Saturday 30 August 2008

stories from Hibernia...


apologies for the long absence...I was trapped like a spider by the the mist and rain of Ireland...they diluted my brain to such an extent that I was rendered incapable of writing. But I've recovered now. I arrived to find some wonderful packages from various people, but that will have to be the subject of another post as my laptop won't allow me to upload any new photos at the moment...however I do have some images of Ireland to share, if you can bear to browse through random holiday snaps...

We went up a mountain to visit the Staigue Fort which is fairly randomly located in the middle of some farmer's field, surrounded by sheep, and mountains. Very beautiful, although extremely misty the day we went. Could have been built anytime from 1st century BC to around the 4th century AD. You can just wander in and have a bit of a gander...

we got down the mountain and found a lovely old pub in which to dry ourselves off and drink some Guinness. That Ms Bester looks like she has her eye on mine!


Lord Dunraven's Summer House - at the start of the walk

we did our favourite walk in Kerry, across an old "mass path" hewn out of rocks along the coastline beneath the eyes of the Cromwellian forces who were tasked with enforcing the ban on Catholicism in Ireland in the seventeenth century

People would take this route to the "mass rock" on which a priest would preach mass secretly, out of doors, in all weathers. It's a fabulous walk from Derrynane to Bunavalla, with some absolutely amazing scenery along the way. Ms Reva generally leads us, her being of the mountainy goat persuasion.

a random sighting en route - one spade is turned around differently to the others - was it a sign? there was no-one for miles to ask...


we did have some sunshine...and a barbeque on the beach at which Mr. G taught my best friend's son how to play beach volleyball...



while myself and Katie turned our ingenuity to the matter of keeping wine chilled in the absence of the silver buckets we are more accustomed to (ahem)...


and her hubby tried to catch us some dinner...



but the rain returned as we left "the kingdom" (as the county of Kerry is fondly known) and our August drive across the border felt like it could have been in midwinter...

17 comments:

angharad handmade said...

Beautiful photographs! I hope you all had a wonderful time! x

Anna - Three Sneaky Bugs said...

I'm so sorry that your trip is over as it looks like you had a wonderful time. On the other hand... welcome back!

Ayama-chan said...

Such beautiful photographs. Still scavenging away for you. :D Wow your trip looked like so much fun. Can you please send some of the cold my way?? Wall to wall humidity can get a bit much sometimes....

sewtakeahike said...

Your post is making my heart long to come to Ireland! I love misty cool weather because it makes it all the more sweet when the sun decides to peek through for a moment or two....

trash said...

Spade WAS signal for native Hib dwellers to alert them to presence of Cromwell's men on the hills. One can't be too careful after Drogheda!

x vInTaGe VioLeT x said...

WELCOME BACK !!!
gorgeous photo's - looks like you had a great time.

Gina said...

Fabulous photographs. It all looks delightful... even the rain!

Chloe said...

Welcome back! You look and sound like you had a great time.
Did I spot some rather large sunglasses on your head in that guinness picture? ;)

Anonymous said...

Great to see u back in action! Was that you in the dewy web?!? Pilgrimage and beach WITH vb net looked like good fun! Already looking 4ward to your entries to come!

Unknown said...

great pics...it all loooks amazing! But may I suggest those shoes are not appropriate are for walking. I mean, really. Open backed sandal things? The wine must have gone to your head.....

Apryl said...

lovely photos and a lovely little post to read...

Ana Salomé said...

I love County Kerry...there's something special about it & it's SOOOO beautiful!! It looks like you had a great holiday...

Miaou said...

haha, I love the spade picture!

Anonymous said...

looks like you were in a different country to us during august. Great shots annie.

Things Hand Made said...

I love that last photo, so poingnant. Sounds like a good trip

Jennie said...

Welcome back!!! What a fantastic time it looks like you had. Gorgeous photos!

Janet said...

Looks like my kind of vacation! Love the impromptu wine cooler...and the photos are beautiful! Cheers.