The 1 1/2 hour drive from Chester to Holyhead took us through picturesque North Wales, lush green fields, hedge rows and the occasional castle. That was the good part. The driver was something else. Even before we got in the car he was talking and he didn’t stop until we waved him goodbye at the Holyhead ferry terminal. And to prolong the torture, he didn’t go over 50mph the whole way and this was on a 4 lane motorway.
Crossing the Irish Sea to Dublin, it felt like we were barely moving. The sea was like a mill pond, barely a ripple and 3 hours later we docked in Dublin in brilliant sunshine.
An uncharacteristically warm (23C) Saturday night in Dublin isn’t the easiest time to find somewhere to eat, despite there being more pubs and eateries than one could imagine, but with our normal dogged persistence we found a table at the Lincoln’s Inn, a 200 year old pub with all the character that is to be expected of a pub like this and a menu to match. The girl taking food orders confirmed that the soup of the day was vegetable but she couldn’t say which vegetables, so we took the safest option and had fish and chips. It had been a long day so we took the easy way out.

Sunday was another warm and sunny day so it was off to see and hear the sights and sounds of Dublin’s finest. Walking the streets the history was everywhere. The city underwent significant redevelopment in the 18th century with wide streets lined with 3 storey red brick Georgian buildings to house the increasing middle class population of merchants and traders, replacing the narrow medieval lanes of the past. The city is centred around the River Liffey, with its banks lined with stone walls to form quays for the ships and barges of the day. On a sunny day, it created a very pleasant aspect in which to explore. However, as we found out the next day, when normal weather patterns returned, these wide boulevards and pedestrian malls were distinctly lacking in awnings or cover of any kind from the wind and rain, so we were forced to take refuge in the GPO, the site of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916 that heralded the start of Easter Rising.

Our short stay in Dublin was rounded out with a visit to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells exhibition held in the the Long Room in the Old Library. The Long Room is a single vaulted timber room, 63m long and housed over 200,000 books, many of which are old and ancient manuscripts including the Book of Kells, a 9th Century ornately illustrated manuscript of the 4 Gospels written on calfskin, as well as a slightly more contemporary “gospel” being an original poster of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916.

So with that, the pedestrian part of our trip is brought to an end and tomorrow we pick up a car to explore all that Ireland has to offer.