My wife and I spent a few days on a road trip that took travelling thru several counties.
We find it easier to travel around Dublin in the early morning before traffic builds up. So after a two-hour drive, we were on the beach in Bray, County Wicklow before dawn.
Then we stopped at Kilcoole in County Wicklow so I could get a pic of the post office. Irish readers of this Blog will know that Kilcoole was the location for the long-running TV series “Glenroe”. We then travelled to the beach at Brittas Bay before checking into our first hotel at Courtown Harbour (County Wexford). Then on to Kilmuckridge where we had a small mishap. I broke my mobile phone (I sat on it!!!) so for the rest of our trip we were without sat nav assistance and very limited wifi thru my wife’s phone.
So a summary of our trip.
Day 1…Kilcoole (County Wicklow), Courtown Harbour, Kilmuckridge (the photos are “lost”), Blackwater, Curracloe, New Ross, Clonroche, Ferns, Boulavogue, Ballycarnew and back to Courtown (all in County Wexford). Photos taken on my wife’s phone.
Day 2…longish drive thru County Wexford. Into County Waterford where I took pics at post offices in Kilmacthomas, Cappoquin and Dungarvan. Into County Cork where I took pics at Killeagh and Castlemartyr and to our hotel in Midleton.
Day 3….Pics post offices at Ladysbridge, Ballymacoda, Shanagarry, Churchtown South and Upper Aghada before going thru Cork City (extremely dangerous) and off into too many side roads before arriving at our third hotel in Kinsale.
Day 4….Post offices at Ballinspittle, Timoleague, Lislevane, Clonakilty, Roscarbery, Leap, Skibbereen, Ballydehob, Schull and Goleen. Goleen had actually closed a few weeks earlier but the signage was still there. Back to Kinsale.
The stamp commemorating the centenary of the Death of Michael Collins was issued on this day so I got some first day covers in Clonakilty and also used postcards from the Michael Collins Museum beside the post office.
Day 5….Pics at post offices at Innishannon and via Beal na Blath (site of the Michael Collins ambush) and more post offices at Crookstown, Castletownroche and at Fermoy and on to Portlaoise and our final hotel.
Day 6….made a mistake (no sat nav!!!) leaving Portlaoise and turned south on the motorway and ended up taking pics at post offices at Abbeyleix (County Laois) and Ballyragget, Freshford and Urlingford (County Kilkenny) and pretty dangerous sideroads before going north and more pics at Glasson (County Westmeath) and Ballymahon and Granard (County Longford) before getting home.
On the bright side, I am happy I picked up pics of post offices that I did not expect…mainly by getting lost. But I hate loose ends. And the “lost” pics at Kilcoole and Kilrush and not getting to a cluster of post offices between Enniscorthy and Wexford and fatigue meant I missed out on Ballyhooley and the main post office at Fermoy and Kilworth are all the “ones that got away”.
As the summer ends, there will be few road trips so maybe have to start planning for 2023.
Collecting Stamps of Ireland 