The Ireland trip - with some detours.

[love_the_life]

A friend and I stayed at Trinity College on one trip. It was very spartan to say the least. We booked an expensive room with its own ensuite - the smallest shower I have ever seen, smaller even than on some ships!
No TV room and no communal tea/coffee area in the building but breakfast was served in the huge dining area in another building.

 

[Irishbazz]

Looking forward to this to compare to my trip there this past January. I can say that our Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Moher experiences mirrored yours (weather-wise).

Best time for visiting the Emerald isle would be mid July to mid August weather wise, even then there is no guarantee of sunshine. Looking forward to the remaining TR.

 

[love_the_life]

Best time for visiting the Emerald isle would be mid July to mid August weather wise, even then there is no guarantee of sunshine. Looking forward to the remaining TR.

Friend who just returned said it was cool but dry. My brother said it's raining again.

 

[OZDUCK]

Friend who just returned said it was cool but dry. My brother said it's raining again.

Talking to the locals, they were not surprised at the weather or its changeability. When I mentioned Melbourne and the "four seasons in day" saying they all said that is what they commonly experienced as well.

 

[OZDUCK]

Side Trips out of Dublin

One day we took the local train - DART - about a 1/2 hour trip to Dalkey. "Dalkey (/ˈdɔːkiː/; Irish: Deilginis, meaning "thorn island") is one of the most affluent suburbs of Dublin and a seaside resort just south of Dublin City, Ireland." "Dalkey is the original hometown of two Irish writers: novelists Maeve Binchy and playwright Hugh Leonard. It is also the setting for Flann O'Brien's novel The Dalkey Archive. Several well-known Irish and international music figures — including U2 members Bono and The Edge, Enya, Chris de Burgh and Van Morrison — have also bought residences in the area. Film director Neil Jordan lives in the town."

It has a pretty little town centre



The homes there give you an idea of the wealth of some of the residents



It has a pretty little harbour





The tower in the background of the first photo of the harbour is a Martello Tower. I had seen plenty of stories about them on TV but this is the first one I saw in "the flesh". If you like it, there is another one in Dalkey that has been converted into a residence that was for sale in 2016 for a mere €1.8 million.

 

[OZDUCK]

Side Trips out of Dublin

On another day we took a bus tour to Glendalough (which, being the odd sods we are in Perth we pronounce our suburb of the same name differently to the Irish.), the Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny. I do not like guided bus trips but this was the only way we could see these areas within our schedule. To be honest the guide did a pretty good job. However the need to follow their pre-set schedule and the importuning for tips and favourable TripAdvisor Reviews at the end of the trip put me offside again. No-one else in the service areas we encountered angled for a tip and they were always prepared to play the game and adopt a pleasantly surprised face when we did tip them - about 10% is the figure I worked on for serving staff etc.

The Church and Watchtower at Glendalough




The rugged terrain of the Wicklow Pass



Killkeney Castle - another free visit for us Heritage Card holders



The "back end" castle. The wall at this end was damaged when the castle was besieged by Oliver Cromwell during his conquest of Ireland and subsequently demolished. The castle was besieged again during the Irish Civil War in 1922. You may note that, for one of the few times on our trip, my wife has removed her beanie & Parka. It was sunny! (For a few hours.)



The Great Hall of the castle.

 

[love_the_life]

I remember taking the DART south on one trip and we ended up in some seaside place and went into a pub - the waiter there was from the suburb next to ours in Canberra and had gone to school with the children of a very good friend. Small world.

 

[craven morehead]

Thanks for the Helsinki tips (especially about the airport train). I am there in less than a fortnight so very helpful

I'll be about 6 weeks behind you only in country for 2 nights so probably use airport train and Holiday Inn Helsinki Inn for ease.

 

[OZDUCK]

I'll be about 6 weeks behind you only in country for 2 nights so probably use airport train and Holiday Inn Helsinki Inn for ease.

The room we had was not new but large, clean and everything worked fine. The desk staff were very friendly and helpful. We didn't have breakfast in our room rate but there are plenty of options around the area including in the station. The hotel itself seemed to have nice food options. Actually we never had breakfast near the hotel as we ate on the Tallinn ferry one morning and at the airport lounge on the other. There are a couple of large supermarkets within a few hundred metres which sell a remarkable range of takeaway foods and pastries and are open for long hours. It really is only about 50 metres from the station side entrance and the trams are only about 100 metres away.

 

[craven morehead]

A friend and I stayed at Trinity College on one trip. It was very spartan to say the least. We booked an expensive room with its own ensuite - the smallest shower I have ever seen, smaller even than on some ships!
No TV room and no communal tea/coffee area in the building but breakfast was served in the huge dining area in another building.

Would you say a waste of money or a value for money experience ?

 

[OZDUCK]

On The Road

We hired our car off Hertz but went through an "agent" - connsirelandcarrental.com - who undercut their price by about 40% Also, his price included "Collision Damage Waiver, Theft Protection, Super Cover, Personal Accident Insurance, Location Service Charge, Unlimited Mileage, Tax, 3rd Party Liability" and had a NIL excess - the Hertz price did not include the Super Cover, Nil excess or a GPS hire and was still dearer. This was good for me as, for the first time ever, I did some minor damage to the car. It should be noted that even Super cover doesn't cover "Tyre or Glass Damage" and you have to to pay between 7 - 10 E per day extra to cover this - I did and am glad that I did. I also got a "free" GPS hire included in the rental fee.

It is important to get the "Super Cover" as otherwise the car companies in Ireland will put a E2 - 3,000 hold on your credit card. A good explanation of all the intricacies - even though aimed at the U.S.A - is at A Comprehensive Guide to Renting a Car in Ireland - Infinite Ireland. The TripAdvisor Ireland Forum has lots of threads about hire cars in Ireland and all the rental companies have been well discussed.

We chose to pick our car up from the Hertz Franchise on The South Circular Road in Dublin. This location was only about a 10 minute ride from our hotel and was on the way we intended to head. It also avoided the hassles of getting back to the airport and at least one toll gate. Despite going through the "agent" the process is just the same as if you had booked direct with Hertz. You paid nothing - not even a deposit - until you returned the car. We had a Diesel Golf which was perfectly fine for the two of us with 2 suitcases.

It only took us about 15 minutes to get on the motorway. The few motorways in Ireland are very similar to any in Europe and with a 120K speed limit. We went through a few toll gates on our trip, the toll was E1.90. After a couple of hours of easy driving we came too -:

The Rock of Cashel - originally the seat of the Kings of Munster and then in 1101 became an important ecclesiastical site for hundreds of years. It does take your breath away when you get your first full view.





On the Rock



Going Up



A bit of artistic license

 

[Captain Halliday]

It is important to get the "Super Cover" as otherwise the car companies in Ireland will put a E2 - 3,000 hold on your credit card. A good explanation of all the intricacies - even though aimed at the U.S.A - is at A Comprehensive Guide to Renting a Car in Ireland - Infinite Ireland. The TripAdvisor Ireland Forum has lots of threads about hire cars in Ireland and all the rental companies have been well discussed.

I was really shocked when I researched car hire for Ireland on TripAdvisor. I expected some people to report an occasional bad experience, but it was overwhelmingly negative. Some of the stories were outragously bad. So much so I seriously re-considered my desire to drive and at one point contemplated not leaving Dublin.

 

[OZDUCK]

I was really shocked when I researched car hire for Ireland on TripAdvisor. I expected some people to report an occasional bad experience, but it was overwhelmingly negative. Some of the stories were outragously bad. So much so I seriously re-considered my desire to drive and at one point contemplated not leaving Dublin.

Yes I agree that the reviews for almost all companies were consistently worse than any other country where I had hired cars - NZ, Canada France & Germany. I, like you wondered about the car hire but it was so much better using one - even though I moaned about the roads every day.

Even though I had taken all the insurance I could, I was a little bit concerned about the scratches (hit a bus or go into the bushes). In the end it went fine. I only had to write down how/where the damage happened and was told - all covered, goodbye. I think the need for "Super" insurance, the extra costs for tyre & glass and the refusal to accept most credit card insurance causes a lot of angst.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Yes I agree that the reviews for almost all companies were consistently worse than any other country where I had hired cars - NZ, Canada France & Germany. I, like you wondered about the car hire but it was so much better using one - even though I moaned about the roads every day.

Even though I had taken all the insurance I could, I was a little bit concerned about the scratches (hit a bus or go into the bushes). In the end it went fine. I only had to write down how/where the damage happened and was told - all covered, goodbye. I think the need for "Super" insurance, the extra costs for tyre & glass and the refusal to accept most credit card insurance causes a lot of angst.

Did the super insurance add a substantial amount to the daily rate?

 

[OZDUCK]

Did the super insurance add a substantial amount to the daily rate?

It does normally - but that is why I went through Conns Ireland Rental - their quote included the "Super" insurance.

I just checked Hertz, and at the moment for a Golf Diesel it would cost an extra €21.56 a day. For example, at the moment a 5 days rental direct with Hertz for a Golf Diesel is quoted at €215.66 (paid in full on booking) - without Super cover. So with Super cover it would be €323.46. Conns quote is for €258.11 with Super cover and no deposit.

 

[earlyriser]

I was really shocked when I researched car hire for Ireland on TripAdvisor. I expected some people to report an occasional bad experience, but it was overwhelmingly negative. Some of the stories were outragously bad. So much so I seriously re-considered my desire to drive and at one point contemplated not leaving Dublin.

I went with Hertz in Jan. Not an issue. $471.92 AUD for 11 days for a compact auto 4-5 door but was upgraded to a mid-size. We even left Dublin and went straight to Cashel (following a day of Dublin-Glendalough-Dublin)!

 

[OZDUCK]

At The Rock of Cashel the Heritage Ireland tour guide recommended a visit to Cahir Castle, which she said was probably one of the best preserved Castles in Ireland -Cahir Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Cathrach), one of the largest castles in Ireland, is sited on an island in the river Suir. It was built from 1142 by Conor O'Brien, Prince of Thomond. As it was on the way to Cork, our destination for the night, we decide to do a detour.

You almost expect Errol Flynn to appear on the battlements. It was actually used as a scene for a battle in Excalibur (1981) and was also used for the recent TV series of The Tudors



The eagle has only been in-situ since 1843 but the coat of arms below is much older



As you can see the grim visage of the outer walls is now
offset by a lovely little river and park




There really is a nice area surrounding the castle with plenty of walks



There are still 2 cannonballs buried in the walls of the castle from the siege of the castle in 1599 by Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex. A favorite of Queen Elizabeth 1. His incompetent handling of this siege and other actions in Ireland led to him parting company with his head. The 1599 siege was apparently the first time artillery was used in Ireland.

 

[OZDUCK]

Talking about us being on the road reminded me about something very important - doing your washing. Actually a couple of B&B owners offered to do it for us (for free) but we demurred. What we were put onto by one B&B whose offer we knocked back was this :-



These machines are in quite a few locations in Ireland HOME - Revolution Laundry. They are open 24 hours a day and all the ones we saw were in the car park of combined petrol stations/supermarkets - not huge ones like a Woolworths but smaller yet perfectly adequate ones. The large machine has a capacity of 18KG for €8 and easily swallowed up a weeks washing. The machine has a built in detergent dispenser so no powder or liquid is required. You can adjust the Temperature to suit - at our desired Temp. the wash cycle took about 40 minutes. The dryer is also an 18KG unit and €4 was enough to get our clothes dry in about 30 minutes.

What you see is what you get so there are no folding tables, baskets etc but that is what your car is for. The machines take coins - easily obtainable from the attached supermarket - or Cards (the ones we tried didn't like the cards but we may just have been unlucky with faults). We found them very convenient.

And while on the subject of supermarkets we found the Supervalu ones to be - well good value. The were competitive in price with ALDI etc but very better quality fresh foods. They all seemed to have very fresh fruit and a good selection of bakery products. And, the ones we used all had a section where you could buy hot take-away meals and they also made really good rolls and sandwiches to order.

 

[OZDUCK]

We then moved onto Cork, the second largest city in Ireland, with a population of about 126,000. The city centre is on an island in the river Lee. The transport authorities have done a very good job with a "park and ride" system for the bus. For €5 you can park your car, about 15 minutes out of town, in a fenced and monitored compound. Then you and up to 3 passengers per car catch a free and frequent bus that drops you in the centre of town. And, the bus has free, and very fast, wifi on board. Even though it is only a relatively small city the traffic, like most cities in Ireland, is very bad.

We drove into town at about 2030 on a sunny Sunday evening and it was very pleasant having a walk around the wide streets and riverbanks. The next day we went back in for a "proper" look and unfortunately the clouds had appeared again. Again, a lot of my photos have disappeared. It is a more interesting town than I am , unfortunately, able to show.

Cork City Hall. The building in the background is The Elysian, which is the tallest building in Eire. It is 17 stories high.



Some old dockside buildings



A small tributary dividing the main island of Cork. The old city walls are in the background.



In case you didn't remember where we are. The town has quite steep hills on one side.
The old wharves used to run on both sides of the river. There are some interesting buildings along the riverbank.



One of the malls in Cork. This was taken at about 2100. It is much busier and with a lot less cars during the day. @#%** lost photos.

 

[OZDUCK]

Cobh

Cobh was called Queenstown from 1849 to 1920 and, under that name, was the last port of call for the Titanic - which is played upon in the town. It was also the place where many of the victims of the torpedoing of the Lusitania were brought ashore and buried. It is a very attractive town downriver from Cork and supposedly has the worlds 2nd biggest natural harbour - that claim has caused much discussion, but it is certainly large.

Cobh from above




Houses climbing up the hill. It is fun walking for your knees.



A lovely crescent of Georgian buildings on the same hillside.




Napoleonic War Naval buildings on the other side of the harbour. Built in 1806.



Looking back up the hill from a jetty.