10-26-2019, 11:47 PM
Day Three Cork to Castletown-Berehaven
Day Three - Cork to Castletown-Brere
Cheese and rice we are covering a lot of ground. I may have been a little too ambitious with the tour plans. Plus, I think I’m killing our Kia Sportage.
Having seen all the traffic in front of the Gabriel Guesthouse, I wanted to get as early a start as possible. Which meant pushing the Queen out of bed at 6am. Unlike the day before, rain was already falling and it was forecasted to rain all day. The only snag in the plan was that breakfast wasn’t supposed to be served until 7:30. But I had seen people in the breakfast room as early as 7:15 the day before, so I had hopes.
I dragged all the bags out to the car in the rain and was ready to go by 6:30. We probably should have foregone breakfast, but it’s very hard to pass up an Irish breakfast especially with the really fresh eggs from the garden hutches.
I made the Queen go down to breakfast at 7:10. Our receptionist told us the breakfast wouldn’t start until the actual time. When I mentioned that we were trying to get on the road before the traffic, she relented and let us start breakfast. I am pushy that way.
Google Maps indicated a line of red outside the Guesthouse by the time we said goodbye to the hotel. I tried. I also tried to kill the car.
The driveway out of the hotel was a sharp turn up an incline on wet pavement. I thought I could make the turn without reversing and hit the side planters. I reversed just a little but the wheels were still turned and they fought with the slick pavement for a good few seconds before gaining any traction. The smell of burnt rubber was thick in the car by the time we gained enough traction to make it up the driveway.
We got in line with the rest of the cars heading down the hill to the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. It went pretty fast and before we knew it we were heading through Cork to get to the other side.
This whole trip I’ve fought with Google Maps on Apple Carplay. I don’t know what it is but so many times when it looks on the map like I should make a turn in a particular direction and then I make the turn in that particular direction, it’s so many times the wrong direction. It could be my nascent dyslexia or it could be Google Maps is just fucking with me. There’s a lot of swearing involved.
There was a lot of swearing involved getting out of Cork. If there was a wrong lane to be in, I managed to get in it. I know I had to go around a roundabout again because I was in the wrong lane. My Cork fellows were kind enough with their horn blasts to show their displeasure as well.
Our first stop was Béal na Bláth, the ambush site of Michael Collins. You might know the story from the Liam Neeson movie. Anyway, the free staters staged an ambush to take out Collins on his way back to Cork. It’s all about death sites and megalithic sites on this trip.
Google only led me astray once on the way. We took a lovely drive up some steep hills to obviously the wrong ambush spot. When we drove back down the hill we spotted the sign we missed that pointed in the right direction.
The ambush memorial was basically a cross by the side of the road and a map showing the spots where the ambushers were hiding and where Collins was shot. It rained steadily as we took a few snapshots.
Now, I had preloaded all the stops into Google maps so the map was still good for our next destination which was the Drombeg Stone Circle.
More missed turns. More yelling at Google. At some point, the Queen trying to be helpful touched the screen and made the blue line of our journey disappear from the map. We couldn’t find away to get it back. More swearing. Although the turn by turns continued, so we kind of knew where to go.
Here’s the trick to knowing what type of road you on. The smaller the number of digits in the road number the bigger the road. Single digit roads are the motorways where you can go eighty miles an hour. Double digit roads allow you to go pretty fast and there is room for two cars to pass comfortably. Three digit roads are a problem. The sigh says you can go 50 but be prepared to slam on the breaks and pull into the hedgerow on your left if you see a car coming at you. Don’t get me started on four digit roads. And if there is no number, most likely there will be grass in the middle of the road and you best creep along in 2nd or 3rd gear.
The road to Drombeg was a three digit road with an occasional four digit.
The field around the circle flowed with water. The challenge was to find some areas not sodden to walk through. I had thought earlier as I was getting ready for the day, that it might be good idea to wear my trail shoes to get some more traction. I didn’t listen of course and paid the penalty.
As I was making my way down a gentle slope, my feet slipped out from under me. I landed on my ass in what could only be described as a major river. I was instantly soaked to the skin. But because I’m a professional, no damage came to the camera. I turned to look to the Queen. Her eyes were big as saucers in worry. I assured her the only thing damaged was my pride.
The rest of my trek around the circle was much more gingerly. I hate falling and I seem to do it a lot. Mud is my nemesis.
Drombeg is miles from nowhere and whatever had happened to the maps coupled with a lack of cell service made our route to our next stop unavailable. Fortunately, Mizen Head, our next stop was listed on a street sign many miles back. I just needed to find our way back to that sign.
The trip to Mizen Head, the most southerly point in Ireland, was enjoyable and clearly marked. We passed through the delightful town of Leap which was all dressed up for Halloween. There were dozens of mannequins by the road dressed in horrific costumes. There were ghosts hanging from the trees. I stopped to take a picture of one with an axe in his head.
At some point the cell service kicked in and the Google Map of our route reappeared. We stopped at the Altar Wedge tomb because we saw the sign. We ate lunch in Goleen because it was the only restaurant we found. And it had a parking lot in the town. Something the bigger town of Schull did not have. Also there plenty of flags urging us to support our Goleen lads in an upcoming GAA County final match.
Mizen head is the signal station at the edge of the country. It sits on some dramatic cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. There is also a bridge hundreds of feet over a deep blue cove you must cross in order to get to the Signal Station proper.
As you walk to the bridge and the signal station there are plenty of side paths to get views of the cliffs, water, and caves. The signal station I think was important because Marconi did some of his wireless experiments there. There were displays and placards with note probably giving a fuller picture that I ignored.
It rained the whole time we were there but it was still an amazing place. Despite the weather, we took all the side trails. Off in the distance we could just make out Fastnet Lighthouse. It’s known as Ireland’s Tear because it was the last bit of Ireland that emigrants sailing out of Cobh saw. From the one display I did pay attention to, it must have been a pain in the ass to build.
So, that should have been enough for one day. I should head over to the hotel in Castletown Berehaven. I was getting text messages from the hotel asking when would I arrive.
Nope. That’s not how I make a schedule. We had one more big stop for the day.
At the bottom of Ireland is a series of peninsulas, long narrow sticking out into the Atlantic. Mizen Head is the most southerly. Above it is Sheep’s Head Peninsula. And above that is the Bera Peninsula. We would be spending the night on the Bera Peninsula but our next stop was on the Sheep’s Head.
It was a long drive full of gorgeous scenery. The roads eventually became four digit roads. I believe my fingerprints are permanently embedded in the steering wheel. My knuckles will always be white from now on.
At Mizen, it was only a five minute walk to the bridge. At Sheep’s Head it was a kilometer and a half to the lighthouse. It drizzled a little. We were a little tired. We almost bypassed the off shoot path to Akeen loch because we just wanted the hike to be done. But we took it and were rewarded for our efforts. It was a great view point of the loch. Sunlight would have made it better.
The Queen found some cliffs to stand at the edge of. We harassed the sheep who were all about. Their poop was all about as well, so a lot of time was spent looking where you walked. We almost gave up seeing the lighthouse because it didn’t seem like we would ever get there.
I went on ahead and found a spot where I could see it. I took my picture. The Queen ventured down as well. It would probably have been better for us if this was the only adventure for the day but it was our fourth.
It was getting late. I wanted to get off these narrow roads before complete darkness fell. Along with open toilets, the Irish don’t believe in street lights. At least it was only a ninety minute drive to Castletown Berehaven.
I might have driven a little faster than safety required but I was ready to be done with this drive. Fortunately, the roads improved as we left Sheep’s Head and made our way to Beara. And no matter how fast I drove, there was always an Irish driver coming up behind me going faster.
We didn’t see much of Castletown-Berehaven on the way in. We just wanted to check in. This required calling Rebecca to lest us in. Our rooms are above the restaurant which is the main concern of Lynch’s on the Pier. Yes, I chose the hotel because of the name. And it did have good reviews, but yes, the name.
I’m going to come right out and say it, Castletown-Berehaven probably isn’t going to win awards for most scenic place. Our hotel is probably in the least scenic place in C-town-B. From our window, we can see the gas storage tanks of the petrol station across the lane. The building next to ours is empty. On the other side is the pier and we can see the fishing fleet.
For dinner we went to Murphys. It could be the only decent restaurant in town. It was really good and the wait staff was very friendly.
We were in bed by nine and I was up at 4 to get some writing done. Got to keep my streak going.
Day Three - Cork to Castletown-Brere
Cheese and rice we are covering a lot of ground. I may have been a little too ambitious with the tour plans. Plus, I think I’m killing our Kia Sportage.
Having seen all the traffic in front of the Gabriel Guesthouse, I wanted to get as early a start as possible. Which meant pushing the Queen out of bed at 6am. Unlike the day before, rain was already falling and it was forecasted to rain all day. The only snag in the plan was that breakfast wasn’t supposed to be served until 7:30. But I had seen people in the breakfast room as early as 7:15 the day before, so I had hopes.
I dragged all the bags out to the car in the rain and was ready to go by 6:30. We probably should have foregone breakfast, but it’s very hard to pass up an Irish breakfast especially with the really fresh eggs from the garden hutches.
I made the Queen go down to breakfast at 7:10. Our receptionist told us the breakfast wouldn’t start until the actual time. When I mentioned that we were trying to get on the road before the traffic, she relented and let us start breakfast. I am pushy that way.
Google Maps indicated a line of red outside the Guesthouse by the time we said goodbye to the hotel. I tried. I also tried to kill the car.
The driveway out of the hotel was a sharp turn up an incline on wet pavement. I thought I could make the turn without reversing and hit the side planters. I reversed just a little but the wheels were still turned and they fought with the slick pavement for a good few seconds before gaining any traction. The smell of burnt rubber was thick in the car by the time we gained enough traction to make it up the driveway.
We got in line with the rest of the cars heading down the hill to the traffic lights at the bottom of the hill. It went pretty fast and before we knew it we were heading through Cork to get to the other side.
This whole trip I’ve fought with Google Maps on Apple Carplay. I don’t know what it is but so many times when it looks on the map like I should make a turn in a particular direction and then I make the turn in that particular direction, it’s so many times the wrong direction. It could be my nascent dyslexia or it could be Google Maps is just fucking with me. There’s a lot of swearing involved.
There was a lot of swearing involved getting out of Cork. If there was a wrong lane to be in, I managed to get in it. I know I had to go around a roundabout again because I was in the wrong lane. My Cork fellows were kind enough with their horn blasts to show their displeasure as well.
Our first stop was Béal na Bláth, the ambush site of Michael Collins. You might know the story from the Liam Neeson movie. Anyway, the free staters staged an ambush to take out Collins on his way back to Cork. It’s all about death sites and megalithic sites on this trip.
Google only led me astray once on the way. We took a lovely drive up some steep hills to obviously the wrong ambush spot. When we drove back down the hill we spotted the sign we missed that pointed in the right direction.
The ambush memorial was basically a cross by the side of the road and a map showing the spots where the ambushers were hiding and where Collins was shot. It rained steadily as we took a few snapshots.
Now, I had preloaded all the stops into Google maps so the map was still good for our next destination which was the Drombeg Stone Circle.
More missed turns. More yelling at Google. At some point, the Queen trying to be helpful touched the screen and made the blue line of our journey disappear from the map. We couldn’t find away to get it back. More swearing. Although the turn by turns continued, so we kind of knew where to go.
Here’s the trick to knowing what type of road you on. The smaller the number of digits in the road number the bigger the road. Single digit roads are the motorways where you can go eighty miles an hour. Double digit roads allow you to go pretty fast and there is room for two cars to pass comfortably. Three digit roads are a problem. The sigh says you can go 50 but be prepared to slam on the breaks and pull into the hedgerow on your left if you see a car coming at you. Don’t get me started on four digit roads. And if there is no number, most likely there will be grass in the middle of the road and you best creep along in 2nd or 3rd gear.
The road to Drombeg was a three digit road with an occasional four digit.
The field around the circle flowed with water. The challenge was to find some areas not sodden to walk through. I had thought earlier as I was getting ready for the day, that it might be good idea to wear my trail shoes to get some more traction. I didn’t listen of course and paid the penalty.
As I was making my way down a gentle slope, my feet slipped out from under me. I landed on my ass in what could only be described as a major river. I was instantly soaked to the skin. But because I’m a professional, no damage came to the camera. I turned to look to the Queen. Her eyes were big as saucers in worry. I assured her the only thing damaged was my pride.
The rest of my trek around the circle was much more gingerly. I hate falling and I seem to do it a lot. Mud is my nemesis.
Drombeg is miles from nowhere and whatever had happened to the maps coupled with a lack of cell service made our route to our next stop unavailable. Fortunately, Mizen Head, our next stop was listed on a street sign many miles back. I just needed to find our way back to that sign.
The trip to Mizen Head, the most southerly point in Ireland, was enjoyable and clearly marked. We passed through the delightful town of Leap which was all dressed up for Halloween. There were dozens of mannequins by the road dressed in horrific costumes. There were ghosts hanging from the trees. I stopped to take a picture of one with an axe in his head.
At some point the cell service kicked in and the Google Map of our route reappeared. We stopped at the Altar Wedge tomb because we saw the sign. We ate lunch in Goleen because it was the only restaurant we found. And it had a parking lot in the town. Something the bigger town of Schull did not have. Also there plenty of flags urging us to support our Goleen lads in an upcoming GAA County final match.
Mizen head is the signal station at the edge of the country. It sits on some dramatic cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. There is also a bridge hundreds of feet over a deep blue cove you must cross in order to get to the Signal Station proper.
As you walk to the bridge and the signal station there are plenty of side paths to get views of the cliffs, water, and caves. The signal station I think was important because Marconi did some of his wireless experiments there. There were displays and placards with note probably giving a fuller picture that I ignored.
It rained the whole time we were there but it was still an amazing place. Despite the weather, we took all the side trails. Off in the distance we could just make out Fastnet Lighthouse. It’s known as Ireland’s Tear because it was the last bit of Ireland that emigrants sailing out of Cobh saw. From the one display I did pay attention to, it must have been a pain in the ass to build.
So, that should have been enough for one day. I should head over to the hotel in Castletown Berehaven. I was getting text messages from the hotel asking when would I arrive.
Nope. That’s not how I make a schedule. We had one more big stop for the day.
At the bottom of Ireland is a series of peninsulas, long narrow sticking out into the Atlantic. Mizen Head is the most southerly. Above it is Sheep’s Head Peninsula. And above that is the Bera Peninsula. We would be spending the night on the Bera Peninsula but our next stop was on the Sheep’s Head.
It was a long drive full of gorgeous scenery. The roads eventually became four digit roads. I believe my fingerprints are permanently embedded in the steering wheel. My knuckles will always be white from now on.
At Mizen, it was only a five minute walk to the bridge. At Sheep’s Head it was a kilometer and a half to the lighthouse. It drizzled a little. We were a little tired. We almost bypassed the off shoot path to Akeen loch because we just wanted the hike to be done. But we took it and were rewarded for our efforts. It was a great view point of the loch. Sunlight would have made it better.
The Queen found some cliffs to stand at the edge of. We harassed the sheep who were all about. Their poop was all about as well, so a lot of time was spent looking where you walked. We almost gave up seeing the lighthouse because it didn’t seem like we would ever get there.
I went on ahead and found a spot where I could see it. I took my picture. The Queen ventured down as well. It would probably have been better for us if this was the only adventure for the day but it was our fourth.
It was getting late. I wanted to get off these narrow roads before complete darkness fell. Along with open toilets, the Irish don’t believe in street lights. At least it was only a ninety minute drive to Castletown Berehaven.
I might have driven a little faster than safety required but I was ready to be done with this drive. Fortunately, the roads improved as we left Sheep’s Head and made our way to Beara. And no matter how fast I drove, there was always an Irish driver coming up behind me going faster.
We didn’t see much of Castletown-Berehaven on the way in. We just wanted to check in. This required calling Rebecca to lest us in. Our rooms are above the restaurant which is the main concern of Lynch’s on the Pier. Yes, I chose the hotel because of the name. And it did have good reviews, but yes, the name.
I’m going to come right out and say it, Castletown-Berehaven probably isn’t going to win awards for most scenic place. Our hotel is probably in the least scenic place in C-town-B. From our window, we can see the gas storage tanks of the petrol station across the lane. The building next to ours is empty. On the other side is the pier and we can see the fishing fleet.
For dinner we went to Murphys. It could be the only decent restaurant in town. It was really good and the wait staff was very friendly.
We were in bed by nine and I was up at 4 to get some writing done. Got to keep my streak going.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm