Sea Swimming & Cooking Gadgets.

Our journey along the south coast takes us through the area of Baltimore, the Mizen Peninsular and onto the Beara Penisular which has the county border of Cork into Kerry. I thought we had seen some of the best beaches already but little did we realise that we have only just scraped the surface of beaches, bays and islands of Ireland that just keep on giving.

Maybe like you, I thought that Ireland was craggy cliffs, little old villages, lots of green fields and some fabulous landscapes but doesn’t it always rain? And don’t the Irish not like us English? Well, I don’t think I could be further from the truth. We have been bowled over by this little gem of an Island and I am not sure I will need to go anywhere else again for a holiday.
Ireland seems to have all that I like, well almost all.  

When our youngest son Louis moved over here, we thought it was because he gave his heart to an Irish girl but I can see that this is not the only reason, there is so much more to offer for a fantastic way of life.

Most of the Irish love sea swimming all year round and have been doing so for years before it became ‘trendy’ in the UK. We are constantly looking out for somewhere to stop for a quick dip. We have learnt always to have our swimmers at hand and be ready to change when the calling comes. It’s so exhilarating, freeing and refreshing. You feel so close to nature swimming amongst the seaweed in little untouched inlets and over pebbly beaches with blackberry bushes and orange montbretia just a stones throw away.
We have been trying hard to get George into the sea but that is still looking unlikely for now!

Maybe we have been lucky with the weather, but we are told repeatedly that Ireland isn’t cold – it has a temperate climate so it doesn’t often have extremes, generally mild with a good mix of sun and rain so the sea never feels that cold once you are in.

There are a number of little seaside towns along our route that are popular with the English, great for water sports, many have good natural harbours for boats which has bought wealth to the area with the ‘boat set’. Schull being one, some say it is the Cannes of Cork!
We went to one such town called Castletownshead, built on a steep hill down to the quay and so called as it was built around the site of a castle of the same name in the 1800’s that is still owned by the same family.
During our visit we got chatting to a fisherman on the quay who said that he was off to fish for shrimp. I asked do you sell to the local pubs and restaurants in which he replied ‘No, they all go to Spain!’
Crookhaven was another pretty village we visited with a bustling quayside that is set on its own tiny picturesque peninsular.

The following day Louis and Niamh were back and took us on a whirlwind 2 days of cove swimming at Ballyrisode Beach and Barleycove Beach (see photos before), a visit to Mizen Head Signal Station (See above pics – highly recommended as very informative), a drive along the Healy Pass for a 4-mile mountain walk to Knockowen (650m) one of the Caha Range mountains that runs across the Cork Kerry border – See pics below – always stopping for pints of Guinness. I think I need to get a taste for it before I leave…..  

BUT before that I must mentioned we stayed at Dunbeacon Eco Campsite. It was set in a small woodland and was mainly occupied by young families camping – there was one French family who had two young children travelling in a trailer on the back of their bicycles, all sleeping in a tiny tent. I did admire them but know my time for that type of travelling has long past.

We had a spare afternoon and I decided it was time to get out one of my untouched kitchen gadgets. The Omnia – a stove top oven that you can bake, roast or casserole in. I thought I’d start off with a casserole. You can see from the pictures below what it looks like and how to use it. The end result was very tasty so more to come from this little gadget.

We have so much still to tell……George on his first ride in the bike trailer, my trip to a concert with Irish Trad music in Bantry and a boat trip to Garinish Island with its beautiful temperate Rain Forest gardens.