Off with the Boots

1^st REST DAY

These are rest days half way along the walk and what do we do but walk - this time without our boots and we take time out to act like a tourist. Sheer pleasure - same bed, no boots and time to just catch up on everything including some sleep and hopefully rest my ankle, prepare for the last part of the walk. A slow leisurely breakfast and we make plans for the day before we head to the Catholic Church to have a look. It is 10 o’clock in the morning, Mass is about to commence and the church is nearly FULL, people and cars everywhere. This a Monday morning Mass …… can’t believe it so give it a miss and head back to the main area to meet up with the Link bus which will take us to Cashel and the famous St Patrick’s Rock which I saw on a previous visit.

Our Link bus stop is outside a hotel in the main street and we are barely there a few minutes when an elderly gentleman starts to talk to us as if we are old friends and within a few minutes we have several of his elderly male friends also part of the conversation. We were just waiting for a bus not looking for company but we have found this to happen several times during our time in Ireland. It is lovely that the older gentlemen want to talk to you, some people would call it flirting – but puts us into fits of laughter.

Cashel is about a 30-minute drive from Tipperary and the driver drops us – the only passengers – at the front door or in this case the front gate so we don’t have to walk up the smallish hill. The Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland’s historic sites and was the seat of Kings of Munster from 4 -11^th Centuries. There is still work being done on the castle, I believe it has been going on since 1980 and earlier so guess we must do some photo-shopping with our photos. It is bitterly cold and blowing a gale but still there are people there in short shorts and tee shirts. This cannot be summer!!  The Cathedral replaces an earlier structure and the current building started in 1235, the Central Tower was added in the 14^th century and a strong Castle was built in the 15^th Century.  There are several 16^th century carved tombs in the Cathedral and without a roof most of it is open to the elements. We head to Cormac’s Chapel where the restoration work is being done; I am amazed that the public can touch the walls as it is so old and fragile. There needs to be more restrictions or security as people were climbing all over the gravestones, no respect for the dead or history.

Outside the views across the fields of different shades of green are magnificent and so clear – no fog or showers of rains but this could change very quickly. The large Celtic crosses dominate the graveyard with the pigeons and jackdaws claiming the high towers as their own. Beyond the stone walls of the Cathedral are the remains of another church sitting in the fields on its own.
Inside the buildings are a series of small museums and one room houses a sand stone 12^th century St Patrick’s Cross.

We leave the Rock via the tourist shop so I can purchase another Celtic scarf and then wander down the hill to the village of Cashel swarming with tourists and traffic. St Dominic’s Friary ruins, the old Town Hall, the Cashel Folk Village building with a variety of displays, Back of the Pipe with running water, ruins of Kearney’s Castle which is now a hotel and the Church of St Theresa with its amazing mosaics. We have a short time to fill in while we wait for the returning bus back to Tipperary. A coffee and apple strudel as we watch the tourists meander past.

After a wander around the town we head to the grey stone Cathedral Church of St John the Baptiste with its magnificent and colourful Mosaic windows at the entrance and an old graveyard resting at the side of the church. We find a post office, which is part of another business, so we can post the last of the cards to Australia and head back to wait for the bus home. A new place in the town has been recommended so we try Kylies Pub for a meal and drink before heading home for an early night. My foot is much better but some more heat and rest is needed.

Tomorrow is our 2^nd rest day and it will be just that to catch up on the paperwork or in this case computer work, diaries and washing so we have some clean clothes for the next section of the walk. This section of 5 days will be Tipperary to Ballevourney, about 125 klms and over some very hilly countryside and down into Cork – O’Sullivan country. For this section, we have been issued with some maps so no guessing the tracks but we will be walking on our own and a variety of accommodation – hostels to hotels to B & Bs to an Inn. Should be interesting.
                                                       

                                                        2^nd REST DAY in TIPPERARY

A quiet day has been planned but this could always change at the blink of an eyelid. Up late by our standards and out the front door, we walk down past the Abby School which use to be the 17^th Century Grammar School and then up across to the other side of town to St Johns Famine Graveyard. Not many old graves but lots of grassy sections which is a sign of a Famine graveyard. At the top of the cemetery sit three metal crosses looking out across the cemetery and local countryside. Famine Graveyards are such sad places to visit.

Further up the hill we trudge to a Motte and Bailey but a little disappointed in what is there so head back down the pathway as the rain is coming across the hills. In olden days of Ireland, a motte functioned as the citadel to which the inhabitants of the castle would retreat if they came under sustained attack, while the bailey was the area usually inhabited by the occupants when they were at peace.

We manage to take a wrong turn and get a little lost returning to the centre of town but as the town is not large it does not take long to backtrack until we see some church spires and we know where we are. Yesterday we came across a lovely little gift shop in the town with local homemade gifts so spend some time just browsing and buying the last of some family gifts as they will then remain in the main bags for the remainder of the trip. Purchased our eating supplies for the next few days, a meal at Kylies Pub and home as the rain has started. A chat with Sylvia about what out plans for the next section of the walk.

Tipperary has plenty of places to eat – hotels, pizza places and restaurants but closing times need to be checked if you plan on a meal. Kieley’s Café/Pub is worth the visit, lovely meals and a drink and not too expensive. “Ach Na Sheen B & B” is a family run business with the owner and family living on one side of the buildings and the visitor’s rooms on the other. Sylvia is a lovely lady and like most B & B owners loves a chat but this is one way of getting to know the area and where to visit. Our rooms were single rooms and only €45 each per night. The home is situated in the older section of the town so close to all amenities.

There is a large supermarket in the main street as well as a chemist and a couple of lovely places to purchase nic nacs for family and they are not too expensive. As I have mentioned, Tipperary is a major town so has most facilities.