Ireland

What was to be a short drive to Fishguard, Wales and a short ferry ride across the Irish Sea turned into a very full day of travel. Because of problems with the ferry, large vehicles were not being allowed on. So, we traveled by coach north about 6 hours to Hollyhead for a 3 ½ hour ferry ride to Dublin followed by a 2-hour coach ride to Waterford, Ireland. We were weary! 

But we enjoyed the ferry ride.

Ireland is a beautiful country! It didn’t disappoint anything we’d heard about its beauty. Geopolitically it is divided between the Republic of Ireland, an independent state of the British Isles, and Northern Ireland, which is part of United Kingdom. I was reading a novel about the Irish War of Independence in the years 1919-1921 during the trip and it was fascinating to learn more about the country’s history. The Home Rule bill passed to allow Ireland to become an independent country, but excluded 6 counties in the north that became Northern Ireland, part of the UK. 

 We arrived to an elegant formal dinner with white tablecloths, lovely salmon dinner and Irish coffee. It was greatly enjoyed in spite of our rumpled state. 

 

Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland and has 1000 years of history, founded by the Vikings in 914. Reginald’s Tower, the city’s landmark monument, remains from that time. 

It is also home to Waterford crystal. The first flint glass was blown in 1783 and has become the factory of elegant and beautiful glassware sold around the world. The Times Square New Year’s Eve Millennium Ball was Waterford glass. 

Reginald's Tower from Viking times

A model of a Viking ship

 

 Next on to the Blarney Castle and Gardens, near Cork.  No, we did not kiss the Blarney Stone (we talk enough, don’t need the “gift of eloquence”). The gardens surrounding the castle were beautiful and it was a sunny warmer day which made them even more enjoyable. The gardens included many floral plantings and also a poison garden, with signs to identify the plant and tell its effect. The stone Castle was first built in 1210 and rebuilt in 1446, today it is mostly ruin. 

 

This is looking up - from the ground - to the tower window that people would lie down and lean backwards into to kiss the Blarney Stone.

There were plenty of shopping opportunities. I was very tempted in this Woolen Shop, the largest gift store in Ireland. The wool garments and articles were beautifully made. 

Travel next was to Killarney in southwest Ireland. The Killarney National Park was across from our hotel with the highest mountain range in Ireland and many lakes. There has been an indigenous herd of red deer in the park since Neolithic times. 

View from our hotel room of the National Park

We enjoyed a jaunting ride through the park.

 

The Ring of Kerry is a 111-mile circular route that is believed to be the most beautiful part of Ireland with vistas created by windswept cliffs, rugged mountains, lakes and picturesque villages.  Because of the narrow roads all tour coaches must run in an anti-clockwise direction, even then there were some close calls! 

This was supposed to be the most beautiful view in Ireland, our lunch stop at the Scarify Inn. The day we were there was very foggy and drizzling.

Our tour group, in a light rain, at Ladies' View, a favorite place for Queen Victoria's Ladies in Waiting when she visited the Ring of Kerry

 A drive through the Golden Vale, an area of rolling pasture land and dairy cattle, brought us to the Rock of Cashel, also known as St. Patrick’s Rock. According to legend, the rock originated in a mountain 20 miles north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave and the rock landed in Cashel. The remains of the cathedral, built between 1235 and 1270, form a cross. St Patrick preached at this spot. The buildings and graveyard are set on a walled plateau. Scully’s Cross, one of the largest and most famous high crosses was constructed in 1860 and struck by lightning in 1976 breaking away part of the structure. If you can put your arms around the large cross you are said to have the luck of St. Patrick. 

 

Cathedral at Rock of Cashel

Scully's Cross

The walled area of Rock of Cashel

Our last day of touring was a panoramic tour of Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Our tour included St. Patrick’s Cathedral, founded in 1191, city parks, the General Post Office. The evening entertainment was dinner and an evening show of Ireland’s music and dancing. 

This monument, across the street from the Post Office, still has bullet holes 

from the Irish Independence War.

Phoenix Park is one of the largest enclosed parks in Europe. It was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660's and open to the public 1747.

The "White House" of Ireland. President Mike Higgins is a well liked public official whose duties are mostly ceremonial. He has served since 2011.

St. Patrick's Cathedral was founded in 1191 as a Catholic Cathedral. It is now the national cathedral of Ireland and has been Anglican since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

We thought the floor tile looked like quilt patterns.

I didn't realize the Guinness Brewery was such a major factor in Dublin. Besides the brewery, the company has benefited the country with many philanthropy projects. And, I didn't make the connection to the Guinness Book of World Records. 

Our last evening was filled with food, music and Celtic dance.

 

After a very busy and full tour, our 15^th day was the long plane trip home. It was good to travel, but also good to be home. 

 

 

 

 

Wales

We arrived in Cardiff, Wales after a long coach ride from England.  There we had one of our favorites of the trip – fish and chips for dinner. The irresistible combination of a hunk of battered cod resting atop a mound of steaming hot chips (french fries in America), is the quintessential British comfort food. Many meals were served with peas, usually mashed. They added color to the meal but not much else! 

See the green under the fish? Mashed peas.

 

Wales is a country, bordered by England, in the southwest part Great Britain. It is known for its rugged coastline, mountainous national parks, distinctive Welsh language and Celtic culture. It is 8,023 square miles in size (compare to Kansas’ 82,278 square miles. Wales is 130 miles from north to south and varies in width from 40 – 100 miles. Wales has been home to over 600 castles, 100 are still standing today. We stayed in Cardiff which is the capital and largest city of Wales. 

 

A walking tour of Cardiff included the government buildings, churches, and an open market. Wales is also known for limericks – “There was a young woman from Wales….” Our group at dinner even won the limerick writing contest! 

 

Government building

The guide was explaining that this church was built from the stones that were ballast in ships that came to Wales to buy goods to take back to their home countries. The stones were discarded when the ships took on their cargo. 

"Open Market", but under a roof, lots of vendors of food, produce, clothes, and other things to buy. 

Cardiff Castle was once a Roman fort, a Norman castle, and a Victorian Gothic palace. The original castle was built in the 11^th century on top of a 3^rd century Roman fort. During WWII air raid shelters were built in the castle walls. It was given to the city of Cardiff in 1947 and has been restored and many rooms furnished in antiques and reproductive styles.  

 

The Main Range of the Castle. Many rooms were furnished in styles of the past.

The library

The Clock Tower contained bedrooms, servant's room, and smoking rooms.

The most interesting stop in Wales was St. Fagan’s National Museum of History, an open-air museum chronicling the history culture, and architecture of the Welsh people. Buildings from all over Wales had been taken apart, moved, and reassumed at the museum grounds. They represented a wide range of history showing how people had lived. 

This row of houses depicted how the Welsh people lived with displays of every 50 years. The latest was 1985, which looked pretty modern with a microwave oven.

1935

1885

1835

This is the inside of a thatched roof. It was beautiful workmanship. 

A farmstead from early Wales, barn and house.

After 2 nights and a very busy tour of Wales we were headed to our next country - Ireland. 

 

 

 

 

England

When most of us think of Britain, we think of England. Our trip was the British Isles, so a bit of geography:  Great Britain includes Scotland, England, and Wales. The United Kingdom includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British Islands includes the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Jersey (3 smaller islands south of Great Britain). Ireland includes Ireland (the state) and Northern Ireland (which is part of the United Kingdom).  The British Isles includes all of these countries. 

 

The coach ride from Scotland to England wasn't too long. We passed through customs, showed our passports and we were in England! As we traveled through northern England we stopped to see the Angel of the North, a very recognized piece of public art built in 1998. It was built in an economically depressed area which had formerly depended on coal mining. At the time it was resented for the expense, but now lots of tourist traffic to bring in many pounds. 

The Angel of the North is 175 feet wide at the wing span and 65 feet high. 

Next was the city of York, a walled city founded by the ancient Romans.  York is home to the Minster of York, the biggest medieval Cathedral in Northern Europe and considered one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings. I asked the difference between a minster and a cathedral. A minster sends missionaries out to minister to the people. A cathedral has a seat for the Bishop. A church holds regular worship services. 

Walled cities were common in England, built during the Middle Ages to protect the city from invaders. 

The York Minster was constructed over 900 years ago and contains many stained glass windows. 

 

York’s narrow street of Shambles Street was the home of butcher shops which sold meat from the front window shelf. Each story of the buildings is larger than the lower one, overhanging the street. 

We arrived in London by a high speed train, speeding through the country side so quickly that sightseeing was impossible, time for a nap. 

Sights to see included Big Ben and Houses of Parliament

Westminster Abby has over 30 kings and queens buried there. 

For lunch we enjoyed a High Tea.

 High tea consisted of, besides tea, small bites of food on tiered trays. The lower tray contains finger sandwiches, the middle has scones and tea cakes with jam, and the top is the desserts. All were delicious. 

 

Buckingham Palace

Did I say it was usually cold and wet in England?

Queen Victoria's monument across from Buckingham Palace.

The tour of Windsor Castle was a highlight. Windsor Castle is the oldest royal residence still in use. Founded in the 11^th century. St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle contains the graves of many royals including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. (interesting – our tour guides would occasionally slip and say “Her Majesty” instead of “His Majesty”)

 

We did see the changing of the guards here. 

Bath England is the site of the 2000 year old Roman bath houses and spas. These were build over the natural hot mineral springs between the first and fifth centuries. They fell into disrepair in the 1100s, but were rediscovered in 1755. 

 

Stonehenge has always held a fascination for me. This prehistoric structure consists of vertical stones 13 feet high and 7 feet wide topped with horizonal stones. It dates back to the Stone Age but how and why it was built remains a mystery. 

As we traveled on to Wales, I was impressed with the neat countrysides and the number of sheep. The tour guide explained that many of the churches were "wool churches", financed primarily by donations from rich merchants and farmers who had benefited from the medieval wool trade.