07:05.

We woke up at 6am this morning to the sound of rain tapping on the window here in Tramore, County Waterford. Sadly, our last day in Ireland looks like it’s going to be a wet one which is a bit of a bugger as Dawn’s driving us back to Dublin today as we’re catching the 14:50 Stena ferry back to Holyhead and home. Hopefully, our crossing won’t be suffering the sort of seas we saw here yesterday!

Despite the vagaries of the weather we’ve had a wonderful time here in Ireland. It’s been fantastic to catch up with old friends and make some new ones, but the focus of today will be travel. Let’s see how it goes…

08:05

We’ve packed and are getting ready to leave. To be honest, we’d much rather stay! The Airbnb we’re in is a lovely self-contained flat that would make an ideal base for a few days exploring the Copper Coast and the old railway that’s been converted to a greenway. if only we had more time and the weather was better…

09:00.

We’re on the road again! The ferry doesn’t sail until 14:50 but we’re giving ourselves plenty of time to get to Dublin because of the conditions – although the mucky weather isn’t exactly conducive to sight-seeing as visibility’s reduced to a few hundred metres!

10:21.

We’ve stopped for coffee and cake in Carlow which us an odd little place. It has a castle, well, the remains of one. Apparently, most of it was ‘accidentally’ blown up in 1814 when it was being converted into a lunatic asylum. No, really!

Considering the fact it’s Friday, Carlow is remarkably quiet. You have to wonder why many of the shops have bothered to open as the streets are deserted. The one place we found that had some life was a stylish cafe and bar called Brooks, where we’ve called in for coffee and cake.

Their home-made scones are certainly substantial…

We’ve arrived in Carlow at the right time as the weather’s broken and the rain’s stopped, although a blanket of low cloud sits over the town, blocking out most light, leaving the day feeling like a damp dusk in December.

11:12.

Having fuelled up ourselves we’ve done the same for the car. I’m beginning to warm to Carlow. Once you see past the number of empty shops it’s actually a friendly little place with a variety of cafe’s, bars and restaurants. Shame we couldn’t have stayed and explored…

13:30.

After an easy drive into Dublin and an amble around the city on the North Circular Rd we’re now waiting in line at Dublin docks, ready to board our ferry.

The weather’s remaining mixed with threatening skies but for the moment it’s dry and warm. This is Dawn’s chance to relax for a bit after driving 1180 miles since we left home last Wednesday. This is how the Dublin skies looked as we eased out of the port and headed out into the Irish sea.

18:06.

After a crossing that was nowhere near as rough as we feared we’re about to dock at Holyhead.

20:41.

After getting off the ferry we zipped through Holyhead and the bad weather to enjoy a vintage run along the North Wales cost on the A55. The sun shone, the traffic was light and all was well with the world until we crossed the border into England when we caught up with the rain! Right now we’re navigating the M6 motorway before joining the M62 to head back to Yorkshire. For a Friday, the traffic’s remarkably light, which means we *should* get home by 21:40…

06:41.

We’ve woken up here in Holyhead after a night in a very nice little bed and breakfast called Crossroads. They’re obviously used to people travelling to/from Ireland as the room’s set up with a little breakfast bar stocked with tea, coffee, cerals and fruit, plus juices. It’s very self-contained. I plumped for the healthy option and had the porage!We’re here because we’re catching the Stena Sealink ferry to Ireland this morning for a break (and to go to a wedding) in the Emerald Isle. We’re not travelling far as we’re heading for the Wicklow Hills on the coast South of Dublin. Stay with me and watch the day unfold…

09:12.

Our Stena ferry’s on it’s way to Ireland. I have to say it was a very slick operation by them loading all the cars and lorries. Dawn was nervous as she’d never taken a car on a ferry before but the crew were great, directing her and aiding her to get exactly where they needed the motor. We’re now sat in the lounge on deck 8, watching the world go by.

Gone are the old days when foot passengers would just walk up gangways onto ro-ro Ferries and have to be herded like cats as cars and lorries were loaded. Now they’re bussed directly on to the ferry. 

12:41.

We’ve landed in Dublin and heading South after what was a classic millpond crossing of the Irish Sea. I’ve never known it so calm!

20:40.

It’s been a slow day for a rolling blog so I’m going to fill in much of the detail here. After leaving the ferry in Dublin we were both taken aback at just how good the weather was. We’d been expecting grey skies and probably some rain. Instead, we’d basked in the sun on the ferry over and the good weather stayed with us for pretty much most of the day.

This is the first time I’ve sailed into Dublin port and I was fascinated by some of the industrial archaeology, like this old power station (known as the ‘Pigeon House’ that opened in 1903 after being converted from an old army barracks. It lasted until 1976.

Next door are the two massive chimneys of the power station that replaced it – Poolbeg – which closed in 2010.

Getting out of Dublin port was a bit of a pain, as was heading out through the southern suburbs. Dawn drily observed that she’s never driven in a country that insisted on having traffic lights on every street corner!

After crawling out of Dublin, and with having plenty of time on our hands, we decided to take the scenic route and explore part of the coastal route via Dún Laoghaire. I remember it as the port that was the traditional gateway to Ireland. Nowadays the ferries have been replaced by fancy yachts as the town’s gone much more upmarket! There’s some beautiful buildings there and a real buzz due to the cafes, restaurants and shopping. Our next stop (albeit briefly) was Bray, which was a real disappointment. It felt like an Irish version of Blackpool and it was packed! So much so that all the car parks were full so we chose not to stay and wander up Bray Head but drive on to Greystones instead. We made the right choice. Greystones had a much nicer feel to it, more laid back, cosmopolitan and up-market. We decided to stay to eat and found a really lovely Spanish restaurant on the main street called ‘Las Tapas’. The large and well furnished interior’s complimented by tables on the street, which was a great place today, allowing us to sit in the suns and soak up the atmosphere of the town. The food was very good too. We ordered five different dishes and enjoyed every one. Both of us would recommend it.

Afterwards we drove the few miles down the coast to where we’re staying the night, in the hills just above Wicklow in a very nice self-contained Airbnb. By the time we arrived the weather was starting to turn. Our hosts informed us that a severe weather warning had been issued for overnight, so instead of wandering around the town we’ve elected to hunker down in their lovely room and catch-up with some work and the world.

You can find the first few pictures from Ireland in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. I’ll be adding to it regularly during the week – time, weather and wifi permitting of course! For now, it’s goodnight.