After a week of on-call post Christmas, I had a week of PTO with K visiting (we spent Christmas with her parents in Germany). The weather was variable, as it usually is in Ireland, but we got in a few nice walks; we had a rental car for the week, so we were able to go further afield than we usually would with a GoCar (the long-term rental costs are a bit obscene, plus I had an employer-provided discount with Hertz).
We started off with a trip from Dun Laoghaire south to the area around the Knickeen Ogham Stone – lots of country roads and beautiful scenery, and a picnic-type snack for lunch by some running water. We found some interesting moss (and other bits of nature) to take photographs of on the track past the ogham stone.
A few days later, we drove north to Carlingford for a short stay – the original intent was Rostrevor, but Carlingford was that little bit closer and thus required less driving to reach. The last 50 km or so were driven in heavy fog, and as we rounded the peninsula with Slieve Foyle on our left, we burst out into brilliant sunshine. A decision was made there and then to get some lunch (we ended up at Ruby Ellen’s), and then go on the short walking trail along Slieve Foyle’s northern slope.
It’s a pretty steep climb to the start of the trail, but once up there, the views are gorgeous. It wasn’t a particularly windy day, but it was cold – about 2 degrees C. We ambled along the track, taking photographs of the lough, plants, iced-over water, and each other. K found a place to dip her feet by a small waterfall – bubbly foot bath! By the time we had completed the lower half of the walk, sunset was fast approaching, so we opted to walk down the hill and take the greenway back to Carlingford; safer than trying to walk a trail in the dark.
The second day in Carlingford was just wet, so we stayed put – K did some studying, and I watched the rain. We had afternoon tea in Ruby Ellen’s; quite tasty, but a lot of food (and heavy on the cake aspect, good thing we had a light breakfast). On the third day, we decided to take a detour to either Monaghan or Crom; we opted for the free Rossmore Forest Park outside of Monaghan – we’ll do the paid entry to Crom on a day that the visitor centre is open.
