Trip to West Cork

  Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

On Friday, 11 July we went down to West Cork with Barry and Emily for the weekend. Barry drove and it took about 4 hours or so to get there. We saw some beautiful scenery along the way.

Galtee Mountains from the Car

 

Joe's uncle and aunt, Michael and Marion, (they were at our wedding) were kind enough to let us use their caravan in Red Strand for the weekend so we visited with them briefly and got the keys. They are part of a little community of trailers overlooking the beach. Sounds a bit strange, but think high class trailer park rather than trailer trash. The photo should help.

Red Strand Beach with view of the trailer park

Everyone knows each other and they organize BBQs together, meet at the pub, etc. We got to Red Strand around 11 pm, had some drinks and delicious penguins (chocolate biscuit things) and Jaffa Cakes (biscuits with sponge cake on the bottom then some orange gelatin stuff and chocolate on top) and then went to bed.

The next morning, or more like afternoon by the time we got going, was gorgeous. After a hearty breakfast of Clonakilty white pudding, (made with oats, pork, spices, a lot like getta with a tad more spice for those of you who know getta) bread, and cheese, we set off for a walk/hike. We walked down by the beach, through some farmland, and over some rocks along the coastline.

It was all fine and dandy until Joe and Barry suddenly leapt across a gap of sharp rocks to another rock leaving Emily and I on the other side.

Mind the gap

They thought nothing of it since they'd been doing this since they were little, but the gap of rocks below left Emily and I unsure. After much persuasion and coaxing we finally decided to take the leap which was really not a big jump in the end, but still. It's not our fault that our brains tend to think things through more and it just seemed like a bad idea haha! In the end we were glad we did it because we were then able to climb down to a little beach which we later found out from Joe and Barry's cousin Rory is codenamed the TSB or "Top Secret Beach."

Joe at the TSB

It's not everyday you find yourself on one of those now is it.

We skipped some pretty sweet rocks with the record being around 10 or so skips, explored a tiny cave, and enjoyed the nice weather. Excluding some shoes getting wet accidentally, we didn't attempt the water. Barry and Joe used to jump off the high rocks into the water when they were little though, oh to be young again hahaha.

From the rocks

When our arms tired out from the rock skipping, we climbed back up to the cliffs along the coast and walked along through some very squishy, bouncy grass that was like a mattress under our feet. We also braved some gorse and a few patches of nettles, but the scenery was worth the peril.

Emily, Barry, Christen, Joe

We went out to dinner that night and later got a lift from their cousin Rory and his girlfriend to the pub. After a few pints we all walked the "country mile" back to the trailer along pitch black country roads.

Walking home from the pub

The stars and moon were absolutely fantastic that night. We attempted to go to a bonfire on the beach, but even with three jackets and a hat on, we were freezing and exhausted from the day so we came back to the trailer instead. We made more Clonakilty pudding because when in Clonakilty... and it is famous for its pudding. This time we had white and black (the black is made with blood, mmm blood) but it was very good and we all liked it.

On Sunday after, you guessed it, more pudding Barry dropped us off in Cork city centre at Fair Hill, their grandmother's old house before he and Emily went back to Dublin.

Fair Hill house (Joe's grandma's old house)

Their aunt and uncle own the house now and are in the process of redoing it, but the kitchen, bathroom, and one bedroom were still usable. Joe and I walked around Cork for a bit and then met up with Joe's friend Peter who is now living in Cork and his girlfiend for dinner at a nice Italian place.

View of Cork from Fair Hill

We went for a drink aferwards and then they dropped us back at Fair Hill which was nice considering Cork is full of hills and Fair Hill is at the top of a hill, hence the name. We spent the night in Fair Hill and caught a bus back to Dublin the next day. Renee and Don had left food for us and made sure the bed was made up so that was nice. I really enjoyed seeing the house and listening to some of Joe's stories from when he was little there. I'm sure it was a bit strange for him to be staying in the house when no one else was there, not to mention with all the other rooms being redone. At least most of the house is still the same as it was, just getting new life into it now. We thought it was turning out very nicely.