h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Woodpigeon,

First of all congratulations with the new arrivals, they look great!
You must be a very proud Dad.

I came across your page when I searched for entries on Ireland and read your (very) brief history.
This summer I will be visiting your country for the first time in my life, after wanting to do so for many, many years. And to make up for that long time I will visit twice, first on a business trip to Dublin in June and then on a three week camping holiday with my family early July.
So right now I'm devouring anything readable about Ireland.

If you have any tips about places to visit, I will be much obliged.
We plan to sail to Rosslare and then hike around the south coast towards Kerry. We love walking, music and visiting ancient places, but we do not like mass-tourism. And, for me, the occasional is also very important .

So if there's anything you can recommend

Terry

Hi Terry!

Thanks for the best wishes - all is going well, even if mum and dad are now getting very little sleep these days!

I hope all goes well for your trip to Ireland. I am very familiar with the south coast, having spent much of my childhood near Waterford and now living in Cork.

In Wexford town, around 20 km from Rosslare, there is a folk park (Ferrycarrig) that could act as a useful intro to ancient ireland. It features reconstructions of many prehistoric and historic dwellings, based on archeological discoveries elsewhere in the island. It's worth a visit.

There are many fine beaches in Wexford - not least Rosslare strand itself. There is also the big sweep of Bannow Bay, and nearby is the fishing village of Kilmore Quay. If you come at the right time, you can go on a boat trip around the Saltee Islands, which is a significant bird sanctuary - gannets, puffins, guillemots etc.

Another place worth going to in Co. Wexford is Hook Head. It features one of the most prominent lighthouses in Ireland, a stark rocky shoreline, and good views of Waterford Harbour.

Chances are that if you are going from Rosslare to Kerry you will pass through a town called New Ross. While New Ross is not in itself terribly spectacular, (there is a replica famine ship that may be worth a visit), about 15km away is a village called Inistiogue. It is very beautiful and quite historic - close by are the 19th century gardens of Woodstock. Another place worth going to in the viscinity is the town of Graignamanagh, and there is also a hill that you can climb, Brandon Hill, that will give you spectacular views of the entire south east of the island. Close to Graignamanagh is the village of St Mullins which features a Norman Motte and Bailey (site of an ancient castle).

Waterford is the largest city in the south east of the country. It is quite old, having been founded by the Vikings in the 10th century or thereabouts. Reginald's Tower, a squat round tower at the far end of the quay, is the site where English Rule of Ireland officially began in the 12th century. Nearby Waterford is the fishing village of Dunmore East, and the seaside resort of Tramore. (Although Tramore is somewhat touristy, there is a fine walk to the Rabbit Burrows - massive dunes at the far end of a spit peninsula).

The county of Waterford should not be taken completely for granted. It features two quite picturesque mountain ranges (the Comeraghs and the Knockmealdowns), a number of pleasant sea side villages (Annestown, Bunmahon, Stradbally, Clonea strand, Ring and Ardmore), a specacular castle in Lismore, and nearby, an imposing, still occupied, monastery at Mount Mellery.

East Cork is also very scenic and worth a visit. Youghal Strand is extensive and adjoins a very large area of fen. The headlands of Knockadoon and Ballycotton are close by and quite beautiful (there are some good cliff walks close to Ballycotton). There is a wildlife reserve in Fota, a visitor-friendly whiskey distillery in Midleton, some good river walks in Fermoy and the town of Cobh features a museum which chronicles the extensive mass emigration from Ireland during the 19th century.

Cork City is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland. The main street has recently been renovated so it should be looking quite dapper when you come over. There is a good museum (the Crawford) there, and the English Market is a must see. Outside of Cork, the towns of Kinsale and Blarney are worth a visit, however both places are meccas for tourists, so beware if visiting in the high-season.

For starker scenery, you should continue westwards towards Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Baltimore. The book "McCarthy's Bar" is a good, and very funny reference for this part of the country, and I have recently completed a jointly-written guide entry of Baltimore. To get the most out of the west coast, start in the south at Baltimore, and work upwards. All of the peninsulas have their own character and points of spectacular beauty. Foremost in my mind is the village of Schull, Mizen Head, The Dursey Cable Car, Bantry Bay, Ahillies, the village of Glengarriff, the Healy Pass, Castletownbeare, Kenmare, Waterville, Valentia Island (and its tetrapod trackway - see my guide entry), and the Skellig Rocks.

Dingle peninsula is the most northern and the westmost peninsula on the island. It is also one of the most specacular. It is full of ancient sites (ringforts, etc), and commands some of the most amazing views anywhere on the island. The archipelago of the Blaskets west of Slea Head is very, very beautiful.

There is a *lot* to see on the west coast - I have really just skimmed through it. The west coast tends to be more touristy, but the landscape is large and accomodating, so you don't notice other tourists so much. Where you do get a lot of tourists is the town of Killarney - but even here is worth a visit because of the nearby National Park and the Magillicuddy Reeks mountain range.

I hope this serves as a useful guide! There is a lot to see, and so long as you don't expect it to be sunny every day (a virtual impossibility in Ireland), you should really enjoy your visit.

I hope this helps!

Woodpigeon

a lot!
That should keep us busy for at least three summers!
I reckon you only have to submit your reply and there's another entry finished (you nearly wrote a novel there )

A few years back I saw a documentary by Billy Connolly on BBC TV. He was looking for his Irish ancestors and travelled on his tricycle pretty much through most of the places you mentioned. It was then that I knew I wanted to see it for myself.

As for the weather, I have been camping every summer for the past 37 years and never once fled for any period of bad weather. From friends I have learned that Ireland is never without rain, but it rarely rains for three weeks on end. That's good enough for me. Besides, I feel ancient monument look better when the weather is a bit more dramatic.

Thanks again, Woodpigeon, may your nights soon be restful and quiet again.

Terry

No problem Terry, any time. It's true, we have a "moist" climate, but the rain rarely lasts for long - a few hours usually. The east coast tends to be drier than the west coast, but it all depends on the luck of the draw. Let me know when you are setting off closer to the time.

Woodpigeon

We plan to arrive in Rosslare on July 3, provided my wife gets her holidays the way she wants them. She works as a specialised nurse in the extremly-tiny-prematurely-born-babies-ward in our local hospital (your boys would seem giants compared to the average 1,5 kilo babies she usually works with). They are perpetually understaffed and there's always problems with the distribution of everybody's holiday wishes. But as we have already changed our plans in order to accomodate some of these problems, there is a fair chance that we will have it our way.

We plan to cross the North Sea on July 2 on the Hook of Holland - Harwich ferry and then drive to Fishguard, where we will camp for the night (we have a very cool trailer-tent that pops out of the trailer within seconds). And then the next morning we will have our second sea-trip.

We hardly ever book any campsites in advance. That gives us more freedom to go wherever we want.

I'll keep you posted.

Terry