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Published: October 23rd 2013
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The relatively fine weather of yesterday has deserted us this morning which is a shame as we had an interesting coastal route planned for today’s drive north to Enniscorthy. In fact the misty rain had taken the scenery away and it was just the lights on the cars that reminded us the roundabout outside the hotel was still there.
We negotiated the Kinsale Roundabout successfully in one attempt this morning even though the traffic volumes were heavier than yesterday and it was a bit more daunting making sure we were in the right lane to head onto the N25.
Despite the rain which didn’t appear to want to ease up we still took the N25 which would lead us to the coast at Dungarvan where we switched onto the R675 which from time to time would take us onto the coast and hopefully more sea views. The highway was an excellent road with dual carriageway initially out of Cork and then even when it became just one lane in each direction there was an ‘extra’ lane that was the shoulder on the road. Motorists did appear to be using the shoulder to stop and presumably take cell phone calls
which was certainly better than seeing people driving along at 100kph, as we have, talking on their cell phones while driving! Things are no different here than in NZ.
At Bunmahon we were right on the coast but the rain and wind was just too much to get out of the car to see what we could make of the coastline. After yesterdays lovely sea views on our coastal drive south of Cork we had hoped to be able to repeat that again today but the elements were against us.
At Tramore near Waterford we had to make a decision whether to carry on the coastal route which would take us through Wexford or head directly to our overnight accommodation in Enniscorthy and make the most of looked like a flashy hotel we had booked at a very good rate.
The weather won out and we gave the coast away and headed directly for Enniscorthy.
Through a good part of today and on many previous days we have noticed memorials at remote parts of the roads, some of them highways and others rural roads, we have travelled over. Some of the memorials have been as small as just a cross with an inscription and others have been much grander and all have been in memory of one or more Irish republican patriot killed by the British before independence.
Our hotel in Enniscorthy was located on the edge of the river than ran through the town and from the promotional material that was on display it was a major venue for weddings and also had a small theatre with local productions held there including one tonight.
We had been allocated a room looking out over the rear of the hotel but it had a definite smell that it had been used recently by someone who had smoked inside even though the rooms were all non smoking. Gretchen said we should tell the reception of the smell and so we went down to reception and were promptly allocated another room. This time it didn’t smell and was a better location with a view over to the river. A double win!
We hadn’t got to do any walking because of the weather on the way to Enniscorthy but now the rain had cleared and we felt we should stretch the legs before our nightly Guinness and dinner.
Like so many Irish towns and villages the streets and buildings that made up the commercial area were very compacted and this was accentuated in Enniscorthy because the town was built on a hillside above the river. There was more to the town than what we first realised but the rain returned stopping us from exploring any further.
The town had played a significant role in the Irish Uprising of 1798 when the patriots held against vastly superior British forces for 30 days and then again in 1916 when locals took the railway line under their control and stopped reinforcements from reaching Dublin until the patriots surrendered there to bring that conflict to an end.
As we come down to our last day of driving on the BBA V2 when we head to Dublin tomorrow we just hope that the weather gives us the opportunity to enjoy the coastline as we drive north.
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