When Irish Skies are Smiling

July 22- 24, 2013

We left England from Liverpool via ferry. The port was much less luxurious than when we took a ferry from France to England.  The best way to describe this sea voyage would be industrial, because we were one of only 10 passenger vehicles on board and the rest were semi trucks, aka lorries.  Taking the 3am ferry saved us money, it cost $195 total which included 2 meals and gave us a place to sleep for the night.

We arrived in Dublin, Ireland at 10:00am and as we walked out onto the deck of the boat we saw huge tankers trucks full of Guinness sitting in the port. The advertisement worked because the first thing we did in Dublin was book our tour of the Guinness factory. 

                  



Ireland gave us a nice welcome. Late in the afternoon the rain came down, but only briefly, just after it stopped the sky smiled at us with a brilliant rainbow. Our hearts filled with excitement and joy because a new leg of our journey has begun.  The shower brought life to the rolling hills, the emerald green fields looked as if they were glistening, as we dreamed that there may be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Wicklow Mountains

For the night we drove away from Dublin into the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains.  We found a 200 year old traditional Irish pub with live folk music to boot.

Johnnie Fox's Pub looked the same as it did when it was first built we were told.  The floors had never been redone, so it was easy to see the wear from two centuries of Irish dancing.  The walls were covered with old newspapers  outdated farming equipment, and Irish proverbs.






We ate our dinner by candlelight sitting at an old foot powered sewing table. We swapped bites of Guinness stew and seafood pie and before we knew it the live music started.  We listened for awhile then decided to take ourselves to bed.  We noticed a customer overflow parking lot and kindly asked our server if she thought anyone would mind if we parked there overnight   She checked with the manager and we were cleared for the evening.

The next day we toured the Guinness Factory. As we pulled up to the gate to park the attendant told us it was our lucky day because the lot had been full since 9am but a family just left freeing up a spot for us.  The factory and storehouse itself is huge and even though we visited on a Wednesday there were hundreds of people already inside. 

Layout of Guinness Factory

The museum is designed to replicate a 6 story Guinness pint glass, 5 floors of history explaining the ingredients and brewing process and the 6^th floor is a 360 degree view of Dublin with a bar right in the middle of it. 

Out of the 4 and half hours we spent in the factory our favorite parts included:

1.      The explanation of where the ingredients come from and the brewing process complete with an indoor waterfall.

2.      The vintage Guinness advertisement and iconic memorabilia illustrating the transition of Guinness’s trademark from the 1930’s to today.

3.      Pouring the perfect pint and certification process. We went into a large bar class room area with multiple bar stations.  Inside we were personally educated on the 6 steps involved in pouring the perfect pint of Guinness.








Ross and I were chosen as the volunteers who went first in our group responsible for showing everyone else how it was done. Afterward we enjoyed the free pint and received a certificate acknowledging completion of the course.    

view from 6th floor bar

4.      The 360 degree bar was crowded but we enjoyed the view of Dublin from the highest point in the city.

5.      Arthur’s Restaurant where we enjoyed a late meal inspired Guinness recipes.

   6.      Finding 10 euro in the parking lot as we left the factory topped off it all off and proved again that it really was our lucky day.   

Stonehenge, Bolsover, & Bath

July 18-20, 2013


You may remember me telling you that we bought two English Heritage passes, which allow us to see over 400 hundred historical sites in the United Kingdom....well we are putting them to good use. Our most recent history lessons included a trip to Stonehenge and Bolsover Castle.


                                   


Set among miles of pastures and rolling hills Stonehenge towers over the countryside of Amesbury, England. There was not a single building nearby, no visitor center, simply a tent with souvenirs and an ice cream truck. I thought this was odd considering its notoriety. We could see it from the road as we pulled into the parking lot packed with cars and tour buses. After receiving our audio guides we circled the prehistoric rock formation listening to all the theories of Stonehenge as we pondered the unanswered questions of how and why it was built.





The more entertaining theories where that Merlin the magician used his powers to move the rocks here, that is was built as a symbol of someones great wealth and power, or that it was constructed by aliens. I think that it was used as a seasonal calendar based on the information about how the stones line up with the sun during the summer and winter solstices. The rocks are massive, much larger than we had imagined. Considering it was built in 3000 B.C and is still around today I believe that is has served many proposes.

Bolsover Castle Entrance 

                                         

Twilight Room Ceiling

Next we visited Bolsover Castle the first one we have seen that was not built for battle. It was the Cavendish family's vacation home during the 17th century. Weekend guest were allowed to indulged their senses through music, food, and art. The little castle has been restored to represent Mr. Cavendish's taste; each room had a fireplace made of marble or granite, the ornate detail went from floor to ceiling visible in the mock medieval arched ceilings and the detailed murals. One of my favorite places was the Venus garden, complete with a deep fountain located in the middle inside the fountain were secluded love seats and intriguing statues.  It was implied that this area could have been used for erotic adult parties.

Ross got inside all 12 fireplaces

Archway framing the countryside 

The Venus Garden 

During our visit we watched a classical dressage performance with three highly trained horses illustrating Haute Ecole, which is the highest form of dressage. These horses all about 25 years old had been trained all their lives to preform airs above the ground. This style of horse training was originally used to prepare the horse and rider for battle giving the rider an edge during war. Today it is practiced simply to show talent and skill of both the horse and rider. I had never seen anything like it before, the animal moved with such grace, very assured of itself as it was subtly directed by the master rider. It looked as if the horse was posing for a picture each time it set back on its hind legs and proudly exposed its chest. Pictures were not allowed during the show so we asked to snap a few after the performance.









                                                                                                                                                                    

A fountain built inside the canal that surrounds the city

Before leaving England to tour Ireland we stopped for the afternoon in Bath. The city has a very unique charm about it. It comes from a combination of old stone facade buildings, the Romanesque architecture, and the pristine canal that surrounded the city like a mote. We spent the afternoon popping in and out of quaint boutiques and cafes. We shared a Cornish pastry, which is like a hot pocket filled with leeks, potatoes, and beef, toasted to perfection.



















































To our surprise the town was laced with Courage ale history with a number of bars using Courage in their name; although no one served the ale anymore. We were told the name given to the pub when it opened had to remain the same by law.









                                                                                                                                                                                   







Bath and the Wiltshire countryside have been some of the most scenic places we have visited. The tranquility radiates from even the animals we encountered; one instance occurred when we pulled over to see a horse and it walked right up to us, reached its head over the fence, allowing us to pet him. For the night we parked in Longleat National Forest. Before bed we walked to Heaven's Gate, a stunning outlook, where we watched the sunset over the hills and into the horizon.

Myths & Legends in Cornwall

 July 14-18, 2013


For the last few days we have been traveling through Cornwall experiencing one legendary tale after another. A 4D movie of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, experiencing what was once called the end of the world at Lands End, recanting the pirate battles at Penzance, passing through Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest, and following along the path of Merlin and King Arthur in Tintagel.

Lands End

                               

Cliffs at Lands End

Gwynver  Beach, Cornwall

We found a website that gives the general area of safe places to wildcamp in the United Kingdom. This has been very useful, except it does not give you the exact addresses. Instead it shows us a Google map dotted with push pins that identify places to wildcamp; half the fun is the hunt for the right place.

Hike to Gwynver Beach

King Arthur's Hall
Home of the Round Table

One of these locations was Tintagel, UK, the birth place of the legendary King Arthur Pendragon. This charming medieval village took us back in time to a period when knights roamed and the romance of chivalry was alive. As we strolled down the only street in the village we noticed the old post office made with stone and a thatched roof, we could not miss the reconstruction of King Arthur's round table, as well as a number of shops that sold Merlin's magical artifacts.

Slate stacked walls of Tintagel 

Tintagel, United Kingdom 

Path through cemetery 

Outside the tiny village was a maze of walking trails all leading to the Tintagel Castle and Merlin's Cave. We picked one and made our way through a large cemetery, into a medieval church still in use, and down to the cliffs where the ancient castle ruins lay. The castle was strategically build at the edge of the land on two boulders that looked as if they were floating in the sea. Clinging to the cliff side was a vertical set of stairs, we climbed down only to hike back up to the castle entrance. We stood at the top taking in the dramatic arches of coastal caves and the calm aqua blue water in the cove below.

Stained Glass in the Church 

      

View from Tintagel Castle Ruins

Merlin's Cave 

The cove we swam across

 Nothing is more refreshing than a jumping in the ocean after a hike on a hot day. So we trekked to the bottom and inched into the ice chilled sea in nothing but our skivvies. Our hearts were racing as we swam across the cove to Merlin's cave. We did not have water shoes on an the cave floor was covered in rough rocks large and small. Inside the cave was dark and the rush of the ocean breeze was more intense due to the funnel the cave created. As we made it to the end we celebrated our victory with loud voices that echoed off the walls feeling as if they were thrown back in our throats. Sunbathing was the only way to dry off so we sprawled out on two large boulders and baked in the sun.