Around the World In: Films

Ever watched a film and thought "I wish I could go there"? Yeah, so have I. And since I'm in the middle of having a final re-watch of the epic Lord of the Rings, I thought I'd pull together some of my favourite films for sparking travel daydreams.

1. The Lord of the Rings

OK, so we all know Middle-earth isn't a real place, but the locations used in Peter Jackson's films are a glorious showcase of New Zealand's natural beauty. Mount Doom, the Shire, Rohan and Gondor all exist in New Zealand and when I get back over there at the end of the year I intend to visit as many of them as possible. And grab myself another pint of cider in the Green Dragon...

2. Up

One of Pixar's greatest creations, Up is full of amazing scenery, mostly based on beautiful places in South America. The plateaux? Venezuela's tepui, including Mount Roraima. The forests? How can you not see the Amazon in that? And the waterfall plunging off the top of the plateau? Angel Falls, also in Venezuela.

3. Madagascar

The clue's in the name. So yes, it's full of talking animals and there's never that much made of the surroundings, but wouldn't you just love to visit that forest and see lemurs in the wild?

4. Harry Potter

All right, so few of the places in the HP films actually exist (or do they...?), but courtesy of them being set in Britain, you can still get your geekery on. Fancy hunting down Platform 9 & 3/4 at Kings Cross Station? Go ahead. You can also visit Hogwarts at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland and further afield in Ireland, you can see where Dumbledore took Harry to retrieve the locket horcrux. Conveniently located at the Cliffs of Moher, by the way.

Or, you know, you could just check out the studio tour just outside London.

5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

This film was probably the first time I saw Petra. An ancient city in Jordan carved out of the rock, Petra features as the final home of the fabled Holy Grail. The rock has an oddly pink hue and it just looks beautiful. You can see why it's such a big tourist draw.

Have you ever watched a film and wanted to visit the settings? Let me know in the comments!

Around the World In: Awesome Museums

Everyone loves a good museum, right? These are some of my favourites from around the world.

1. The Natural History Museum, London

The British Museum might be the most visited museum in London, but the Natural History Museum is my favourite. It helped to foster my childhood love of the natural world and remains a brilliant place to this day.

Best visited later in the afternoon and during the week when there are less people around, especially if you want to see the famous Dinosaur Gallery.

2. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin

There's a few branches of this wonderful museum and I'd recommend the archaeology building and the slightly creepy Dead Zoo for a start. The archaeology section has some amazingly well preserved bog bodies that are worth checking out so long as you're not squeamish.

And if you can cope with vast cabinets of stuffed animals staring down at you, the Dead Zoo is amazing. Creepy, but amazing.

3. Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau

Situated just across the river from Canada's lovely capital city, Ottawa, this sprawling museum is an amazing introduction to the history of Canada, from the people of the First Nations all the way through to the present. Hoping to revisit this when I head back to Canada in the summer.

4. Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington

New Zealand's national museum is a deceptively huge place and it's easy to lose a day in here without really scratching the surface of the collection. Highlights include a gallery charting the changes in the wildlife of the islands and a small collection of musical instruments, both traditional Maori and Pacific Island and some more familiar to Europeans.

 

5. The Louvre, Paris

Probably the most famous museum in France and to date the only one I've visited. Home of the Mona Lisa among numerous other amazing artworks. And if you're into the faux-conspiracy of Dan Brown's books, the Louvre is big in that too.

What are your favourite museums? Got any unusual collections to share? Why not let us know in the comments below.

Around the World In...: Outdoor Adventures

There's a whole world of adventures out there, from the laid back to the adrenaline pumping. Here's a few of my favourites from experience and a few I fancy trying out.

Starlight Kayaking, West Cork

There really is something magical about floating around in a bay with a whole sky full of stars burning overhead, not to mention the gentle sparks of bioluminscence in the water as you paddle along. Starlight kayaking in the sheltered waters around Reen Pier in West Cork was a highlight of my trip to Ireland last year and an experience I'd happily repeat.

Don't fancy kayaking in the dark? Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand has beautiful blue waters year round, sheltered enough for beginners but still amazing.

Sandboarding, Te Paki

Weird sport, sandboarding. Grab your bodyboard, climb a sand dune and then, effectively, surf down it. Brilliant fun, even better if you manage to stay on your board. Te Paki stands at the northern end of Ninety Mile Beach on New Zealand's North Island and is well known for sandboarding. You can hire boards locally, but if you're already taking an organised trip up there, it might be included in the cost. Have a go. It's great.

Safari, Kruger National Park

Kruger is one of the largest reserves in Africa and, what with being fairly easily accessible from Johannesburg and Pretoria, is a great place for safari. There are few things quite as amazing as coming across White Rhino just sitting in the middle of the road on a morning game drive or seeing the same up close in the dark. Of course, for me the highlight was seeing giraffe running because I love how it looks like they run in slow motion...

As an alternative, and one I really hope I can take on my Grand Tour, try Namibia where you can go from desert to savannah.

Snorkelling, Great Barrier Reef

There's all sorts of adventures to have on Australia's Great Barrier Reef from scuba diving to sailing. Snorkelling can get you in close though, assuming you don't have a panic attack like I did. My sister and dad assure me that it is brilliant and they saw a small shark which I'm very jealous about.

Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Not an adventure so much, at least not in the traditional sense. But how many other places can you relax in wonderfully warm water with the stars overhead and snow falling on your head? This is coming from someone who's not into spas. It's surreal and amazing and well worth a visit. Why not round off an adventure packed tour of Iceland with a stop at the Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport? Perfect way to wind down - I'll vouch for that.

For an indoor alternative, Andorra's huge Caldea is pretty good, with a wide range of options or you could just paddle around the main pool.

Honourable Mention: Horse Riding, Killarney

Horse riding is one of those things you just have to do in Ireland and for beginners a nice walk around Killarney National Park is a great place to start. Just, you know, hang on if your horse decides to go for an unexpected trot.

So there's some of my favourite outdoor adventures so far. There's plenty more I'd like to try out on my round-the-world Grand Tour - bouldering in Canada, glacier hiking, maybe, in Chile and definitely stargazing in the Atacama. So many adventures still left!

What adventures would you recommend? Is there something fantastic on your doorstep that you think others should know about? Why not share in the comments below.

Around the World In: World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are wonderful things and there's plenty of them to go at. I've visited quite a few on my travels (although that's as much because the UK has quite a few), so here are some of my favourites.

1. Tasmanian Wilderness, Australia

Some 40% of the Australian state of Tasmania is designated as some form of protected area. The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area takes in much of the south and west of the island which is largely inaccesible and a beautiful part of an already beautiful place. I made the trip to Cradle Mountain while I was studying at the University of Tasmania, but unfortunately the weather got the better of it and this is the best photo I managed. Cradle Mountain itself is hidden in the cloud on the right of the shot.

I'm hoping to return to the area when I reach Tasmania around this time next year on my Grand Tour. Easiest access to the World Heritage area is probably via the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

2. Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

Famed for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a long distance trek across this amazing volcanic landscape, Tongariro National Park sits at the centre of New Zealand's North Island. Rich with Maori mythology and somewhat alien to look at, it's no wonder the area is so popular. Oh, and I suppose it's an added bonus that Peter Jackson used the area to shoot several sections of the Lord of the Rings films. Mount Nguaruhoe doubles as the infamous Mount Doom, but the whole park is beautiful, even in the ice rain.

Somewhere else I'd like to revisit on the Grand Tour. Access is free (as far as I can see), the main gateway being at Whakapapa.

3. Þhingvellir, Iceland

Þhingvellir, the place where Iceland's ancient Althingi met for several centuries, also happens to lie over the ridge where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart. History and geology all rolled into one and a beautiful place. Not that I could see much of it when I visited this time last year, it being winter and snowing and whatnot. Felt a bit like wandering through Middle-earth... Hopefully when I revisit in the summer I'll see a bit more of it than this.

Access is free, but in winter the area is easier to access as part of an organised bus trip from Reykjavik.

4. Bru na Boinne, Ireland

A rather more human site, this one. Bru Na Boinne is cited because of it's outstanding collection of Neolithic tombs, art and other landmarks. The most famous of these is probably the white walled Newgrange passage tomb. Personally, I found the strange collection of mounds at Knowth more interesting, what with it's huge central mound and numerous smaller satellite tombs. That and the fact that Knowth is home to a third or more of all the known megalithic art in Europe. The huge kerbstones which encircle the main mound are inscribed with all manner of carvings. Very cool.

Oh, and there's something strangely compelling about seeing down the passage at Knowth. Not sure why...

All access to the two main sites - Newgrange and Knowth - is via the Bru na Boinne visitor centre. Entry is €11 to visit Newgrange and Knowth and includes the exhibitions at the visitor centre, plus guided commentary at the sites. Dowth can be accessed without visiting the centre and as far as I can see has no entry charge. Don't hold me to that one...

5. Maritime Greenwich, United Kingdom

Beautiful architecture, amazing history and ground-breaking science all come together in Greenwich, home of the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory. All three are well worth checking out to get a real feel for the history of this area of London. If you've got the time, you should try taking the river boat up from the City to the pier near the Old Royal Naval College or even up past Greenwich itself to the O2 to get a wonderful view of the buildings.

Seems somewhat appropriate to approach the Royal Naval College from the water, doesn't it?

To visit Greenwich, hop on the DLR and alight at Cutty Sark. This will entail some changing of trains. Alternatively, get on one of the river boats in central London and head up the river, disembarking at Greenwich Pier. Entry to the National Maritime Museum and Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College is free. There is a charge of £9.50 for access to the Royal Observatory. If you also want to visit the Cutty Sark, save money by getting a combo ticket which includes both the Observatory and the Cutty Sark.

There's so many World Heritage sites all over the world. I've visited many more - these are just some of my favourites - and I hope to visit even more over the course of my round-the-world Grand Tour starting this summer.

World Heritage sites can be vital to preserving historic sites and sensitive habitats. Do you have a favourite site? Or perhaps you'd like to see something given World Heritage status? Why not share in the comments below?

Travel Inspirations: Playing Cards

Yes, I count playing cards as a travel inspiration. If you're anything like me, one of the things you always forget to pack is a deck of cards for those rare moments when you've run out of sights to see and exciting things to do.

In my family, we sort of almost gave up trying to remember after a while and just bought the cards once we reached our destination. You know the type - cheap things you pick up in the tat/souvenir shops with pretty pictures of the country on them.

Got a few packs now. New Zealand, Ireland, South African Wildlife plus some older ones from Andorra and Canada. The Canadian ones don't have pictures. They have interesting facts about each state/province/territory instead. Great for people like me who love random facts.

But how on earth can I count them as travel inspiration? Most people seem to get that from glossy adverts and those cloyingly inspiring photos so popular on Instagram... so why cards?

Because reasons. The first being that to get the cards in the first place you have to travel. Slightly counter-intuitive. Think of it this way though. You go on holiday, buy a pack of country-photo cards. Maybe there's something in that pack you hadn't heard of? Maybe there's some sort of interesting local custom that's worth checking out.

Take my New Zealand deck for example, which rather boldly claims to be the "best souvenir from New Zealand". It's not. My pounamu necklace ranks much higher. But anyway, there's places in those cards I hadn't heard of before I got there. Places like Tekapo on South Island, with its little church by the lake and the gorgeous scenery around Wanaka. Tekapo was a bit out of reach given our itinerary, but we ended up driving through Wanaka. Admittedly, we had to to get from the West Coast to Queenstown, but hey.

I suppose they act a bit like a tick list. Here, says the card deck, you should see these places. And off you pop to go and see as many of them as you can.

Reason the second is that they're incentive to go back, in part because of that tick list feeling. I didn't get to Milford Sound in New Zealand because a snow storm closed the road, but I have a gorgeous picture of the Sound and nearby Mitre Peak to tell me "COME BACK! WE'RE WAITING!"

The third and final reason is that these cards inevitably catch the landscape at its best. My photography skills are improving but basic and travelling when I have, the weather's not always great. Take the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland for example. It pissed down the entire day when we went there and while I quite like the photos I took, the images on the playing cards I picked up are so much better. Sometimes I wonder if I should just stick them all to my doors with my postcards...

Where do you find your travel inspiration? Any unusual sources?

Halloween: 5 After Dark Experiences

Well, I've missed Halloween by a week, but I though I'd share with you some of the spooky places I've been. Because I'm told everyone loves Halloween. I don't really do spooky or Halloween so the 5 things I've included here are more... embracing the dark than aiming for scares.

1. The Tower of London

Or any other castle for that matter. OK, I'll admit that most of the Tower isn't spooky. In fact, it's pretty damn fascinating. But there's little areas where it just makes you shiver. I'm no great believer in the paranormal, but you can understand why, when so many people were executed at the Tower it might make you feel a little uneasy.

I'm sort of tempted to have a wander around Tower Hill in the dark the next time I'm in London...

2. York after dark

The city of York with its hundreds of years of history and maze of narrow streets lends itself to ghost stories. I took a ghost tour there years ago with school and while the tour itself wasn't really up there in the scary stakes, wandering around the city at night could get quite creepy. Traipsing through the little snickelways where the buildings in places nearly meet overhead was especially cool.

For sheer bloody history, head up to Clifford's Tower, the largest remaining segment of the old York Castle. Here in the Middle Ages the city's persecuted Jewish community holed themselves up to find protection from an angry mob. The tower, then the keep of the castle, came under siege and eventually the families inside committed suicide and set the tower on fire rather than fall into the hands of the mob. A rather black mark on English history...

3. Waitomo Glow Worm Caves

Not so much spooky as surreal, the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand are famous for their amazing glow worms. There are a series of caves at the site, all of which have their own unique appeal. In Ruakuri Cave all the lights get turned out and you can walk conga-style through the dark with just the pale blue lights of the glow worms to show you where the walls are, while in the main Waitomo Cave you go on a boat ride along the Waitomo River, lit from all sides by so many glow worms it feels like you're outside under stars. An amazing experience and one I would highly recommend.

4. Starlight Kayaking, West Cork

Picture this. A wide calm bay bounded by hills. You're in a kayak floating along, barely paddling. Just ahead your guide shows the way, with you trying to keep sight of the flashing light on his kayak. And over head a sky full of stars.

Yeah, starlight kayaking's a pretty magical experience. On our trip in West Cork every stroke of the paddle set off sparks of bioluminescence in the water. So pretty that our boat kept stopping because my friend Claire was too busy playing with the bioluminescence to paddle.

No worries though because the whole trip was so laid back it didn't matter if we went slowly. Although for scare value, hearing Jim the guide call out "Watch out for the boat" and a second later see a huge half-sunken boat loom out of the darkness a few feet away has to be up there with the best.

5. Camping in the Outback

OK, so it wasn't quite camping. The tents were more like canvas rooms - pretty permanent structures just with canvas walls. Brilliant and maybe a bit more secure than a tent. Didn't stop the friend I was travelling with from waking me up in the middle of the night to tell me there was a dingo trying to get into our tent-room. I'd heard something as I woke up and assumed it was just the noise of one of our sleeping bags. No big deal - I figured he'd just been half-asleep and his imagination had run away with him. But he was insistent. Again, not a problem - there was a catch on the door. And then he goes "but, Zoe, I need the loo". So I had to persuade him there was no dingo and that he'd be fine. Go to the loo and if you're not back in ten minutes I'll go and get the guide.

Suffice to say he managed to get back to the tent-room in one piece. Although... he had seen a snake outside the toilet block. Oh dear.

So there's my 5 things to see and do for an amazing after dark experience - or Halloween if you're that way inclined. Have you had a spooky experience while travelling? Done any amazing things after dark? Why not share them here.

Ireland: Cork-Kilkenny-Wicklow-Dublin

This is the final part of a series about my road trip around Ireland. You can find the previous part HERE.

It's still steaming...

Morning in Cork means a morning wandering around the city poking the interesting looking places. First of these is breakfast at O'Flynns Gourmet Sausages and our first real Full Irish. Suffice to say it was amazing and very good value. No need for lunch after that little lot...

Then on to the English Market. Don't ask why it's the English Market - I haven't the foggiest. Cool little place though, tucked in off the main street down a bunch of little alleys. We discovered O'Flynns had a stall there, so grabbed some more sausages for tea. Yum.

Took a stroll up the river to see St Finbarr's Cathedral. Beautiful place, with some brilliant carving outside. Thought about going in, but we really needed to get going so gave that one a miss.

Shame we didn't spend much time in Cork, really - looks like there are loads of interesting little things there. Alas, we had to go so it was back into the car and up the motorway to Cashel.

At the risk of offending any Irish readers, there are some stereotypes about Irish workmanship... Hitting roadworks in Cashel, getting stuck at a stop/go board for 10 minutes and then being invited to drive over freshly laid tarmac that had only just been steamrolled and was still steaming/smoking did rather enforce those stereotypes...

Which is odd, because I didn't see anything else like that in the entire 2 weeks we were there.

Anyway, we stopped in Cashel to see its famous rock. The helpfully named Rock of Cashel. Which sounds like it should be a castle and it isn't. It's a religious site dating back hundreds of years. Beautiful place, especially in the sunshine.

And look at the gorgeous carving and paintings in Cormac's Chapel - these are in the region of 900 years old.

And this is the oldest building on the site - a round tower from a few decades before the Chapel. A bit like how I always imagined Rapunzel's tower to look like...

Inside the more recent cathedral (by which I mean 6-700 years old), there are passages in the walls so the Bishop could get directly from his tower house (of which I have few pictures) into the church. Sneaky sneaky.

If you visit the Rock, I highly recommend you join one of the guided tours. They're included in the ticket price and as there are few if any info boards, they're a great way to learn more about the site.

History geekery satisfied, we set off again to Kilkenny. Which resulted in the inevitable comment "Oh my God, you Kil-Kenny." Oh dear. Onwards!

Just a dead sheep & a pull in

Had to make a quick run to the car park in Kilkenny the next morning to pay up the machine. It being before 8am, there were pretty much no people about, so I took the opportunity to wander up the hill to the cathedral. Unfortunately the gates were all locked up, but it was nice just to wander around in the quiet.

We spent the morning at Kilkenny Castle, which is more stately home than fortress. Really interesting though and there's an exhibition in the attached Butler Gallery about the film The Song of the Sea, which was produced by a studio in Kilkenny. I need to see it - it looks amazing.

Then onto the craft centre across the road. Picked up a few more nice souvenirs for the family, including a lovely hand-bound notebook for my sister. Pretties.

Morning over, we set off for our planned afternoon stop at the early monastic site at Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains. An hour after setting off, after passing the Bulmers/Magners brewery at Clonmel, the sat nav informed us we'd arrived.

OK, so it looks quite similar to the landscape I expected, but where's the monastic site? There's just a few sheep and a layby. Oh, and a dead sheep...

So I took a look at the sat nav. Wrong Glendalough. This Glendalough, which seems to be an area, not a site, is in Co. Waterford. Ours is in Co. Wicklow. So we'd just driven an hour in entirely the wrong direction.

Yay.

We did eventually reach the right Glendalough several hours later, me arguing with the sat nav the entire way. Glendalough the monastic site is very pretty and worth a visit but there's very little interpretation in the site itself. I expect there's more if you go in the visitor centre but we just didn't have time once we'd corrected the sat nav's mistakes.

Oh, Glendalough is also full of bus-trippers. Even near closing time.

Made it to Wicklow eventually and all feeling rather weary after the ridiculous detour, dumped our bags and made straight for the Bridge Tavern across the road where we had a lovely meal and Claire and Gemma got free pudding because the chef forgot to give them vegetables with their main courses. Hurrah.

Time to go

Well rested (save for the drama with the toilet refusing to drain...) our final day in Ireland began with a trip to the Mount Usher Gardens. We had very little time so after a lovely breakfast at the cafe there (mmm, cheesy bacon toast...) we had a too-brief wander around the gardens. Lovely to see they had a eucalypt grove - reminded me so much of being in Australia - plus a gorgeous cottage garden style plot.

I resisted the urge to buy gardening things from the shop (are you allowed to take bulbs through customs?) and then we sadly made our way north back to the airport. Said a not so sad goodbye to D, our less-than-awesome Micra although in her defence she had managed to carry us over 2100km around the country without too many problems. Well, apart from the really crappy gears.

Anyway, made it to Dublin Airport in plenty of time for the flight, raided duty free for even more gifts (Butler's Chocolate, anyone?) and then home.

And that's it. Two weeks in Ireland. Magical is an awful word, but it really was magical. Even with the rain and the dodgy car and the hostels in the middle of nowhere. And there's so much we missed out on. Two weeks wasn't nearly enough. Already planning the return trip.

Hostels
Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny: MacGabhainns Backpackers Hostel
Wicklow, Co. Wicklow: Captain Halpin's

Things to Do
The English Market, Cork (free)
Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary (7 euro)
Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny (7 euro)
Mount Usher Gardens, Co. Wicklow (7.5 euro)

Ireland: Dingle-Killarney-Cork

This post is part of a series covering a road trip through Ireland. You can find the previous part HERE. You can find part 5 HERE.

"Filching John Benny's wife?!"

Morning in Dingle dawned... clear. Not especially warm, but clear. Looked like a good day to go whale watching, but first we went for a wander around Dingle again, this time so I could find myself a nice little thing to take home. Filching of the WiFi at the previous night's pub to attempt to book onto a horse riding session for the next day while we were at it.

Souvenirs bought - lovely little leather-bound notebook and a Connemara marble necklace. Pretty things.

Foxy John's Bar/Hardware Store/Bike Rental...

Finally left Dingle at just before lunch to make the short trip down the coast to Ventry and our whale watching trip. Went on a bit of a mystery tour trying to find the pier, but managed to locate it eventually.

And so it was onto a little boat and out into the Atlantic to see if we could find some whales. Saw a colony of seals at Great Blasket Island. Very cute.

Sailed on past the other Blaskets and then out across the waves south towards the Skellig Islands. Which never got nearer than about 20 miles, but you could see them quite clearly. Would have liked to visit them if we'd had chance.

Gemma and I got sat out on the bow for a while. Great fun until we turned back towards Ventry and headed into the wind. Got just a little bit soggy then.

All the back to Ventry and still no whales. Disappointing, but they are after all wild animals. Can't force them to show up.

After that it was just a case of driving the hour or so to Killarney, via the tiny village of Inch. That's where I stayed when I first came to Ireland and it was nice to see it again even though we didn't stop. Beautiful place.

Hit the rain just as we got to Killarney. Fortunately we soon dried off in the lovely Dunloe View Hostel.

"Will you please stop eating?!"

Tried to feed the hostel's goat a carrot the next morning. It didn't want it. Lots planned for the day, so we set off in search of the riding stables. Headed towards Killarney. Thought we were going the wrong way. Turned round. Drove for a while. Decided we'd gone wrong. Turned round again. Finally found the stables.

So nice to be on a horse again. I used to go riding when I was little, nearly 20 years ago but it's amazing how familiar it felt when our guide helped me up onto Aladdin, a lovely bay horse. As I got myself comfortable, Claire and Gemma were helped onto their own horses and I heard our guide explain to Claire that her horse, Monty, had a few bad habits. Nothing was said to either me or Gemma about any bad habits our own horses might have...

Satisfied that we had at least basic control over our horses, our guide led us into Killarney National Park. Beautiful place that is, but due to being on a horse for the first time in forever I didn't take any photos.

Claire started having a few difficulties. All the horses were interested in eating the grass and other plants they could reach when given the chance but both Aladdin and Gemma's horse Solomon responded to us pulling them back. Monty on the other hand... well, Monty's bad habit seems to be that he's an eating machine and he was determined to ignore every pull and nudge Claire gave him. At one point he dragged her nearly through a tree and a hedge, which resulted in a whole assortment of bumps and scratches.

Not that I escaped completely unscathed. We went for a few short trots. Now, in theory I remember how this works and I was quite comfortable with the first couple. On our final trot Aladdin decided initially that he didn't want to go and when he finally did, he went just that little bit faster to catch up. I had an awful moment of flashback to when I fell off the Shetland pony when I was little and had about 5 seconds of sheer bloody terror before I managed to convince myself everything was fine. Aladdin seemed completely unfazed.

Anyway, our hour of riding was up all too soon and we had to be off again. Our next stop was the Prince August Toy Soldier Factory. A bit of a weird choice, but we'd seen it in a leaflet we'd picked up and it looked so odd and unusual that we had to see it.

We ended up casting our own toy soldiers and then painting another one. And since we'd just been riding, we all chose men on horses. Two and a half hours we spent in that shop painting tiny tin men and bloody good fun it was too. Here is my masterpiece.

The plain cast figure is now sitting on my computer at work.

After that it was over the back roads to Kinsale for a lovely tea at Dinos Restaurant. Really good fish (I had fishcakes) and really good value. Kinsale looked like a pretty little place, but since we'd spent so long painting toy soldiers we had no time left to explore. We had to be off to yet another action packed adventure!

Starlight kayaking, that is. Claire and I had been kayaking in New Zealand, but this was completely different. Starting just before 8pm from Reen Pier in West Cork, we set out into the calm waters of the bay in the gathering darkness. It was beautiful - the stars coming out slowly overhead, bioluminescence beginning to spark in the water and us just bobbing along in a little group. Probably my highlight of the trip and I'd recommend it to absolutely anyone.

Unfortunately, again, with me being in a kayak and it being rather dark, I have no photos of this amazing experience save this very poor shot of the stars that I took before we got back in the car.

And then the Sat Nav sent us down a road with grass down the middle on the way to our Travelodge at Cork. Grr.

Long day, late night. Glad we booked that Travelodge.

Hostels
Dingle, Co. Kerry: Rainbow Hostel
Killarney, Co. Kerry: Dunloe View Hostel

Things to do
Whale-Watching, Ventry, Co. Kerry (45 euro for 4 hours)
Horse Riding, Killarney, Co. Kerry (30 euro for 1 hour)
Starlight Kayaking, Reen Pier, Co. Cork (50 euro)

Ireland: Connemara-Galway-Tralee-Dingle

This is part three of my posts about my Ireland road trip. You can find the previous part HERE. You can find part 4 HERE.

The boys of the NYPD choir...

Our second week in Ireland heralded the end of the rain, at least for a little while, so we decided to make the most of it and took a drive down the coast road along the southern edge of County Galway.

Before we got there, we got sidetracked by this pretty view and the shop across the road from it.

Anyway, postcard buying urges satisfied, we did actually set off for the coast road. Which is beautiful and wild and full of delicious views like this one.

So yes, it might have been a bit cold, but we went for a walk on the beach regardless. That's what beaches are for, right?

And then onwards to Roundstone, a quaint little village. More lovely views and a yummy brunch at the Bog Bean Cafe. Broken biscuit cake is amazing.

Onwards again, still following the loop of the coast road back up towards the main road. Saw lots of Connemara ponies, so that part of my Ireland dream was definitely fulfilled. Beautiful animals.

Up along the main road, which is every bit as brilliant as the coast road, just minus the sea views. Had a brief stop at Oughterard to eat lunch and to watch the river go raging past - obviously a bit swollen with the rain.

At last, late afternoon, we came to Galway having spent more time than we'd expected pootling along from Letterfrack. Galway's a nice little place, supposedly great for live music, though we didn't go to see any. Took a walk along the bay front instead and, obviously, sat on the beach singing Fairytale of New York. All together now...

Anyhoo, we weren't really in the mood for cooking and given that there was a really nice looking pub not far from the hostel, we figured we'd eat out. Ended up at McSwiggans, where we had a really good meal for a pretty reasonable price. Chocolate fondant pudding was gorgeous. Yum.

And then to bed in anticipation of what would be our longest driving day.

Why is it still raining?

A bright start in Galway lulled us into a false sense of security. Not far out of the city the clouds rolled in and down came the rain. Any vague plans we might have had to stop somewhere and explore the Burren, a beautiful limestone landscape, were rained off.

As was the plan to stop in Lisdoonvarna to investigate the Matchmaking Festival. No parking anywhere to be found and still the rain came down. Onwards.

To the Cliffs of Moher! Famous, they are. Even got themselves into a Harry Potter film. I'll admit they're pretty impressive but getting charged 6 euro each to park the car when entry to the visitor centre is free was galling. By all means, charge to park, but charge per car, not per person in the car.

The visitor centre itself was... middling. The "virtual reality" film we saw was... how to put it kindly... badly done? Maybe if we hadn't just driven nearly 2 hours in the rain to get there we might have been a bit more open to it. As it is, it's a blatant tourist trap and you'd be better off parking further up the coast and walking in. If it's not raining, of course.

Rant aside, we pootled off again along the Wild Atlantic Way, sadly without the stunning views we were hoping for. A quick ride on the Shannon Ferry brought us from County Clare into County Kerry and then, with the weather apparently clearing, we went on the lookout for something to do.

We found nothing. It being a Sunday, a lot of places seemed to be on reduced opening hours and most towns we drove through were dead. And so we came to Tralee, after about 4 hours of driving, a bit miserable and damp.

Nice room at the Castle Hostel, unfortunately compromised by the burst water main in the town centre which meant we had no running water for most of the evening. Lovely owner though who brought in bottles and bottles of water so we could at least have a cuppa.

Oh dear. Not our best day in Ireland.

Weather has taken a turn for the wetness

Next morning in Tralee was still damp, but not quite as bad. Did a quick run to the Tourist Information office to book onto a whale watching trip and then headed off on the morning drive to Dingle.

And it rained again.

By the time we got to Dingle, the weather was improving and we managed to have a wander around the town. Another lovely little place, with plenty of independent shops and galleries. Grabbed some lunch at the Treehouse Cafe, which was filling and really reasonably priced.

Raided a few gifts shops and finally made it to a post office to post off the stack of postcards I'd built up. There's something really lovely about sending and receiving postcards don't you think?

Quick trip up the road then to our hostel for tea. Rainbow Hostel in Dingle is brilliant - it's got a massive kitchen and clean, reasonably sized rooms. Scoffed down some pizza and then headed back into town to finally find ourselves some live music in a proper Irish pub.

And by proper Irish pub I mean a pub that doesn't have a whacking great sign outside advertising itself as a "traditional Irish pub". I've always thought there was something a bit "lady doth protest too much" about that. Decided to try out John Benny's on the seafront. I'd say it was reasonably priced, but I don't have much to compare it against. Good live music though, so we spent a good few hours in there before heading back to the hostel to get a good night's sleep before our planned whale watching trip the next day.

Hostels:
Galway, Co. Galway: Salmon Weir Hostel
Tralee, Co. Kerry: Castle Hostel
Dingle, Co. Kerry: Rainbow Hostel

Things to do:
Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare (admission to visitor centre: free. Parking: 6 euro/person)

Ireland: Derry/Londonderry-Donegal-Sligo-Connemara

Back so soon? If you missed the first part of this recap of my trip to Ireland, you can find it HERE. You can find the third part HERE.

"Zoe, you like nature..."

Fourth day in Ireland began with a walk around Derry's city walls. Nice and sunny, so that was lovely. Save for the occasional slogan we spotted on a wall which made us feel a bit uncomfortable. Within the walls, Derry is an interesting place with cool little shops and cafes. Outside the walls, it feels like tensions between nationalists and unionists are still pretty high. Anyways, the city has a huge collection of cannon.

Plus a lovely guildhall (that got blown up and rebuilt).

And the Bogside, which you can see from the walls, has some amazing murals relating to the Troubles.

Sufficiently unsettled by the atmosphered, we headed into the walled city to find somewhere for brunch, the Travelodge being standardly overpriced for breakfast. Found a little cafe called Slim Jims which served a healthy version of a fried breakfast. Very good and very reasonably priced. Yum.

After that and a brief trip to the Post Office to send off the first of my postcards we were back in the car and toddling down the country roads into County Donegal. It's a gorgeous area. It still feels quite wild in places, like here where we went through the Barnesmore Gap. Out of nowhere, these great big hills appeared. I might have been singing Lord of the Rings music...

On through Donegal town and onto our first taste of the Wild Atlantic Way. This drive goes Malin Head, the northernmost point in Ireland all the way down the west coast and round to Kinsale in County Cork. First impressions: this is going to be good. This is the view from Fintragh Bay, just outside Donegal.

Yay, sunshine. And on we went, making our way out to the very westernmost point of Donegal at Malin Beg. Beautiful drive over the moors and with the sun coming out it just kept getting better.

Got checked in at the Malinbeg Hostel, run by a very friendly chap called Frank (I think...) and then headed on down to a beach he'd pointed out to us, a whole 10 minute walk from the hostel. Also beautiful. Silver Strand, it's called and with us being down quite late in the day, it was deserted save for a couple of other folks and a dog.

Played the fun game of "basking shark or rock?" and Gemma and Claire went for a paddle.

Then back up the cliff and around to another point of the headland to check out an old Martello Tower. Didn't get very close - there was a closed sheep field in the way.

And then back to the hostel for tea and a nice lazy evening in front of the peat burning fire. Oh, and rescuing a moth from the bathroom because apparently I like nature, according to Gemma.

You should have been sent a map

Morning in Malin Beg dawned slightly fresh but clear and started with a trek down to the village shop cum cafe for breakfast and to filch some WiFi. I had a delicious "small Irish" - sausage, bacon, egg, white pudding, black pudding and toast. White pudding's yummy - a bit like stuffing.

Stuffed with deliciousness, we hopped back in the car and headed just a little way down the coast, back along the narrow wiggly roads to see the Slieve League, possibly the highest sea cliffs in Europe. We decided against driving up to the top car park so had to walk the 1.5km up the hill. Not too bad and with the weather being lovely, it was quite pleasant. Some amazing views.

The cliffs themselves are awesome, but it's hard to get a sense of scale from the photos. I needed a boat or something just to show how huge they are.

And then we had ice cream for brunch before we skipped (ha) back to the car to continue the day's adventures. Not before I'd tried to find a path out to another Martello Tower and snapped a few almost-dramatic photos of Claire and Gemma. Oh yeah.

Next stop (aside from a brief one in Donegal for food) was Marble Arch Caves, back across the border in Northern Ireland, close to Lough Erne. I have very few decent photos of this, due to the low light and whatnot, but here goes.

Hurray for caves. We got to go on a very short boat ride to start with, which was cool and then on foot through the rest of the tour. There's an amazing bit where they've built a path through the river because the cave roof is too low. They call it the Moses Walk. Bit hard to see it on this shot though...

And then, again, back into the car and off in search of the night's hostel. Which proved rather more difficult than expected and included a stop at a rural pub to ask for directions and then, just as I was about to ring the hostel and ask for directions, it appeared. Apparently, I was emailed a map and directions when I booked but I can't for the life of me find it. Must have gone into my junk folder.

Did my first hand wash. The amount of sand that came out of Claire and Gemma's socks was ridiculous. Look what it did to my washing water!

Ugh.

It's still raining

It rained all night. It was still raining in the morning when we left the hostel and on Craig the hostel owner's advice, headed a few km down the road to visit the Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery. Which we didn't end up visiting because it was still raining. I didn't even manage to get any photos of the tomb I could see from the car because it was just too wet.

So we headed off towards Westport instead, where we stopped for an early lunch and some food supplies. Still raining. My walking boots leaked.

From Westport, we headed out towards Achill Island, on the advice of an Irish guy Gemma and I met in Iceland. It rained all the way there, puddles had reached right the way across the road and it was still raining when we got there.

We did a run to the souvenir shop for postcards and then got back in the car, bored and slightly damp and continued our drive back through Westport and on to Connemara. Which was sort of pretty in a damp and soggy sort of way. Managed to grab a few shots out of the window, which resulted in me and the camera getting wet. Again.

We ran over a frog by accident near Kylemore Abbey.

Early arrival at the hostel in Letterfrack meant an evening of boredom in which I resumed my Spanish lessons, wrote some postcards and hoped that the next day would be better. Oh yay. All the joy.

Previous part: Dublin-Belfast-Derry/Londonderry
Next part: Connemara-Galway-Tralee-Dingle

Hostels
Malin Beg, Co. Donegal: Malinbeg Hostel
Lough Arrow, Co. Sligo: ArrowRock Lodge
Letterfrack, Co. Galway: The Bard's Den

Things to do
Derry City Walls, Derry-Londonderry (free)
Slieve League, Co. Donegal (free)
Marble Arch Caves, Fermanagh (£8.75)