Slane

Slept well in our only hotel stay of the trip, taking advantage of the shower then met up with Fredrik and Maria for breakfast. The plan being to get out in the van and visit a few of the many, many historic/scenic places in the area for our last day with them.
We headed north of Dublin to our first stop of a 5000 year old megalithic burial site though we couldn’t actually visit the actual tombs as it required a 2 hour guided tour that didn’t start until a little later - no time for that! My mistake not researching better. On to the next stop, a ruined abbey (Slane Abbey) in the dreary rain making for a more ambient scene. Ambled about on the site for a bit then cracked on to the next ruin, Old Mellifont Abbey, a little more east. Another ruin but the rain began to ease, thankfully. Couple of snaps here then onward again, to the east coast. We headed to Ardgillan Castle in Skerries which is a small castle by the sea. An actual complete building this time taken over by the council, a little like an arts centre. We had much needed tea and cake in the tearooms then meandered around the lovely grounds which also lead down to the sea front. The sun came out with force by then so made a complete contrast to the earlier part of the day. Drove on to the other end of the town to find somewhere to eat enjoying the sea and sun, Maria and Fredrik commenting on how they’re not used to the low/high tide as Sweden is a non tidal country. Had a nice dinner then took the guys back to Dublin, mindful that we had to drive on to our new stopping point before it got dark. After quick farewells on the main stretch in Dublin we drove only a little way north of Dublin to our stopover for the night and caught up on some tv. Ready to start the next stretch of our adventure - head north.Read more