, the only sites on our agenda was to visit Castle Coch.  Again, this was a nostalgic trip – we visited here with Darryl & Vicky 11 years ago. 

The girls have been totally deprived of seasides since we left SA and it really showed on this trip.  Anytime we went near the sea, they braved the cold elements and went splashing in the waves, only to come out about 30 minutes later howling with cold.

The first of these stops was Barry on our way to our overnight stop at Swansea.

Colin striking his usual pose…

and the girls revelling in the waves.

It always fascinates me going to the beach in the UK – most of the sane people are in the jeans, socks, shoes, and jackets, and the crazy people are splashing in the waves in their undies.

In the late afternoon, we bundled the shivering, wet babies into the car and drove the last few miles to Swansea.  The girls warmed up quickly with hot chocolate in our hotel room and were good to head of for a final walk on the Swansea beach before dinner time.

DAY 3: Tenby, Fishguard, Kilmore Quay

The next morning was miserably wet and cold and so our trip to Tenby ended up being a quick walk fighting rain and wind and a race back to the car.  Sarah and Colin were jousting against the wind.

and CHAAARGE!!!

From Fishguard, we could see our Ferry waiting for us for our trip to Rosslare, Ireland. 

This evening, we were staying in the small fishing village of Kilmore Quay.

DAY 4: Jameson, Cobh, Kinsale

After leaving Kilmore Quay, we took a slow coastal tour and stumbled across ruined abbeys and castles along the way.

And then we happened upon the Jameson Distillery!  Now, we were not going to just pass this one by :)

Our last planned detour was the town of Cobh.  But this turned out to be very uneventful and with the wind and rain pelting down we didn’t even venture out of the car, heading straight on to Kinsale for the evening.

DAY 5:  Kinsale

After the miserable weather of the previous day, we woke up to the most glorious sight!  Clear blue skies and an unimaginable view from our bedroom window.

Our B&B below – our bedroom is the top left window. Not too shabby Nige!

(Link to Part 2)