West Cork Blackberries

Blackberries for breakfast again today – we have picked them every day since we have been in Cork and I am running out of ways to use them, so any ideas in the comments are welcome. I am sure this window of picking is going to close soon so we are making the most of the extra Vitamin C. As I have mentioned before the hedgerows here are full of colour and variety especially since it rained a few days ago.

We are now into our third week away and I am amazed at how quickly we have fallen into new habits – lazy mornings, slow walks, jigsaws and lots of eating and drinking!

This week we are exploring the coast of West Cork – probably one of the most beautiful Irish counties but that remains to be seen as we have a lot more yet to go.

After sorting out Georges Irish EU passport which was the easiest visit to the vet so far this should make taking him into an EU country in the future a lot cheaper and simpler. If we keep his rabies vaccine up to date this passport only expires when he does.

Clonakilty was our first stop which is famous as the birthplace of Michael Collins, an Irish revolutionary and politician for Independence at the start of the century. This week they commemorated his assassination 100 years ago where he was ambushed during the Civil War at the young age of 31.

Clon as it is known to the locals is a quaint Irish town with multi-coloured houses, two castles in close proximity and was once a busy port for trading goods between Dunkirk in France. It was also once a well-used smuggling route and there are several rocky coves along the coastline and beautiful long sandy beaches with long low tides. Its main industry was Linen cloth and the Clonakilty School of Industry for Girls is where Queen Victoria’s firstborn christening gown was made.

We visited Long Strand Beach – one of the best surfing beaches around (Ireland is a world renown for surfers) where there are some dangerous rip tides, so no swimming suggested but worth a visit as it has The Fish Basket Restaurant that probably serves the best fish and chips I have ever tasted! Even thinking about it is making my mouth water.

(We did take a quick dip in the water before we ate as it was a pretty hot day for our 7 mile walk and the sea looked particularly calm and inviting)

Afterward your fish and chips you can walk the mile and a half length of the beach to work off the chips.

We also walked to Red Strand Beach from our campsite on an exceptionally windy day but so far Inchadoney Beach must take the biscuit.  There’s little that can surpass this beach; big enough never to look crowded, white fine sand, dunes to shelter in, crystal clear water and good waves for swimming. Although I expect the parking might be difficult in high season or weekends.

We have settled into life in the Moho quite easily and the weather has been kind, we have experienced some rain and wind but the climate in Ireland is much better than I had anticipated. The campsites so far are well equipped with good clean showers, often fully functional kitchens for campers to use and very friendly staff. I was expecting to have to book in advance, but it hasn’t been necessary – they are busy but not full and there is always another one not so far along the road.

Thank you for your comments, it’s really motivating to get them and I hungrily read them all as it is nice to hear from family and friends.