Sunday 22 January 2017

Bray, county Wicklow

Bray is in county Wicklow. With the darts (train) 30 minutes from Booterstown where I live.

Bray has everything. It is just a few minutes walk from the seaside when you arive by darts or bus.

It has a long promenade along a nice beach. At the end of the promenade (Bray Head) you can walk up a cliff which brings you to Greystones. It is the popular Bray to Greystones Cliff walk. It is about 7 kilometres and takes about 2 hours to walk. It is an easy walk and follows the coastline with amazing views. When you arrive in Greystones you can have a drink there or food and go back by the darts or bus to Bray.

Bray is about 20 kilometres from Dublin. It has a population of almost 32.000 people. The scenic location makes it a popular tourist attraction for tourists and locals. Bray has a town centre with a large variety of shops, pubs and restaurants.











Wednesday 11 January 2017

Waterville, county Kerry

When I am on holidays in county Kerry I always like to visit Waterville. Waterville is a small charming coastel village on the Ring of Kerry and the wild atlantic way. It has a population of approximately 580 people.

Waterville was a place where Charlie Chaplin and his family always spent their holidays. You can find his statue here. From 2011 there is an annual Charlie Chaplin Comedy Festival.
There is a very nice beach in front of the town with a promenade. When you walk further along the cliff road you come to the next beach. Waterville is on the Ballinskelligsbay.






Monday 9 January 2017

Sneem, county Kerry

Ireland is divided in 4 provinces Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht which are made up of 32 counties. The Republic of Ireland has 26 counties and Northern Ireland counts 6. Together 32 counties. One of the counties is Kerry. It is one of the most beautiful counties on the west coast of Ireland.

One very popular tourist attraction in Kerry is the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry is a route that shows you an impressive, dramatic landscape on the wild atlantic way and brings you to the most beautiful towns and villages.

One village to which I am very attracted is Sneem. Sneem is halfway Caherdaniel and Kenmare. This small village with his colourful houses and many lovely shops, pubs and restaurants attracts many many tourists. There are several hotels and bed & breakfast accomodation. One hotel I can especially recommend is Sneem Hotel. They have been chosen as one of fourteen of the most stunning hotel views in Ireland.

Sneem is situated on the Iveragh Peninsula. The Gaelic name is An tSnaidhm and is translated as the knot. This is thought to refer to the river Sneem that swirls, knot-like, into Kenmare Bay. For that reason Sneem is nicknamed "The knot in the Ring of Kerry".





Saturday 10 December 2016

Dun Laoghaire harbour and pier

Dun Laoghaire is a seaside town, mainly known for the ferry service to Holyhead in Wales. It has a harbour with two piers. It is 4 km from Booterstown and 12 km from Dublin.

A ten minutes walk from the pier you can find the martellotower in Sandycove which is worldwide known for the location in James Joyce famous book "Ulysses". In the tower is the James Joyce Museum.

Another blog with tips about Dun Laoghaire and day trips less then 10 Euro is Day trips by train for less than 10 Euros from Dublin
 Pier Dun Laoghaire



Thursday 8 December 2016

Kylemore Abbey


Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled garden is one of my favourite places in Ireland. It is the tragical story of Mitchel and Margaret Henry. During their honeymoon they travelled to Connemara in Ireland in 1850. They fell in love with the area and returned in 1860. Mitchell built the castle for her as a present and it finished in 1871. In 1874 Margaret got very ill of dysenterie and died within 16 days.

It is now home to nuns of the Benedictine Order who came here in 1920. Kylemore Abbey is open everyday. 
















Booterstown dartstation

The dart (electric rail system) runs along the coast of the Irish sea from Greystones (south of Dublin) to Howth/Malahide (north of Dublin). Booterstown is one of the stops between these places.The station opened in 1835.