I've tried to get out to explore some new nook or cranny every day this week because it's too lovely to be indoors. It's not actually warm but a fleece jacket over a t-shirt is sufficient. Sunglasses should be kept nearby. Camera (or phone) batteries should be fully charged. The current rental vehicle has a USB port so I'm always fully charged - or rather my devices are.
Yesterday's adventure took me farther afield than usual. I had the notion to drive over the Sally Gap - just to investigate whether it was a good route to take if I pick someone up at the airport and bring them back here to Moss Cottage. (Mary G. are you paying attention for next winter?). More details in a few paragraphs. There are perfectly wonderful motorways between Dublin airport and my little nook, but that gets boring.
So, having had my usual leisurely start to the day - well, OK, late start - I picked up my trusty book "Ireland's Ancient East" and made a stab at a destination. I've been marking off the table of contents as I visit places and cross them off my list. Russborough House it would be. This is a spectacular mansion, in fabulous condition, where you can actually tour the inside. [Note to self, get up earlier so you're not late for the tours.] It was to be the jump off point for the Sally Gap over the top of Co Wicklow.
From in front of that gate (above) is the view I saw (below)
And the grand front entrance of Russborough House
For anyone planning to come to Ireland and make maximum use of a smart phone, install the app "Autoaddress". I'm going to rely on it totally next time and leave the GPS at home. You just open this app, search for the destination you want - in my case Russborough House - and when it presents the list of possible options, you just click on it, the address and Eir Code (postal or zip code) is part of that now, then you save the destination as a favourite, give it a name and possible other contact info. Then when you want to set off you just choose from the favourites and click on directions and press the arrow when you want to go. It then uses google navigation and tells you where to go - nicely.
As it happened, I didn't need any sort of navigational device to get to Russborough, I just had to stick to the N80 and the N81. Those are great highways, and traffic moves along nicely. That's fine for a while but I'm easily bored. I no longer think that one should always take the best road. I'm getting to the point where there is no longer a "road not taken".
And that is why, despite an easy direct route somewhere, I always have the trusty app to guide me. I think I'll call the voice Eirann. Wait, what? that's already taken? Who cares. Eirann she is. You see, Eirann tells me how long to drive, when to turn, etc. I don't want her to get complacent and do want her to be as familiar with the byways as I am. So, as I follow a direct route I sometimes notice a sign with an interesting name or place I've heard of, so I just turn off. Leaving the wide motorway for a narrow road, sometimes without a centre line, and sometimes a complete boreen (look at previous posts, I've already defined it) I just follow my nose. Eirann has to keep up. Keeps her sharp.
So, I took a hard right, almost a U-turn to an uphill grade and followed a lovely road with spectacular pastoral views. Fortunately there were no oncoming trucks or tractors at the time. Eventually I got back to the N81 and ended up, as planned, at Russborough House. You pay 2 Euro to park and can freely wander the grounds. The view is possibly the most expansive and pastoral I've seen yet. The green fields were even scattered with sheep and a few lambs, for the finishing touch. On the way in before the final turn, was a majestic lake. I was not able to see a sign to identify it and due to the traffic and lack of place to pull over, didn't get any pictures. From the front of the big house you don't really see the lake too well.
I had missed the final house tour by an hour. This is the off season and tours are only on at 1 and 2 pm. So I wandered around a bit. There's a lovely children's playground and a maze at the back. A number of artisans work in parts of what was probably the stables at some point long ago. In one there are some gorgeous items made of Irish marble. Wicklow marble is lovely and is 420 million years old. You can buy a pair of square tea light holders for 55 Euro. I left them there. They also use the green Connemara marble, even older at 750 million years, but years ago I'd bought earrings, a pendant and a ring in Connemara marble so left those items alone also.
When I left Russborough I did take a few minutes to look at the map. I was close to the road to the Sally Gap although not quite certain where it started. Not to be deterred, this time I decided to explore without the help of Eirann. She was at the ready, as was the GPS with the coordinates for "home" but they got to relax offline.
Not really knowing where to turn off, I knew I had to head to Blessington. What a lovely town that seems to be - at least as much as one can appreciate a place where you slow down but don't stop. Not far out of town I saw a sign pointing to Roundwood which I knew to be "at the other end of the desired road" so off I wheeled. Eirann was given the rest of the day off.
Only a couple of KMs later there was a sharp left to "Sally Gap" and I was on my way. What a breathtaking ride it was. Fortunately for me, my breath was taken by the scenery and not the fact that it had been struck by fog or low clouds. Over the top of the Wicklow mountains I went and the scenery became quite rocky, almost barren in places and others were covered with heather - not in bloom.
I still wasn't really sure of the right road and I came upon a crossroads at the top. To the right was Laragh, and that I knew was at Glendalough. Ta-da. Off I went in what I knew to be the right direction. Being that high up I could see the road snaking around in front of me and had lots of warning of vehicles coming at me. There were a few, and a few motorcycles. Then around a corned was a decorated Christmas tree. I'd been driving quite slowly and opposite the tree was a sort of parking lot and I pulled in. I was able to get a few shots of the trees. Later investigation said that this had been done a few years ago and nobody came back for the shiny balls and tinsel garlands so they continue to provide a surprise to drivers.
On top of County Wicklow - towards the Sally Gap
a bit out of season but quite a delight to come across
and a few feet away - it's buddy
From there back home was a lovely winding drive through tall woods and dense forests which later gave way to the usual green panoramas as I made my way to Aughrim. Thence I sailed home along great roads - in other words they had centre lines. The last part of the journey was a bit tricky as I was driving due west just before sunset.
At six thirty PM it was getting dark and I was hungry so instead of coming home to forage for edibles in the fridge I stopped at Mick the Chippers, down the street. I picked up an order of fish and chips. Not until I got home and emptied the rather heavy insulated paper bag, did I realize I'd just bought enough for 3 meals. Yay - two more evenings without cooking, although I will add a vegetable tonight.
Today I joined Kathy Doyle for dinner at 12:30 at the Carnew Community Care Centre where she lives. We had vegetable soup, a roast lamb dinner with two kinds of potatoes (I think there's an unwritten rule here that you must serve at least two varieties of spuds per meal), and loads of veggies. I could not finish my plate. My neighbours around the table - ranging in age up to 95 - all had seconds of something. Dessert was vanilla cake with custard.
I stayed as Kathy played "45" with a couple of our table mates. I can't figure it out. They played for matches - very high stakes. Well, shortly after 2 pm, tea and biscuits were served. I could still barely move from dinner, so I took my leave.
after lunch - a game of "45"
After picking up a few veggies, some milk and a pretty bunch of tulips at Aldi, I came back to the cottage in time for a Skype call with friends. What a lovely day. I didn't go anywhere new. It's almost 6 pm, still bright and the birds are chirping away. Delightful. Now I'll dig up some photos and fit them in here and there.
and this is what I see when I walk out the front door
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