13 April – Woke to a rainy day in St David’s on the extreme S.W. of Wales. Walked into town and posted the last blog at pub. In the evening we went back to the cathedral for Evensong. (I can hear you all gasp in surprise!!!). Beautiful singing and organ but the choir was cloistered away and we could not see them. This might be usual for high Anglican?? Walked to a pub (The Farmers Arms) for dinner. (Life back to normal).

14 April – Thick mist this morning. Found a supermarket and did some shopping before driving to the ferry at Pembroke, via Milford Haven, for our crossing to Ireland.
A pleasant crossing in fog in a huge ferry about a 10th full. We found a camp in Ireland close to the terminal at St Margaret’s beach.

15 April – After exploring St Margaret’s beach we drove thru beautiful country side to Kilkenny. A great cycle ride from the camp along the Nore River into the town. A cute little town which seemed to be very busy. We climbed a 9th century tower at the cathedral for a view. After sampling a Kilkenny’s at one pub and we tried the Smithwick’s which is brewed by the same brewery at another pub. After a look around the Kilkenny Castle we cycled back to the camp.

16 April – Today we drove thru Waterford (Crystal fame) to Cork and a camp site at Blarney. Now if you think the quality of my writing has improved you probably are right, as today we visited the Blarney castle and kissed the Blarney stone which is reputed to make one more eloquent. The castle was great. You queue up to kiss the stone and a nice Irish gentleman assists you to assume the position (on your back). He also makes sure no-one takes too long!!! No long pashes permitted!!! The grounds are also beautiful and we spent about 3 hours wandering around. The weather has come right again.

17 April – I’m not sure about the virtues of kissing the Blarney Stone as both Val and I have come down with colds since then! Another nice spring day. We drove back into Cork and parked in a suburb close to Pairc Ui Chaoimh where we decide to go to the Hurling. We cycled into Cork City centre and down the main streets before returning to “Lefty” for lunch. Back on the bikes and off to the Hurling park. (unprenouncable name above). Cork were playing Dublin for a place in the league final. The ground would have had a capacity of around 25,000 with about 12,000 in for the game. Hurling (we discovered) is very like Aussie Rules with bats. The bats are used to hit, juggle, and scoop the ball and whack your opponent. Very rough but very exciting. Dublin won by 1 point unfortunately. We drove about 100kms to a free camping place on the shores of Lake Leane near Killarney.

18 April – Another sunny day for our drive around “The Ring of Kerry”. This is a 180km loop around some stunning scenery. It is a mixture of lakes, rivers, beaches, coves, cliffs and mountains. In places the road was narrow and rough but the views made the effort well worth while. Tonight we are in Tralee. After dinner we walked into town to a pub recommended by the camp manager. It was a typical Irish pub with low ceilings, beams and open fire and many photos (including some of the Kennedy family). When we arrived at 8:30 there were only a few local characters but it soon filled up and after a couple of Guinesses the place was packed including a couple of poker schools in full swing. Not bad for a Monday night!