Moving on to Scotland -- Sunday June 23, 2013

I alluded in a previous post that we really were turned off by the cities we have visited.  They are so crowded and touristy, that they are not really enjoyable.  I almost feel like we HAVE to visit them because we may never come this way again, but frankly, Ed & I both really like the countryside instead.  Can you say 'country mice'?

We were talking about this with our hosts because our next stop was scheduled to be five nights in Edinburgh, Scotland.  (I know.....many of you have told us that's your favorite city!), but I had cancelled that reservation, so we were undecided on what to do.  They suggested we stay just outside the city in a little town called Aberlady.  They recommended an Inn that they stayed in and liked so we decided that's what we would do! 

Lindisfarne Castle

We decided to take the longer coastal route from Thropton, England to get to Aberlady, Scotland.  We rode up the A1 stopping first at Holy Island, also known as Lindisfarne.  This island is located on the east coast of Britain, just south of the border to Scotland and is a tidal island.  You can only get on and off the island on the causeway during the low tides!  The only actual tourist attraction on the island is the Lindisfarne Castle. 

From there we continued up the A1 to find a little seaside town to have lunch.  Seaside towns are not at all like at home.  Many are not so nice or are pretty deserted.  And there is almost no housing developed along the coast like at home! 

Dock at St. Abbs

We ended up stopping in a small fishing village called St. Abbs , which is located on the south east coast of Scotland, in the Berwickshire area of the Scottish Borders.  St. Abbs has a working dock and a hub for a lot of scuba divers.  There were beautiful mountains that went right into the sea.  Very quaint and we had a delicious lunch in a local pub.

Duck's at Kilspindie House

I had signed us up for three nights at Duck's at Kilspindie House.  We were met by a smiling desk clerk who showed us around and made us feel at home. It turned out to be very nice. It's not a bed & breakfast, as such, but rather a family run 'restaurant with rooms'.  It's an older hotel but with a very different feel then St. Helen's!

Rooms were small, but very clean and came with a delicious breakfast each morning as well.  They had a restaurant and pub if we wanted right on site, too.  It was only $150 US for 3 nights! And it was only a 10 minute ride to get the half hour train ride into Edinburgh.

We both decided this was going to be a very good alternative to a location in the city.

Thropton Day 3 -- Saturday June 22, 2013

This morning the weather looks a little iffy.  The other two couples who were here yesterday are now gone and only one new couple have arrived for breakfast.  Nice enough, but not overly friendly and since we all eat at the same table, the conversation does not flow as nicely as yesterday.  This is our first time at a communal table in a B & B and we really like it.  It really helps you to meet people from other areas.

The other couple took off right after breakfast and we dawdled a little over coffer.  Pauline and David (our hosts) brought their coffee in and we chatted for another hour. 

They had lots of suggestion of what to see and do.  They are giving us the National Park Pass again today so we have the option to go to Wellington Castle if we would like.  We're more inclined, however, to drive up and thru the hills of Northumberland National Park itself to see the area.



Turns out to be a great option for us!  The rain comes and goes.  Often the sun will be out, then the clouds roll over a little and we get a sun shower or two.  There are hundreds and thousands of sheep on the hill sides and rarely any people.  The road is very narrow--as they all are--but with so few cars on the road, it's a non issue.

The only one problem is that the area is shared by England and NATO forces for target practice!  The Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom owns much of the land in the national park as the Otterburn Training Area. Some areas of this training area are off-limits, but others can be accessed only at certain times or with permission. The training area accounts for 23% of the Northumberland National Park.  So whenever we would see a red flag, we were sure not to go down those roads!  No problem for me!

This place is the PERFECT vacation spot!  So relaxing and calming that you can't help but feel at peace.  I'll take this over any city or tourist sight any day!




After a four hour drive thru the countryside, we decide to head to the coast to see what that was like.  We picked out a relative large coast town (based on the size of the letters on the map!) and headed there.  That was a disappointment.  It appears a lot of their coastline communities have been hit by the recession with lots of closures and for sale signs rather then a busting coastal community that we are familiar with. In the USA, coastline property is very valuable either by houses or businesses.  Here, it appears no personal property gets developed.  It's either little towns or big commercial ventures (like power plants!).

We start heading back to Thropton and plan to find someplace to eat on the way.  Found a very nice restaurant/pub and had seafood meals.  This was the best Fish and Chips I've had in England, actually.

As we arrived home a quick heavy shower came and passed.  As we gathered our things to come back inside a beautiful rainbow occurred!  Ed's been looking for that since we came here!

Thropton Day 2 -- Friday June 21, 2013

We had a great nights sleep and I'm ready to encourage Ed to find trails to hike in while I read or work on my Blog.

Cragside

Breakfast was delicious and the three couples all took up where we left off last night.  Very comfortable conversation.  In talking about what the others had done or were going to do in the Northumberland area, everyone encouraged us to go to Cragside in the next town over, Rothbury.  Cragside is a country house in the civil parish of Cartington in Northumberland, England. It was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. Built into a rocky hillside above a 4 km² forest garden, it was the country home of Lord Armstrong and has been in the care of the National Trust since 1977. Besides a beautiful mansion to tour, there is a six mile driving loop to take which shows off all of their beautiful flowers, as well as dozens of hikes for Ed to choose from.


There is a cost to go there, but the hosts offered us their National Park Pass.  So today we are going to be Mr & Mrs. Jefferson.  I can do that!

View on Cragside property

What a beautiful property!   I read for awhile, spent some time in their café, and when Ed & I met back up after his hike, we took the tour of the house.  Great relaxing day.

In the evening we walked to the local pub for dinner.  Service was a little slow but the food was excellent.

This was supposed to be our last night here since we had a reservation in Edinburgh for five days as our next stop.  Given our experience with cities, however---Ed & I have decided that we both don't care to stay in the city--we cancelled the reservation so we are now going to play it by ear instead. 

It's so nice, here, though, we asked if they had any room for 1 more night.  Our room is already booked, but they have a spare room they save in case they inadvertently double book and they said we are welcome to stay there.  It's a deal.  We have one more day to spend here.

Thropton, Northumberland, England -- Thurs June 20, 2013

Thropton Demesne Farmhouse

What a gem we found when I booked the Thropton Demesne Farmhouse!!  I knew I was looking for something in the vicinity of mountains.  Ed has been so patient with my genealogy needs and since we have been driving a lot, I KNEW he was itching to go hiking.

Our B&B is in the Northumberland area of England. Right at the very top near Scotland. Our drive coming here from St. Helen's was a long one--about four hours.  And after our nasty stay in the city, I was unsure what to expect. 

"The Chinese Room"

We found the property pretty easily after having had lunch in a Pub in Rothbury. We were welcomed by a smiling host who was very warm.  He showed us to the 'Chinese Room'--elegant, comfy, bright and cheerful!  What a relief!  They even had the nice touches you might expect:  a bottle of water and two water glasses, two wine glasses, along with plump and fluffy towels.  Breakfast is at 8:30 am tomorrow (everyone eats at that time) which suits us perfectly.

View from garden

We settle in, grabbed our wine and glasses and head to their garden.  It is overlooking an expanse of hills and sheep and is spectacular!  Another couple pull up a garden table as well in a little bit with their champagne and glasses.  We sat there for another hour and the hosts came out with their wine to say hello.  Then the no-see-um type bugs came out and the hosts insisted we all go into their solarium where we would not get eaten alive. 

Wow.  This is awesome.  We all exchanged stories over more and more wine until 11 pm or so when we realized our hosts get up at 5am to make the bread and rolls for our breakfast!  We don't want to disturb that routine!

St. Helens --trying to make the best of it -- Wednesday June 19, 2013

I'm not sure why being in St. Helen's is depressing us.  If we weren't so cheap, we would have moved on to find a nicer location to lay our heads!

Ed is making a valiant effort to get us out of this run down city for the day, though.  He has found a National Park a few hours away and has stopped at the supermarket for cheese and crackers and wine and we are going back to what we like best--quiet and nature!

Unfortunately, to get there you have to go thru MANY little cities with bumper to bumper cars and a million round abouts!  I know they make the traffic move better since streets come and go in all directions, but really--in some places they are every half mile!

The Ram's Head Pub

The ride turned out to be not exactly relaxing.  We found a really nice country pub in the town of Disley, called The Ram's Head, for lunch but that's about all.  By the time we got to the town the National Park was in, we realized it was not what we expected.  We were able to drive thru this beautiful countryside, but never did find an entrance to a park as such with benches or picnic tables, etc.  We turned around and headed back to St. Helen's.

Going home, the roundabouts are a killer.....they're every mile or so.  Crazy!  But I am sure it would be worse if there were traffic lights that often! I don't know how Ed has been able to negotiate these roads with the stick shift etc!  I would NEVER be able to do it! 

We finally made it home to have our cheese and crackers....but in our tiny, old room. 

I'm giving him 5 stars anyway for the old college try!

The Quinn's English Home before America -- Tuesday June 18, 2013

Today we are heading to St. Helen's, England.  I first located my Quinn ancestors in this town in 1877 after they left Ireland .  They married here in 1877 and had 4 children before emigrating to America.  I have church birth records and census records in this town so I'm pretty confident I will walk their tracks here too!

Park View Hotel & Guest House

We arrived about 2 pm and found the Park View Hotel and Guest House (nice name huh) pretty easily.  Upon going to the door, however, we realize they did not open until 5 pm (with lots of signs that basically say 'Don't even THINK about it!").  So we decide to use the GPS to find the addresses I have for my Quinn family in the late 1800's.  We drive near to the area--close by--and start walking.

We found the street.  The area--like St. Helen's--is working class and tired. Probably like what it must have been in the Quinn's time since they were immigrants.  There are no houses on Bold Street with their number on it, but these brick houses were not old enough to be there that long ago anyway. 



Running Horses Pub

Then we walked to the Town Centre to find a pub.  The Running Horses was a very modern bar/pub with lots of glass. Nice place.  And the prices were unbelievable cheap!  That gave us enough energy to walk around the Centre. 

Side Chapel

We found their church! Now named Holy Cross & St. Helen's .......Beautiful old building!  Having made the walk ourselves, we know they lived close enough to walk to their church from Bold Street.







Glassworks was a major employer in the 19th century in this area of England.  In some of the research I did on our Quinn family, his occupation is listed as "Glassworks Laborer".

I'm not sure why I found this area particularly depressing.  The area is very tired and somewhat run down.  Lots of row housing that looks like tenements.  Not really different then I expected, but not pretty non the less.

Random thoughts on Ireland as we leave -- Monday June 17, 2013

Today's going to be a lost travel day.  We have to return the rental car by 11 am in order not to incur charges for another day, but our flight does not leave till 5:30 so we will spend it in the airport all day.  Not Ed's favorite pastime!  He's grumbling all ready.  We can't even get the check in process over right away because it's too early.  All my toys are charged up however, so I'll spend a few hours writing my blog until the juice runs out.

Ed is reading about Scotland --one of the areas we head to next week.
The ride from Limerick to Shannon is very easy.  And dropping off the car is simple as well, so things are going smoothly. Before we left for our trip, Ed purchased a card to put into our GPS that has the maps of Great Britain on it.  I don't have any idea how anyone can travel thru and around these countries on vacation without this kind of technology.  It really makes traveling to your destinations quite simple (she who is not driving says calmly!)
The flight is somewhat delayed but we have Exit row seats again and it's a short ride to Heathrow. 
Heathrow Airport, however, is another story.  It is expansive and it takes forever to get from the plane to the baggage area.

We found the Hertz rental car place and pick up our car for the remainder of our trip.  Guess what?  You know those digs Ed wrote about in his Journal about the BMW and VW drivers in Ireland?  He's now one of them.  We are driving a VW now!  You cannot believe the leg room in this car!  It's huge.
Scary though.  I think I see his eyes sparkle as he's driving this one.
We are heading back to our friends Jane's house (thanks Jane) tonight to do laundry and regroup.  We are heading out in the morning to the St. Helen's, England area.

The GPS takes us a completely different way from the airport to Jane's house, though, then Jane did.  Nothing looks familiar as we're driving and I'm thinking we put in the wrong town (these countries all have towns with the same name in different counties).  Soon, however we are there!  Technology is great.
We do a load of laundry, get pizza for dinner, and it's off to bed.  New adventure tomorrow.

My general observations and notes about Ireland:

• Scenery is absolutely spectacular.  Beautiful greenery all over!
• The flowering purple bushes---they look like Rhododendrons--and an orange bush/tree (which looks like a Broom plant) seem to grow wild)
• When it rains, it's not really all day.  Comes and goes
• Many houses built in the last 100 years, have cinder blocks as decoration up and down the two front corners of their homes painted a different color then the rest of their house.  It looks nice.
• Supermarkets: 
• Most have parking garages
• You pay for using a cart and get your coin back when it's returned to the stall
• They do not give you bags--you either bring your own or carry your groceries separately (like BJ's)
• Toilets:  All their toilets seem to flush enthusiastically and most covers do not fit on the toilet
• All brown bread is pretty much the same...not tasty.  If you sprinkle the bread liberally with salt, a slight sprinkle of sugar and spread it with butter, it's actually pretty good.
• In most pubs you go to the bar to order and  pay for your drinks & food and give them your table number.  The server then brings it to you.
• Ed only had 1 shamrock decorating his Guinness the whole time we were in Ireland!  I guess because we weren't in Dublin or where Guinness was made.  Sad.
• My two favorite spots in Ireland were the Connemara Coast and Dingle Peninsula

Limrick -- Our last stop in Ireland --Sunday June 16, 2013

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there!

Today's a transfer day.  We are heading to Limerick, Ireland to get us closer to Shannon Airport.  The city dates from at least the Viking settlement in 812. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral.  We fly out of Shannon Airport tomorrow for England.

Despite the threat of rain, and since it is only a few hours to Limerick, we decide to take one last try at the Ring of Kerry....from the other direction. We have another good breakfast, pack the car and try to beat the tour buses since they start in the direction, too.

Ring of Kerry view #1

Boy these mountains must be pretty spectacular on a clear day.  (I wonder how many clear days they get, though).  One of the really interesting little towns on this drive is Kenmare. Kenmare lies on two noted Irish tourist routes, the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Beara, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Killarney. As a result it is a popular tourist destination and many of the businesses in the area cater to tourists. The town is noted for its

Ring of Kerry view #2

food and pubs. Kenmare boasts a range of restaurants and traditional pubs.  Looks like it would a great base when we come back another time!

By mid day we finish and head to Limerick.  We are booked in an inner city hotel.  I wanted to be near the pubs for our last night.  Good thing, too, since we never did make it to Irish Music in the evening.   They all start after 9:30!

Entry to The Boutique Hotel

Our hotel is called The Boutique Hotel.  We miss seeing it as we are driving thru these little side streets on what appear to be a seedy side of town. We are literally on the street and can't find it.  Instead of driving around, Ed has me wait in the car, and he walks back to find it.  Success.

The hotel has a glass front---just like a store--which is why we missed it.  It's probably the nicest looking front on the street. Scary, isn't it?

Clearly, it's a really old hotel with really tiny rooms, and the Internet only works in the common living area and breakfast solarium.  And finicky to get it started to boot. Nuisance.
We have wine and cheese for dinner as we sit in the living area.  There's a commotion outside. 
The breakfast area on the second floor is all glass so you get good views of all the comings and goings below.

Apparently there was a fight between some guys and some Travellers.  Now we had just listened to a radio program while we were driving on the Travellers today.  Apparently they are Ireland's version of gypsies.  They have been largely segregated in Ireland much like the black community has been in America.  The program told about how the schools would segregate them from the other children and not bother to teach them to read or write!  Can you imagine?  People tend to kick them out when they see them in stores and businesses.  Tonight there was a fist fight and one of them was bleeding!

About 9pm we decide to troll the street looking for our Irish music for our last night in Ireland!  A few bars we passed were jumping but none of their music is Irish....it's all hard rock!  What the heck!  Finally we found Phil Flannery's Pub.  Irish music!  A little bawdy but lively and fun. 

A couple women sitting next to us took a fancy to us and after a few drinks were chatting up a storm.  They had really heavy brogues so it was a challenge to understand them over the loud music. 

We must have had fun since we closed the bar down!

Tour of Dingle Peninsula -- Saturday June 15, 2013

Despite the forecast of rain we have decided we are going to spend today going to see the Dingle Peninsula.  I'm thinking the ocean is better to look at in the rain then the clouded over mountain tops.

Our breakfast is very nice this morning continuing our opinion of this Bed and Breakfast, and then we head out.  The roads don't start out as narrow as the Ring of Kerry and there are beautiful views so I'm happy!


I was hoping to see Fungie, The Dingle Dolphin, on our ride, but alas, I did not! The Dingle Dolphin -- or Fungie, the name given to him by the fishermen in the harbor -- is a fully grown, possibly middle aged, male bottlenose, Tursiops Truncatus. He weighs in at around one-quarter tonne (500 lbs.) and measures in the region of four metres (13 feet).  In 1984, Paddy Ferriter, the Dingle Harbour lighthouse keeper, first began watching a lone wild dolphin escort the town's fishing boats to and from port. By August of that year, local Ministry of Marine manager Kevin Flannery was able to officially record the dolphin as a "permanent" resident of the entrance channel and self-appointed "pilot" of the fleet.  Maybe next time we come!

Visitor Centre made of stone

Along our ride we came across The Dunbeg Promontory Fort and Visitor Centre & Café.  We had a light lunch
and decided to watch the video and take the tour.  It was very interesting!  The date at which the Dunbeg Fort was built is very uncertain, although its structure resembles other Western Stone Forts. It may have been built around the same time as Iron Age blockhouse forts in Scotland such as the Crosskirk Fort in Caithness and the Clickimin Fort, Ness of Burgi Fort and Huxter Fort in Shetland.^[8] A sample of wood

Opening to the Dunbeg Fort

found in a ditch lying partly under the stone wall was dated to around 580 BC, so the wall is no older than that. Another piece of wood in a deposit overlaying the base of a retaining wall was dated to around 800 AD, indicating that the wall was built before that date.^[8] There is no trace of occupation other than the drystone clochán within the fort, which was built in the 10th century AD
 
Within two hours of driving, the sun breaks thru!  Ed is ecstatic!  We found a site up on a hill overlooking the ocean and decided to stop there for a few hours.  Ed then proceeded to take a zillion pictures of what he saw.  Can't say I blame him.  It is beautiful!

 

 

 

The Dingle Peninsula is truly one of my favorite spots in Ireland!  Thanks. Cindy Blum for recommending the area!

Heading to Killarney, Ireland -- Friday June 14, 2013

Today we drove to Killarney. Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, which is part of Killarney National Park.  In 2011 it was named Ireland's tidiest town and the cleanest town in the country by Irish Business Against Litter. 

This is one of the areas I am most excited about for Ed.  The Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula
are both accessible from our Bed & Breakfast.  Alas...it is going to rain for the next couple of days which are our last three days in Ireland.

The drive from Athlone was very pretty:  some flat lands but mostly beautiful rolling pasture lands with some (clouded over) mountains in the distance.

We found our B&B very quickly.  It is right on Muckross Road---the road to the Ring of Kerry!  It's a beautiful B&B! We came to our room and unpacked and tried to get the wireless to work.
It didn't! The owner was not in, but one of workers was going to try to get it going.  We decide to go out to lunch.

It is raining and does not look good.  We found a restaurant in town that was very nice and then decided to walk around the town of Killarney.  Guide books mention it is touristy and expensive.  That's probably true but we put my new raincoat and hat to good use.

We came back to our room and found the wireless was working so we are all set!  Ed played on importing his pictures from the camera and I read for awhile. The owner even knocked on our door to see if it was fixed.  Nice touch.

View while driving Ring of Kerry

About 5 pm the sun came out, and since it stays light till ten o'clock, we ran to the car to take our first drive on the Ring of Kerry.  Alas, that only worked for about 2 hours when it got socked in again with rain.  Maybe the third time will be a charm.

The ride so far on this area looks well worth the narrow roadways and race car drivers!  It's beautiful.

Driving to Athlone -- Thursday June 13, 2013

Church as seen from Athlone Castle

Today we are driving to Athlone.  Athlone (Irish: Baile Átha Luain, meaning "town of Luan's ford")^[1] is a town on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree in Ireland. It is the largest town in the Midlands Region.^[

I made reservations in this town since I thought it would get us closer to our destination for tomorrow in Killarney and the Ring of Kerry.  Now I don't know what I was thinking!  It is really only 90 minutes from where we are staying in Castlerea so it doesn't help very much.  Oh well.

Our ride continues to be on narrow two lane roads along very scenic pastureland.  Not much traffic.



Richard Grace Pub

We get into Athlone about 1 pm and decided to find our Bed  & Breakfast before having lunch.  Lucky for us, the room was ready so we could put our bags away.  We are RIGHT in the heart of Irishtown in Athlone so walking to everything will be no problem.
We ate lunch at Richard Grace's Pub.  Looks very old...and not exactly clean!


This is a city B&B for sure.  The host is Mohammud....not sure I saw a lot of Irish in him...but he was very personable and friendly.  Their living room to sit in is located in the next building...it's an odd set up. 

We decide to walk thru the town (there are sidewalks along the congested town area, but the space is only about 8 inches wide!) You take your life in your hands.  We went for a tour of Athlone Castle. This castle in Westmeath County, Ireland, dates from the 1100's.  It was very interesting.  They had movies and audio stories about the castle and the area.

Later in the day Ed went around the town to look around and find photo ops while I read.

Sean's Bar

At night we walked to dinner at Mamma Mia's and then stopped in Sean's Bar.  The Guiness Book of World Records say this is the oldest pub in Ireland dating back to 900 bc. In fact, they are said to be the oldest in all of Europe! Pretty disgusting place but I can say I was there.  The pub across the street was hopping....with young locals laughing at all the tourists in the old dump across the street!  The power of marketing!

Athlone wasn't bad for being a city!

Day two in the ancestral area -- Wednesday June 12, 2013

Breakfast room at Fallon's

We start out our morning with breakfast in the Fallon's beautiful solarium!  Tom and Helen are our hosts here.  A little more reserved then the other hosts we have come across, though.  They seem very mindful about giving us our privacy.  They sure do know how to cook, though:)


Today we decide to head to the town of Strokestown.  I am taking Ed at his word that Genealogy sleuthing is going to be OK so we head for the County Roscommon Heritage and Genealogical History Center.  I can't say I have heard good things about the help this group gives you, but they may have some records that I could look at while we are here.

Similar to what I am ALWAYS advised in doing genealogy research....you should always check ahead for times and availability of help wherever you want to go.  We found the site pretty easily, but it's hours are not till later in the afternoon...oh, and the person that runs the research center won't be in today!  (This is the reason why a genealogy group NEVER has only one person doing a task!--pay attention CCGS....we need to ensure that many more people get involved!)

So I go back to my original plan of researching the Quinn's from home or hiring experts in Ireland to do this for me! 

Ancient Oak Planks in Corlea Trackway

Instead we decided to continue to drive around to enjoy Ireland.  We came across an interesting site and decided to check it out. It was called the Corlea Trackway. 

The Corlea Trackway is an Iron Age trackway, or togher, near the village of Keenagh, south of Longford town, County Longford, in Ireland. It was known locally as the Danes Road. The Corlea Trackway is made from oak planks 3 to 3.5 metres long and around 15 centimetres thick laid on rails around 1.2 metres apart. The road was at least 1 kilometre long. Dendrochronological study suggests that the timber used in construction was felled in late 148 BC or early in 147 BC and the road built then. Amazing stuff!

The area for miles around the Corlea Trackway is filled with peat.  In fact, being covered with the peat is what preserved this wood for thousands of years.

Drying Peat Bricks

Many people still use peat bricks to heat there homes!  It was interesting to see how the peat bogs are cut up and stacked to dry so families (and commercial businesses) could stay warm in the winter!


Not genealogy....but interesting enough!

Ready to walk in my ancestors footsteps -- Tuesday June 11, 2013

Breakfast area at The Boulevard

We had  a really nice breakfast this morning in an old fashioned breakfast room. Our hostess was very amiable. The weather has turned overcast and there is a threat of rain today. 


We can't possibly complain.  We are told that rain or rain like days are totally the norm here in Ireland--which is why we are seeing such beautiful greenery!   



We left with a destination to drive to/thru Williamstown and Pollremon in County Galway--the Quinn area.  Williamstown is a small village located on the R360 regional road in the townland of Corralough in northeast County Galway, Ireland. The village is situated half way between Dunmore and Ballymoe in north County Galway. This is the area I have been most excited about on this trip...my ancestral land.  I know this type of thing does not really 'float Ed's boat' and since this is a trip for both of us, I am not pushing any genealogy agenda.  However, Ed says for a couple of days we can go all out for 'genealogy'.  YEAH!! 

We drove along the route to go toward the area of Pollremon, Williamstown, Glenamaddy. Never heard of the area?  I'm not surprised.  It is off the tourist path...just like Ed and I like it anyway! 



Cemetery in Pollremon

We found a cemetery in the Pollremon area that COULD have my QUINN ancestors or relatives  buried in it!  Ed is such a good sport.  He takes lots of pictures and we get thoroughly soaked sneakers as we traipse the cemetery.  In the end I don't think it is my Quinn's that are buried here, but it is certainly in this area that they farmed and made a living for a minimum of 60 years.  Good enough! I can feel that I 'walked in their footsteps'.




Fallon's B & B

I called ahead to Castlerea, the largest of the local towns, to a B & B recommended to me called Fallon's Bed & Breakfast.  They had room so we are booked for 2 nights.  And...we are the only guests--this is not exactly a tourist area:)  Extremely clean!  Nice big room. But their Internet connection is very intermittent.  A real drawback for me...and this blog!


This first day we are trying to simply get a lay of the land.  Try to see what my ancestors were surrounded with.  I know the Quinn's had leased land in Pollremon in the 1830's thru the 1890's...my Michael Quinn (great grandfather) left for England before 1877 where I found him marrying Annie Connolly who may have come from County Roscommon.  Why they left Ireland is a mystery, but we know that the land his father James leased in Pollremon was probably not terribly productive by then.  The Title Applotment Book indicates that the house was down by 1884.

Raspberry Meringue Roulade

We dropped off our dirty laundry at a laundromat in town that washes, dries and folds your clothes for you!  How decadent is that?

We had a late lunch (Lunner) at The Golden Eagle and went back again around 9 pm (still light out) for dessert...yum!  The dessert I had was a Raspberry Meringue Roulade.  IT WAS SPECTACULAR!   Now I have two new favorite desserts that I have to learn to make when I return home.

This area looks like a good spot and has beautiful rolling countryside hills.  It appears to be good farmland now...I wonder what happened in my great-great-grandparents time?

Flying by the seat of our pants -- Monday June 10, 2013

We do not have definitive plans for the following 3 days or so, so our goal is to get to Westport after doing a driving tour of the Connemara area.  Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland of which the boundaries are not well defined. Some define it to be the land contained by Killary Harbour, the Maam Valley, Lough Corrib; a line from there to the sea at Barna, and the Atlantic ocean.

The N59

We took the N59 out of Galway.  The N59 is a 2 lane Irish road but not terribly narrow, so I didn't grip the side handle of our car as much as usual!  It's a beautiful scenic drive! It clouded up pretty quickly, though, and became very cool with a little rain now and then.  The  Ben and the mountain tops are all in cloud cover which is really too bad.  They would have been able to make great shots for Ed. 

Flowers along the N59

The flowers along the way, though were SPECTACULAR:  purple rhododendrons and an orange/yellow bush that grows like weeds! We stopped along the way in the town of Clifden for a local pub where we met Nan and her daughter Natalie  who were traveling from Scotland.  Natalie wrote out a sheet of suggestions for things to see while we are in Scotland.  She trained as a travel agent so she was a wealth of information! 
lunch at

We continued on with our goal of reaching Westport in County Mayo tonight. We called along the way to The Boulevard Guesthouse which someone on one of my Genealogy blogs had recommended.  It is right in downtown Westport.

The Boulevard Guesthouse

They had a room available and when we drove up to it, we were pleasantly surprised! It was along a canal, one of the buildings that fronted the street, and it was covered in ivy.  Very interesting looking.  We rang the bell and were met with a young hostess who was very accommodating (and we found we got their last room since someone else came along not long after and were told there 'Was no room at the inn".)


The rooms were very nice and spacious with high ceilings in the room and a view of the canal. We walked around the town, had dinner at the local pub, came home and read a little and went to bed.  When you are doing this kind of a trip, you need to pace yourself!

I'm exhausted already every night and sleep like a baby.  I have to reign myself in from getting excited about going home to camp where there is NOTHING to do but relax!

Touring the city of Galway -- Sunday June 9, 2013

We got up at our nice early hour and headed downstairs for breakfast by 8 am.  Our hostess is really very nice and the full Irish Breakfast was delicious. Our lodging is very clean and comfortable despite the location.

We decided to go to the city of Galway for the day.  Galway (Irish: Gaillimh, pronounced [ˈɡalʲɪvʲ]), or the City of Galway (Irish: Cathair na Gaillimhe), is a city in Ireland. It is in the West Region and the province of Connacht. Galway lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay and is surrounded by County Galway. It is the fourth most populous city in the state and the sixth most populous on the island of Ireland.

We drove into town early so we were able to find a parking space pretty easily.  No charges on Sundays! You have to love the Sabbath in Ireland! 

Once there, I immediately wanted to take a bus tour.  Ed had listened to the Rick Steve's audio information on Ireland and decided to pass.  He decided to walk around instead.  My driver was a very sweet older Irish man who loves Cape Cod due to the Kennedy's.  I know I'm in trouble!                                                                                                                                                                       


I took the bus tour anyway.  We started and ended in Eyre Square , otherwise known as the 

Eyre Square

John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.  It is an inner-city public park in Galway, Ireland, formerly officially named Eyre Square (Irish: An Fhaiche Mhór) and still widely known by that name. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of Williams Street and Shop Street.The park is rectangular, surrounded on three sides by streets that form the major traffic arteries into Galway city centre; the West side of the Square was pedestrianised in 2006. 

Galway Cathedral

On my bus tour, I passed the National University of Ireland, the Galway Cathedral (which was dedicated by Cardinal Cushing from Boston) and the Salthill beaches among others.  My guides brogue was a little thick but I got the idea:)

Ed walked around and predominately saw the same things I did.  The exception was he saw a cemetery and I saw a beach!

People in the pedestrian area

It was a beautiful sunny day!  We decided to stop at McDonough's on Quay Street for their highly recommended Fish N' Chips. It's in all the guide books.  Great meal and we sat by the window to people watch since it had gotten quite busy.

Pub with Irish music

We walked around the pedestrian area for awhile and found a pub that was having Irish daytime music playing.  We haven't stayed awake long enough in the evenings to get to hear the music so this was perfect!

It was a great day out in the city of  Galway.  Time to go back to our B & B for a rest and wine and chips for dinner.

Heading to Galway, Ireland --- Saturday June 8, 2013

We leave early from Doolin and head to Galway for the next two nights.  Galway is in the West Region of Ireland and the province of Connacht.  Galway lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay and is surrounded by County Galway. It is the fourth most populous city in the state and the sixth most populous on the island of Ireland. We head out of Doolin following R478 onto N67 into Galway for the next two nights as our next stop. The N67 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It runs from Kilcolgan to Tarbert and passes though Kinvara, Ballyvaughan, Lisdoonvarna, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Milltown Malbay, Quilty, Doonbeg and Kilkee.

It wasen't a terribly long ride so we arrived early to our next B & B called the Corrib View B & B.  From the outside it's a disappointment!  For one thing, I didn't realize it was a car or bus ride into downtown Galway.  I've been trying to get places where Ed & I could walk to pubs at night (for obvious reasons!) and this does not fit the bill.  For another, it is in a cul de sac of B & B's reminding us of the Motel 6 strip of motels.  The room is small and kind of dark but very clean. The host is very pleasant, though, and there is a nice, comfortable living room to sit in so perhaps this will be fine.

Ruins of Cong Abbey

We spent the afternoon driving out of the Galway to a town called Cong in County Mayo.  It's a beautiful ride and a very quaint little city with some interesting abbey ruins. Cong is a village straddling the borders of County Galway and County Mayo, in Ireland. Cong is situated on an island formed by a number of streams that surround it on all sides. Cong is located on the isthmus connecting Loughs Corrib and Mask, near the towns of Headford and Ballinrobe and the villages of Neale and Cross.

Cong is known for its underground streams that connect Lough Corrib with Lough Mask to the north. It was also the home of Sir William Wilde, historian and father to prominent playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer Oscar Wilde.


We start our ride to Cong thru Galway, up the N84 and then onto the scenic R334.  And what do you know....it's a small enough town that we began to get lost.  We ended on a very small road along a Lough (lake/river?).  Room for 2 cars if you are both polite!



We found a couple managing their plants along the side of the road and decided to ask them where we were!  They were very sweet.

When they heard we were from America, they bemoaned the problems Obama is experiencing in the press in the USA. (We really like the Irish!)


Driving Road in Cong

They also gave us scenic directions to get back on track...they like to get lost, too!  They told us about the path we would continue along to the other side of the lake/lough that is just recently opened. It used to be a sheep path only...somewhat paved, grass in the middle, only room for 1 and 1/3 cars...not many pull offs if you find an oncoming car....AN ADVENTURE!  So we took it.




It was a BEAUTIFUL drive.  Not many times to cringe, lots of ewes and their babies, sheep all over, many with different colors sprayed on their backs (to tell them apart from their neighbors sheep??), mountains all around...Stunning scenery.






By the time we get back to Galway to settle into our room Ed starts playing with his pictures which often takes awhile.  We didn't head out to dinner until after 9 pm (because it is so light out in Ireland---still light out at 10 pm!--it's hard to get moving earlier!).  Apparently, though, all pubs and restaurants here stop serving at 9!  Oh well...chips and wine for dinner!  We can deal....we're eating WAYYY  too much anyway!
We decide to do a tour of Galway city tomorrow and then do our driving tour of the Connamara area and their mountains on Monday.

They say the weather isn't always this good! -- Friday June 7, 2013

We sure are lucky!  They say the weather is not always this good, but the weather is fantastic!  We awake to another day full of sunshine and decide to see how our included breakfast is.

It too is FABULOUS!  This B & B is a winner.  None of our others will ever match up to it!

Map of Aran Islands

On the recommendation of our host, Susan, we decide to take a combo boat tour--Three hours to the smallest of the Aran Islands, called Inisheer, and then a cruise along the base of the Cliffs of Moher.  The boat was big enough to be smooth riding and sunny enough to be beautiful! 

Once we arrive on Inisheer, (also known as Inis Oirr), the smallest of the Aran islands, we are met with a lot of options for tours.  I choose the horse drawn cart driven by a true Irishman and Ed chose renting a bicycle.  Each
choice cost 10 pounds.  We plan to meet back in 2 hours for lunch.



Matilda with driver Liam

My driver, Liam, was born and raised on this island. The year round population on this island is 297.  There are two schools on the island:  one primary school with 25 students and 2 teachers and one secondary school with 20 students and 8 teachers.  I thought that was because secondary school kids were unruly.  Liam assured me it was because of all the different subjects that were being taught!  Irish is still today the daily language of the residents. In addition, many school pupils come to the island to learn Irish in an environment where it is a living language.  They only use English when the tourists come!

The island is an extension of The Burren. The terrain of the island is composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as "grikes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints".  There are rock walls criss crossing almost every inch of the island!  In order to prepare the island for pasturing for their anamals or to grow anything, they had to first break up the rock and had no place to put it....so they made rock walls all around sections of their property.  (Ed has lots more pictures of this rock wall weaving...you might ask for a private showing!)

Matilda was my horse on this trip!  She looked very bored!

On the next part of the trip, we headed to the Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs of Moher (Irish: Aillte an Mhothair)^[1] are located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland.^[2] They rise 120 metres (390 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and reach their maximum height of 214 metres (702 ft) just north of O'Brien's Tower, eight kilometres to the north.^[3] The cliffs receive almost one million visitors a year.


Many of the cliff edges and outcroppings were covered with birds. Probably some Puffins, too, but I couldn't tell the difference.

As an added bonus when we docked back in Doolin, we were entertained by Daisy the Dolphin!  There were some boys in wet suits snorkeling in the water in that Bay.  Daisy came along and started 'playing' with them--going in and out of their arms!  Very sweet!  Daisy has apparently been here for many years since there are videos of her antics on You Tube!


McGann's Pub

We arrived home and decided to head out to McGann's Pub for
dinner.  Great atmosphere and food!  Instead of waiting for music to start (not till 9:30 pm!)  we decide to go for a sunset cruise.  Good choice...not as good as Cape Cod Bay...but good.  I miss the Cape!

Sunset off Doolin coast



(I am writing a few days behind due to Internet and picture transferring issues!  Very frustrating!  I am hoping to catch up in a few days before I forget where we've been!!!)