At 8 am the alarm woke me up and got me going. I had less than an hour to get up, organized and out. I managed to get out right on schedule. Despite the overcast skies, the game was on.
After topping up the gas tank, (should that read diesel tank?) I headed once more down the Bunclody to Carnew Rd. and on towards Gorey. Waiting at her gate was my partner in adventure - Marg Gilbert. We were both warmly dressed, had an overcoat or raincoat, and our phone cameras were recharged and ready. I was wearing old sneakers, had hiking boots and wellies in the trunk, and Marg brought along some old sneakers. We never bothered changing footwear but I would have had good reason to use them all at some point.
The drive to Wexford, to renew the car, was uneventful and I got to enjoy the scenery around Ballycanew for the first time. Once the papers were signed, I had Hertz top up the air in the left back tire. The warning light had come on a few minutes before our arrival. So, off we went. Thirty minutes later, closing in on Kilmore Quay, the warning came on again. I called Hertz and back we went and had them repair the tire. They also drove through the car wash and I was pleased to see the paint again, instead of mud. By the end of today that turned out to have been of temporary use.
The sun was shining on Wexford and we enjoyed tootling around the town for the second time. The lovely google lady gave great directions and we found ourselves in the village of Kilmore. We stopped to take photos of remarkable homes with beautifully thatched roofs. Once out of the car, and by now it was after 1 pm, we decided to stop in Mary Barry's for lunch. I enjoyed the seafood cakes with salad and chips. Well, one cake, because I brought the second one home. Yummy.
Thus fortified we headed farther down the road to Kilmore Quay where we found even more lovely thatched roofs, spectacular sea views, the working fishing boats. More walking and more photos. A short drive later we came to a sea view parking lot and we were stunned to see the amazing beach that seemed to stretch forever, a Memorial garden without flowers, dedicated to those lost at sea, a wonderful old fixer-upper boat and oops - the blue sky was quickly being replaced by the black clouds that had seemed far away.
When we jumped back into the car it was spitting rain. By the time the doors were closed it was absolutely lashing the car. Within minutes the rain had eased up, we could see the sunshine returning, and there was a spectacular rainbow over a castle. It had gotten outrageously windy and that pretty much followed us around. But, with the sunshine back and the rain reduced to a few drops, off we went on a narrow road, following the coast.
View from the Quay back towards the village
You can just see the dark clouds coming to dim the sparkling sea
Memorial Garden for those lost at sea - rain approaching
Our reward for waiting out the pouring rain was this magnificent rainbow - picture doesn't do it justice
This is the castle we saw just to the right of the rainbow's end - by the time we got there the pot of gold must have already been claimed
The main feature on the horizon had been the giant wind turbines but eagle eyed Marg spotted a little thatched roof ruin which was for sale. U-turn!!. The intrepid Margaret opened the gate - securely fastened with something resembling a shoe lace and we explored the yard and old outbuildings. The cottage itself had been long abandoned and the entrance was blocked by a rock, a barrel, a few crossed wooden staves - no barrier at all to Wonder Marg! So we explored a bit and later mused about the old lady we decided was the probable last occupant.
As the driver I hadn't spotted this but Marg has a watchful eye for the ancient and unusual
Sad to see the remnants of a life abandoned this way
The roof is trying to repair itself after a long abandonment
From there (where were we?? who knows?) we headed for Curracloe Beach - site of the opening scene of 'Saving Private Ryan' and also featured in 'Brooklyn' for the parts set in Ireland. We had sun, rain, cloud and wind en route. We climbed the dunes blocking the beach from the parking lot and wandered on the sand and to the edge of the sea. More photo ops.
Once more, we made it back to the car just in time to avoid another soaking. Our timing was so good we couldn't believe it. Stopping for a latte and a scone in Curracloe, by making a quick wrong turn when leaving (Ann? wrong turn? lol - the story of my life) we had a nice little tour of Glenbough and Screen.
The final destination was a walking trail near Courtown, and when we were almost there, made a quick left off the highway and went in search of the Kilbride High Cross. Bingo - no problem, there it was. Wonder Marg headed farther down the trail looking for "the bridge". When she called out that it was in sight, I followed her lead. Beautiful in the fading light. What from above seemed just like part of the highway, was in fact one of the oldest high arch bridges in the country.
The climb back up to the car was somewhat less fun - and once again just in time to avoid the rain. It was rather muddy underfoot but we didn't care.
Finally on the way home via Gorey, the pouring rain turned briefly to snow. That pretty much concluded our tour of the four seasons today. There were little patches of snow on the ground along the road. The overnight forecast is for freezing temperatures. That's fine - the cottage is warm.
Can't download the pics now because the phone needs charging. I will add them later and you can check back tomorrow. Sorry.
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