Adventure: Ireland & Scotland 2.0

What a day! We started the morning after a 12 hour sleep; jet lag is real. Rudy said he could hear revellers in the street partying to the wee hours. At breakfast (a lovely arrangement in the hotel restaurant) we find out that it’s a bank holiday in Ireland. So that explains the rowdy celebrations! After a leisurely breakfast (our friends travelling with us were brave enough to try the Black Pudding) we meet our contact from Celtic Routes. He’s delivering our Land Rover for the balance of our adventure.

Nic (the rep) meets us out front in a new, shiny black Land Rover Discovery. After having us sign a bunch of insurance forms, he shows us the operations of the vehicle and we set off on our way. I’m the first driver. Yeah. No pressure. The Celtic Routes app has our itinerary built into Google Maps so we set up CarPlay and we drive off. After making a few short turns on the roads past the Ha’ Penny Bridge alongside the River Liffey heading out of town we are just getting on our way when ….

There’s a bunch of police cruisers in the intersection up ahead. We thought it was an accident. Not. As we get closer an officer steps out in front of us and pulls us over. No joke. It’s a drunk driver check point. I guess the party animals don’t know when to quit! Another officer approaches and asks if I’ve been drinking. No. Ok he’s says; blow into this. While he’s getting his blowing unit ready, he asks where we’re from. Canada. Oh where? We tell him. He tells us his siblings live in Peterborough and he’s heading there in 10 days! We have a good laugh. He gives us the plastic blow straw thing as a souvenir and we get on our way. What a start to the day!

Before long we are on a highway. Divided I might add. Two lanes one way and easy driving. Throw in a couple of roundabouts and we get to our first stop: Killbeggan Distillerycirca 1757. It’s in a beautiful old building complete with shop, small museum, production areas and a tasting room. We sample the local whiskey and get the lowdown from Rose the server. She’s super knowledgeable and obviously passionate about her products.

Since I imbibed in the tasting, my friend took the wheel to get us to our next stop in Galway . Pronounced “gahl-way” this charming city was bustling with holiday spirits and the weather was cooperating well. The quaint downtown area was teeming with people, locals and tourists alike, all enjoying the festive atmosphere. We shopped and stopped for local fish and chips (big mistake … I will get to that later) and then strolled back to our car where my friend took the wheel again.

We parked at the cathedral in Galway – the green spire was our landmark

Local musicians

Back at the car we head for our final destination The Glenabbey Castle Hotel which will be our home for two nights. The road leaving Galway is a nice highway that soon becomes a very narrow “path” that winds its way through hill and dale. And then we arrive.

The front of the property is laden with ivy and the grounds are spectacular with stunning views, a helicopter landing pad and a fountain.

We enter and the property is simply splendid. I was too gobsmacked to take photos. Although I did get a chance to FaceTime with my dad and give him the full tour! I will get it together tomorrow for some photos.

We checked in and they gave us our skeleton keys and advised that dinner was at 7 pm. Gulp! We just ate! Oh well. Back to the trough.

The dining room is on the third floor with sweeping views out the front.