Moraira to Belcoo
We had a noisy flight to Dublin, and on arrival there David pulled the hamstrings in both his calves on an escalator. Then we had problems picking up our Hertz rental car. First we could not find the car in the multi story garage. Then we had difficulty obtaining a GPS system. They had a monkey delivering it, who did not speak a word of English.
We then had a two hour drive in dismal weather , northwest to Belcoo on the border. Here we stayed in the Old Customs House, which was a delightful little business. . Our room was basic and had had zero view
We went down to dinner and had the wondrous feast. We will need to be more careful with what we eat for the rest of the holiday. We shared an immense portion of Guinness wheaten bread, and a beetroot and ricotta salad for a starter, then David had delicious, battered fish and chips, and I had an alright ravioli with spinach, each of us had a glass of lager.
Back in the bedroom. I was really tired once again and soon went to sleep.
Belcoo is right on the Irish border and the bridge beside the old custom house leads straight to the Republic. Clearly what is now the Inn was the custom house in the past, and you would have stopped here to declare your goods in your wheelbarrows on the way to Dublin.
Belcoo, Bundoran, Strandhill, Glencar Waterfall, Manorhamilton
We went down to breakfast at 9 o’clock and had a real feast. I had a full Irish breakfast and David had a brioche with bacon And the coffee was good too.
We left the hotel at 11 and tried to drive to Enniskillen but the the GPS thought otherwise. Anyway we got to Loch Erne and continued along it towards Bundoran. There we had a very pleasant walk and ended up in a café that David had taken a shine to . From there, we headed to Rosses Point where we had stayed several years ago. We looked at the iron man and then had a picnic nearby. We returned to Sligo and continued south to Strandhill.
There we had a walk past Mammy Johnson's ice creams and past the restaurant where we have had lots of lobster and chips. We sat on the front. admiring the never ending beach. Chris used her new found toy - binoculars
We returned to Sligo and then headed homewards with a stop at the spectacular waterfall at Glencar. David's hamstrings continued to make walking difficult. And at Manorhamilton where we had a walk through a rather sad looking town which was full of pubs and estate agents. From here headed back to Blacklion and walked around to find the Michelin starred restaurant that had been booked up until December. Then just a kilometre back to Belcoo
Once back in the hotel I had a siesta and read until dinner at eight. This was again very pleasant, I had the same beetroot and goats cheese salad as the previous night. Before going back up to the room, we wandered out to the bridge which was the dividing line between the north and the south. It is clear that there would have been real problems locally if a hard border had been re-introduced - as it is, one really does not notice the border at all
Old Customs House Hotel, Belcoo
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Old Customs House Hotel , Belcoo |
A full Irish to start the holiday |
A modest Bacon & Brioche here |
Their Guinness Wheaten Bread was particularly good |
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Bundoran, much admired by Mrs Dorman
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All to be seen at Rosses Point
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A distant Metal Man |
The boys try the binoculars |
..and see the Metal Man himself |
Emigration |
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A popular tourist attraction sine Victorian times
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Black Bull at Blacklion -made of plaited branches |
My sense of humour - coffee shop and funerals, estate agent |
We tried to book here and the first table available was ... |
...in 6 months time |