Sunny Spells in Ireland: A Trip Report
Apr 10th, 2006, 12:22 PM
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Sunny Spells in Ireland: A Trip Report
We arrived in Dublin on a cold morning, April 1, after a short stop in Shannon. I'll start with our B&Bs.
In Belfast, we stayed in Allseasons Guesthouse. http://www.allseasonsbelfast.com. We had a large room in the back, which was nice because Lisburn Road is fairly busy. The bed was comfortable, although by the time we hit the sack, I could have slept on just about anything. There was plenty of hot water in the shower with a decent flow. You can walk the area, which has lots of places to eat, but central Belfast is not close enough to walk to, in our opinion. No hairdryer or tissues.
We had no reservations for our night in Londonderry, but lucked into Arkle House. http://derryhotel.co.uk. This is a beautifully restored home with spacious rooms. Upstairs is a small kitchen for guests' use, with a computer available. They also have wireless service for those of you who travel with a laptop. Again, no hairdryer or tissues. The hosts were very lovely, although we did have a bit of a problem with Sally's directions since her accent is very strong.
In Donegal, we spent one night at the Central Hotel. http://www.whites-hotelsireland.com/specials.html. We had no reservations but they were offering a room for 79 euros a night, additional if you wanted their breakfast. The room we had was no smoking, but it still smelled of smoke somewhat. Our room overlooked the bay. Nice large tub. No hairdryer or tissues,
no teamaking facility.
Again, no reservations when we got to Navan, so we picked a B&B that we drove by on the N3, Ma Dwyers. http://www.olddarnley.com/web/category.asp?catid=25. We found the room to be okay, but our view was of a concrete wall about 5 feet away. The dining room was lovely and sunny, and we had it all to ourselves. Margaret, who checked us in and cooked our breakfast, was full of information and offered to drive is into town at 8 when she was leaving. This is more of a business or hotel type of place. We were close enough to walk to town. The room had a hairdryer and tissues, as well as tea.
Our last three nights were spent in Gleann na Smol in Howth. http://www.irish-bnb.com/gleannnasmol/index.html. Sean and his mother Kitty run this B&B. Kitty is getting on in years but still bakes her own bread and makes jam for the guests. Our room was small with a full bed and a single. The sink was in the room, with shower and toilet in the bathroom. The shower was plenty hot but the water was not as powerful as we would have liked. No tissues or hairdryer, but this was the first time we had washcloths. (We had brought our own.) This is where I unplugged my hairdryer (I take my own with me, purchased on our first trip in 95) and literally pulled the socket out of the wall, much to my embarrassment. Turns out some electrial work had been done after another guest plugged in his coffee maker and the electrian had not secured the outlet very well. While this was the smallest room we had, Sean was far and away the most fun from the get-go, and invited us back any time.
In Belfast, we stayed in Allseasons Guesthouse. http://www.allseasonsbelfast.com. We had a large room in the back, which was nice because Lisburn Road is fairly busy. The bed was comfortable, although by the time we hit the sack, I could have slept on just about anything. There was plenty of hot water in the shower with a decent flow. You can walk the area, which has lots of places to eat, but central Belfast is not close enough to walk to, in our opinion. No hairdryer or tissues.
We had no reservations for our night in Londonderry, but lucked into Arkle House. http://derryhotel.co.uk. This is a beautifully restored home with spacious rooms. Upstairs is a small kitchen for guests' use, with a computer available. They also have wireless service for those of you who travel with a laptop. Again, no hairdryer or tissues. The hosts were very lovely, although we did have a bit of a problem with Sally's directions since her accent is very strong.
In Donegal, we spent one night at the Central Hotel. http://www.whites-hotelsireland.com/specials.html. We had no reservations but they were offering a room for 79 euros a night, additional if you wanted their breakfast. The room we had was no smoking, but it still smelled of smoke somewhat. Our room overlooked the bay. Nice large tub. No hairdryer or tissues,
no teamaking facility.
Again, no reservations when we got to Navan, so we picked a B&B that we drove by on the N3, Ma Dwyers. http://www.olddarnley.com/web/category.asp?catid=25. We found the room to be okay, but our view was of a concrete wall about 5 feet away. The dining room was lovely and sunny, and we had it all to ourselves. Margaret, who checked us in and cooked our breakfast, was full of information and offered to drive is into town at 8 when she was leaving. This is more of a business or hotel type of place. We were close enough to walk to town. The room had a hairdryer and tissues, as well as tea.
Our last three nights were spent in Gleann na Smol in Howth. http://www.irish-bnb.com/gleannnasmol/index.html. Sean and his mother Kitty run this B&B. Kitty is getting on in years but still bakes her own bread and makes jam for the guests. Our room was small with a full bed and a single. The sink was in the room, with shower and toilet in the bathroom. The shower was plenty hot but the water was not as powerful as we would have liked. No tissues or hairdryer, but this was the first time we had washcloths. (We had brought our own.) This is where I unplugged my hairdryer (I take my own with me, purchased on our first trip in 95) and literally pulled the socket out of the wall, much to my embarrassment. Turns out some electrial work had been done after another guest plugged in his coffee maker and the electrian had not secured the outlet very well. While this was the smallest room we had, Sean was far and away the most fun from the get-go, and invited us back any time.
Apr 10th, 2006, 12:44 PM
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What we did...
We started by having tea and a scone in the airport, then driving up to Belfast. We stopped in Droheda and Dundalk and walked around the towns to refresh ourselves. Right away, in Dundalk, I found the perfect gift for my son's good friend: a pink teapot for only 13 euros.
We were pretty wiped out by the time we arrived in Belfast, and getting lost didn't help much once we were off the main road. The rain began around then. We cleaned up and had dinner across the street at Ruby Tuesdays, no relation to ours here. I ordered pasta with chorizo, which was wonderful even if they put red chilis in it without advertising. DH had the first of many fish fries.
The next morning was Sunday, bad timing for us. We drove around Belfast but nothing was open until later in the day. We decided to head out to Portaferry along the coast. After a long time of looking at the map, we saw that there was water between Portaferry and the next town. Since we had planned on walking around the city, we didn't have any books with us to tell us if there was a ferry or not, so we turned around and stopped in Newtontowards where we bought a coffee and juice and didn't win with our scratch off lottery ticket.
We plugged on to Newcastle, a bustling little seaside city, where we had fish fries in Quinns. My whiting was flakey and tastey. Then on through county Down and the Mourne Mountains, where we saw two rainbows in between the rain showers. By the time we were back in Belfast it was dinnertime again. On Cambe's recommendation, we were going to try Taps, but they weren't open on a Sunday, so we ended up in Vaughn's, a pub down the road, for a so-so dinner. Musicians were setting up right behind us, but by 10 they still weren't playing, and we couldn't hold out any longer, so off to the B&B.
We started by having tea and a scone in the airport, then driving up to Belfast. We stopped in Droheda and Dundalk and walked around the towns to refresh ourselves. Right away, in Dundalk, I found the perfect gift for my son's good friend: a pink teapot for only 13 euros.
We were pretty wiped out by the time we arrived in Belfast, and getting lost didn't help much once we were off the main road. The rain began around then. We cleaned up and had dinner across the street at Ruby Tuesdays, no relation to ours here. I ordered pasta with chorizo, which was wonderful even if they put red chilis in it without advertising. DH had the first of many fish fries.
The next morning was Sunday, bad timing for us. We drove around Belfast but nothing was open until later in the day. We decided to head out to Portaferry along the coast. After a long time of looking at the map, we saw that there was water between Portaferry and the next town. Since we had planned on walking around the city, we didn't have any books with us to tell us if there was a ferry or not, so we turned around and stopped in Newtontowards where we bought a coffee and juice and didn't win with our scratch off lottery ticket.
We plugged on to Newcastle, a bustling little seaside city, where we had fish fries in Quinns. My whiting was flakey and tastey. Then on through county Down and the Mourne Mountains, where we saw two rainbows in between the rain showers. By the time we were back in Belfast it was dinnertime again. On Cambe's recommendation, we were going to try Taps, but they weren't open on a Sunday, so we ended up in Vaughn's, a pub down the road, for a so-so dinner. Musicians were setting up right behind us, but by 10 they still weren't playing, and we couldn't hold out any longer, so off to the B&B.
Apr 11th, 2006, 08:51 AM
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A note re Aer Lingus: our flight home left from Dublin with a stop in Shannon. Everyone had to exit the plane with their carryons and go through Customs. It took an hour and a half before everyone got back on. We haven't flown from Dublin since 2000 and decided then that we would go in and out of Shannon next time.
Apr 11th, 2006, 07:00 PM
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Glad to hear you are back and that your trip was safe and mostly pleasant.
Did you happen to find the John Spillane music that I recommended? Hope you enjoyed it, if so.
We managed to see John live, in Clonakilty -- a very entertaining show.
Bob
Did you happen to find the John Spillane music that I recommended? Hope you enjoyed it, if so.
We managed to see John live, in Clonakilty -- a very entertaining show.
Bob
Apr 12th, 2006, 03:51 AM
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Hi Bob,
We did pick up a few CDs, including John Spillane's, which we probably over-played but really enjoyed. We didn't see his new one anywhere so will be on the lookout for it from home.
The only other music we heard was in a pub in Navan, Mary Duff's father and some others, then The Sallys in Temple Bar. Kind of a dry spell of music for us on this trip!
We did pick up a few CDs, including John Spillane's, which we probably over-played but really enjoyed. We didn't see his new one anywhere so will be on the lookout for it from home.
The only other music we heard was in a pub in Navan, Mary Duff's father and some others, then The Sallys in Temple Bar. Kind of a dry spell of music for us on this trip!
Apr 14th, 2006, 11:40 AM
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I have some photos now posted at:
http://tinyurl.com/fb4ty
It was pretty hard to choose a small number of pictures since I took about 200 digitals. I took a film camera that has given me very reliable shots over the years but never took it out of the case this trip!
http://tinyurl.com/fb4ty
It was pretty hard to choose a small number of pictures since I took about 200 digitals. I took a film camera that has given me very reliable shots over the years but never took it out of the case this trip!
Apr 18th, 2006, 08:11 AM
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That Dublin shot is my favorite, I think. There's usually one I like best.
The camera is a Sony Cybershot, DSC-H1, 5.1 megapixel. If you looked at any of the other albums I have on Webshots, those photos were taken with a smaller Fuji. (3.2 mgpxl, I think). The Sony is bulkier, but will make for nicer enlargements.
The camera is a Sony Cybershot, DSC-H1, 5.1 megapixel. If you looked at any of the other albums I have on Webshots, those photos were taken with a smaller Fuji. (3.2 mgpxl, I think). The Sony is bulkier, but will make for nicer enlargements.
Apr 18th, 2006, 09:38 AM
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Hi Allison:
Great job on the pictures! Agree that the Dublin one is a great perspective. Also love the lighting in the Donegal Bay picture. What is the town on picture 7? Is that Glenarm or Ballygalley? I forgot to make a note and I think I made a stop in that town.
Looking forward to your comentary on Howth. The picture looks great. We'll be spending our last couple of nights there.
Bill
Great job on the pictures! Agree that the Dublin one is a great perspective. Also love the lighting in the Donegal Bay picture. What is the town on picture 7? Is that Glenarm or Ballygalley? I forgot to make a note and I think I made a stop in that town.
Looking forward to your comentary on Howth. The picture looks great. We'll be spending our last couple of nights there.
Bill
Apr 18th, 2006, 04:38 PM
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Bill, I think that picture was Ballygally. (I am pretty sure because the next shot was of the Ballygally sign.) I don't keep track of the pictures because I think I will remember where we were. But I never remember, so I try to take pictures of signs...
Apr 18th, 2006, 04:39 PM
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On Tuesday morning we bid farewell to Theo, our host, and headed up the beautiful Antrim Coast. We stopped for lots of photos, and passed by the only stray sheep we met on this trip. Sheepwise, this area is much more civilized than the West of Ireland where the sheep rule the roads. The views were spectacular, despite the rain and hail that came down on us intermittently, and we saw another rainbow over the water. We missed the road for Torr Head, but thought we would have lunch in Ballycastle then backtrack. After a nice meal in Herald's we strolled around town a little but now it was starting to get a little late in the afternoon, so instead of going back to Torr, we went on to the the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge.
Major diappointment: the bridge was closed because of high winds. Damn, I was really going to cross that fragile, wobbly sting with planks! The walk out to the bridge was invigorating, however, and we enjoyed our time out there with our Kleenex. (I arrived in Ireland with a cold, and DH got it while there.) We skipped the Giant's Causeway since we had been there in 04, but did make a stop for some shopping in the Bushmill’s store. Have I mentioned yet that I like Irish whiskey?
Once we found our B&B in Londonderry, we had dinner across the street at Rafters, which was reasonable; I had a nicely baked salmon and for himself, a chicken and mushroom pie. And of course, a couple of pints for him and some wine for me. They offered a nice selection of desserts, which we passed on. I did have a cup of decaf, which I think was Nescafe crystals. I have never really had good coffee in Ireland, but I would rather drink tea anyway. We stopped in the off-license and got a tiny bottle of Hennesey's. Not Irish, didn't like it, brought it home with us.
Major diappointment: the bridge was closed because of high winds. Damn, I was really going to cross that fragile, wobbly sting with planks! The walk out to the bridge was invigorating, however, and we enjoyed our time out there with our Kleenex. (I arrived in Ireland with a cold, and DH got it while there.) We skipped the Giant's Causeway since we had been there in 04, but did make a stop for some shopping in the Bushmill’s store. Have I mentioned yet that I like Irish whiskey?
Once we found our B&B in Londonderry, we had dinner across the street at Rafters, which was reasonable; I had a nicely baked salmon and for himself, a chicken and mushroom pie. And of course, a couple of pints for him and some wine for me. They offered a nice selection of desserts, which we passed on. I did have a cup of decaf, which I think was Nescafe crystals. I have never really had good coffee in Ireland, but I would rather drink tea anyway. We stopped in the off-license and got a tiny bottle of Hennesey's. Not Irish, didn't like it, brought it home with us.
Apr 18th, 2006, 05:06 PM
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On the road again...
Now we were off to Donegal. We took our time, and drove around Loch Eske. I thought we might stay at the Arches Country House, but hadn't made any reservations. Once we passed the house, we decided that it was too far out of town to drive back after a few pints, so continued our drive along the lake. At one pull-over, we heard the loud crying of a sheep. We climbed down the embankment and found a wooly one stuck in the brambles. He was calling his mates to help him out of the mess. We debated for a while about trying to help get him out, but in the end decided that he would eventually be able to get out by himself. We don't know sheep too well and were sort of afraid of being kicked and having our vacation spoiled by a serious sheep-inflicted injury.
We checked into the Central Hotel rather than looking for a B&B because they had a big banner advertising rooms for 79E. (Breakfast was extra.) As I mentioned earlier, the room smelled a little smokey, but we were able to open the window. (In the morning I closed it in a hurry since about a million birds were shrieking and flying in and out of the trees along the bay, as well as in the vine growing up alongside our window.) Dinner this night was at Dom's Pier One, where we ordered off the appetizer list, but neither of us remembers what we had except for a scoop of the most delicious potato salad ever! (We had had a terrific carvery lunch here a few years ago.) We met a couple from Michigan who were staying at the Arches, and we referred them to Arkle House in Derry for their next stop. Back in our room, I tried the Hennessey again, but it wasn't any better.
In the morning we walked around the Diamond and made a few purchases, some gifts and some Judy Greene pottery for me, a little cream pitcher and sugar bowl set on sale, 30% off. I couldn't resist since she is my favorite potter. We spent a small fortune in the music store. Sharon Shannon’s “Cavan Potholes” was playing and we are suckers for that song and had to stay while it played. We bought Van Morrison, Christy Moore and Cat Stevens. Cat Stevens?
Now we were off to Donegal. We took our time, and drove around Loch Eske. I thought we might stay at the Arches Country House, but hadn't made any reservations. Once we passed the house, we decided that it was too far out of town to drive back after a few pints, so continued our drive along the lake. At one pull-over, we heard the loud crying of a sheep. We climbed down the embankment and found a wooly one stuck in the brambles. He was calling his mates to help him out of the mess. We debated for a while about trying to help get him out, but in the end decided that he would eventually be able to get out by himself. We don't know sheep too well and were sort of afraid of being kicked and having our vacation spoiled by a serious sheep-inflicted injury.
We checked into the Central Hotel rather than looking for a B&B because they had a big banner advertising rooms for 79E. (Breakfast was extra.) As I mentioned earlier, the room smelled a little smokey, but we were able to open the window. (In the morning I closed it in a hurry since about a million birds were shrieking and flying in and out of the trees along the bay, as well as in the vine growing up alongside our window.) Dinner this night was at Dom's Pier One, where we ordered off the appetizer list, but neither of us remembers what we had except for a scoop of the most delicious potato salad ever! (We had had a terrific carvery lunch here a few years ago.) We met a couple from Michigan who were staying at the Arches, and we referred them to Arkle House in Derry for their next stop. Back in our room, I tried the Hennessey again, but it wasn't any better.
In the morning we walked around the Diamond and made a few purchases, some gifts and some Judy Greene pottery for me, a little cream pitcher and sugar bowl set on sale, 30% off. I couldn't resist since she is my favorite potter. We spent a small fortune in the music store. Sharon Shannon’s “Cavan Potholes” was playing and we are suckers for that song and had to stay while it played. We bought Van Morrison, Christy Moore and Cat Stevens. Cat Stevens?
Apr 21st, 2006, 12:16 AM
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WOW! What fantastic pictures! Great trip report too. I like how you placed all of the places you stayed first.
Deciding an itinerary for our next visit is tough and yiur report is having me re-think some more...love it!
Dawn
Deciding an itinerary for our next visit is tough and yiur report is having me re-think some more...love it!
Dawn
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