Ireland, Off the Beaten Path

Highlights of three weeks in Ireland; not all the quintessential tourist destinations, but fun, fascinating, beautiful beyond description Ireland. Come join us, The Café in Ireland, Off the Beaten Path (part 1 of 3)!

We’ve been back from Ireland for a few weeks now but we’re still enjoying memories from the delightful trip to the Emerald Isle and thought we’d share a few of them with you. If you’re a regular follower of The Café you may have already read the first two posts we shared a; A Magical Week at Ballymaloe and Ballymaloe Behind the Scenes.

It’s taken a while to go through the 2,000 pictures (yes 2,000!) from the trip but we’ve chosen our favorites and today Scott is sharing the first post in a three-part series called Ireland, Off the Beaten Path. He’s featuring highlights from the trip, a few of the quintessential Irish tourist attractions but more of what we discovered along the way; fun, fascinating, beautiful Ireland!

Our travels in Ireland centered around two “givens” that were almost two weeks apart. The first was Chris’ week the Ballymaloe Cookery School, located in the south coast area and the second was our niece, Kacey’s destination wedding at Mussenden Temple near Castlerock – in the farthest reaches of Northern Ireland.

By the time we were finished we had completed a huge circle around Ireland’s fantastic coastlines, from the Irish Sea to St. Georges Channel, to the North Atlantic, to the North Channel (between Ireland and Scotland) and back to the Irish Sea!

So much of Ireland is defined by the fact that it truly is an island with gorgeous coastal areas and waters teeming with sea life. If you love seafood, this is seafood heaven!

You see little fishing villages and docks like this, all along the Irish coast. And when you stop for a seafood lunch or dinner, they probably caught the fish that morning on boats and trawlers like these!

One of our (many) favorite coastal restaurants, Pier 26 in southern Ireland. The seafood chowder at Pier 26 is amazing, one of the best we’ve ever tasted!

In addition, we discovered that much of Ireland is agrarian heaven too! Rich, loamy soil, perfect for growing anything green. Just ask the cows and the sheep who dot the verdant hillsides and valleys, here, there and everywhere!

In this three-part series, we’re going to take you on a short, (considering I took 2,000 pictures!), journey around the whole island – Ireland and Northern Ireland, so fasten your seatbelts!

Flying into Dublin from our home in the mountains of North Carolina, we decided to spend the first two days at a hotel, just north of the city.

A view of the lovely Irish Sea from our hotel. It was not a super warm day by Carolina standards, but there aren’t a lot of hot days in Ireland. It doesn’t seem to bother the people here though – on sunny days, the beaches are havens for young and old alike!

We wanted to get rested, recover from jetlag, and acclimate to driving on the left side of the road in order to be prepared for the week at Ballymaloe. It ended up being a great decision. Although we had every intention of going into Dublin, there was so much to discover just north of the city, we never made it!

Malahide

Our first experience with driving on the opposite side of the road (and car!) was to the tiny and very charming village of Malahide home of the beautiful Malahide castle.

One of the things that captivated us, from day one, was the abundance of flowers – everywhere! The Irish decorate even the simplest of buildings and objects with gorgeous flowers of every hue and variety known!

Flowers cascade profusely from every nook and cranny!

Malahide Castle, which dates back to the 12th century, is an impressive and well-maintained ancient edifice (from which the nearby village gets its name). The grounds include amazing walled gardens, shopping venues, a really fun “fairy trail” for kids of all ages and lots of beautiful green space to just hang out.

We loved seeing how the Irish, of all ages, enjoy a pretty day. The 270 acres of natural rolling parklands and green spaces surrounding Malahide castle are gathering places for families and friends to picnic, play and bask in the sunshine.

So much wonderful history and ancient architecture at every turn! These guys keep a close watch on the castle!

Malahide Castle also was the home of one of the first of many contacts we had over the trip with the Avoca Café and Mill stores. Chris has been familiar with Avoca for many years because of their award-winning cookbooks as well as the Avoca cafes and restaurants, which are well known for their delicious and fresh fare.

We discovered that Avoca is so much more than just its wonderful cafés, cookbooks and culinary delights. We learned that the Avoca story actually starts back in 1723 when it was set up as a cooperative where local residents could spin and weave their wool for clothing.

Back then, only uncolored yarn was used in tweed for clothing and blankets for beds. But as the mill evolved, natural vegetable dyes in reds, greens and yellows began to be used which became Avoca’s beautiful signature hues and they continue to be used today.

Although there are still third generation weavers working at the mill, over the years Avoca has grown and spread to 13 locations throughout Ireland  These days, in addition to beautiful woven scarves, shawls, throws, sweaters, etc. Avoca is heralded as one of Ireland’s most exciting retail stores, there are Avoca ceramics, clothing, perfumes, soaps and more from their own design studio.

Chris loved the Avoca food markets which are crammed with artisanal ingredients, beautiful porcelain dishware, lovely table linens, kitchen supplies and the wonderful Avoca cookbooks. There are also gardens to explore at many of the locations, as well as florists and garden centers. The list goes on. And all of this from a modest handweaving mill, established in a rural Irish village in 1723!

Howth

Howth is a quaint fishing village north and east of Dublin. It was only about 20 minutes from our hotel and similar to so many of the coastal Irish villages. In addition to fabulous, fresh seafood, there are gorgeous walks along cliffs that jut straight down to the emerald sea.

Check out the flowers! Does everyone in Ireland have a green thumb?

So charmingly and quintessentially Irish!

Literally straight off the boat!

On the road to Ballymaloe

We set out the third day for Ballymaloe. On the way, Chris said, “It would be really fun to see the original Avoca location. It’s where they have the mill”. Looking at the map, she said, “It looks like it’s not far off the path we’re on to Ballymaloe.”

Four hours later, we were back on the road to Ballymaloe! I have to admit though, the trip to the tiny remote village was a wonderful, albeit frightening introduction into one lane, truck-and-bus sharing Irish country roads! We texted our kids and told them we had aged 5 years since leaving home!

The original Avoca Mill

So much amazing and charming Irish history here!

A beautifully landscaped and cared for facility. If the stone walls could talk, what stories they could tell!

This kind and well dressed (we think he might have known there would be a lot of women observing his work!) Irish gentleman gave us a demonstration of how the Avoca Mills originally created all their magnificent products!

The variety of styles, patterns and colors Avoca weavers turn out is incredible!

East County Cork

Once we established ourselves in the quaint town of Castlemartyr (just 10 minutes from Ballymaloe), I ventured out each day while Chris was in cooking school (you can read more about that in this post), exploring new parts of the Shanagarry and the East Cork country. After she finished up for the day, I’d pick her up and we’d check out some of my discoveries.

So many great trails, cliff walks and forest glades to explore!

This was the scenery all around us in Castlemartyr. Such a feast for the eyes, any time of day!

Ballycotton and the Coast

Ballycotton was just a short drive from Castlemartyr and Chris’ cooking school in Shanagarry. The town is adorable, the Ballycotton Cliff Walk is breathtaking, and the fresh seafood straight off the boat- beyond words!

We loved walking on the Ballycotton cliff walks. Note the jacket – we wore sweaters and jackets most of the time we were in Ireland. That’s not a complaint, the temperatures were so pleasant. When we returned, it was a huge shock to get off the airplane in Charlotte with temps in the high 90’s!

So many coastal areas in Ireland have these beautiful, breathtaking cliffs dropping straight into the emerald ocean!

The shimmering, sparkling, azure waters of Ballycotton.

Cork, the City

Once we got our left-hand-road driving (and navigating) skills a little more secure, we began to venture into larger cities. Cork was first on our list!

This was the charming, historic hotel we stayed at in Cork.

The University College Cork was just down the hill from our hotel. Gorgeous grounds and historic buildings. This is known as the Main Quad.

The English Market is something to behold for anyone who enjoys cooking and/or food. Cork’s not a huge city (population around 125,000) but this market rivals anything we’ve ever seen, including London and New York City. Everyone we ran into prior to visiting Cork, highly praised the English Market and encouraged us to visit – it did not disappoint!!

The balcony above the English market is home to a wonderful restaurant called The Farmgate Café serving delicious offerings featuring seasonal, local ingredients.

Fruits and veggies, so fresh and beautiful! Strawberries and black currants were in season while we were there!

I grew to love these chaps! I must have had hake at least a half dozen times throughout Ireland. Delicious, but scary looking!

Like so many other markets throughout Ireland, the English Market had loads of wonderful, fresh, right-from-the-farm cheeses.

See what I mean? This is just a smattering of what was being sold the Saturday morning we visited the English Market. It’s truly something to behold!

Kinsale

Although it was a little more off the beaten path (again) we had to visit the quaint coastal town of Kinsale, since several people had told us in our earlier adventures that it was worth the trip! And it was! we beat the tour buses by about an hour and escaped down the road toward Dingle!

The residents of Kinsale have a wonderful time trying to outdo each other in their color choices for buildings! So fun!

So, if it isn’t colorful buildings, it’s colorful flowers!

Next stop, the Dingle Peninsula! We’ll continue there with our next travel post; Ireland, Off the Beaten Path – Part 2. Hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of the Emerald Isle. See you soon with the next installment of the journey!