September 9th
After a 6 hour restful airplane ride from YYZ to Dublin, we were anxious to fill our vision with rolling hills and castles! Everly’s love for sheep ‘baa baas’ was born on our first day in Ireland when we stopped at the Rock of Cashel Castle on a hill. We were happy to stretch our legs walking up the sheep-filled hill to see the old ruins and traditional Irish town of Cashel. We then hurried along our way to catch the Blarney Castle next before it closed for the day. We were so impressed with the well-kept grounds, gardens, and rock formations upon arrival. We summited the very narrow, circular staircase in the castle to the very top where we had the opportunity to hang upside down to kiss the infamous Blarney Stone; said to give the gift of eloquence or flattery. We finished our first evening by strolling through the narrow, cobblestone, and bustling streets of Cork. A hot, delicious meal was in order and then off we went to find our first AirBnB in Killarney.
September 10th
What a beautiful day of sunshine we woke up to! Our day started with some baked goods from a cafe across the street from our apartment, which was fuel for our fun-filled day to the Killarney National Park and the Ring of Kerry. Ross Castle was our first stop and what a sight it was! No two castles are alike in Ireland. This one was built beside a loch and had a unique set of exterior stairs that Everly could practice her climbing on. Onto Muckross Palace and a place for Everly to get a bit dirty while crawling along the green grass with the most beautiful scenery behind her; a sight that we could never get sick of. A quick stop to the Torc Waterfall and then onto the famous Ring of Kerry scenic coastal drive. Some of our highlights were: lunch in Kenmare, seeing the fields sectioned off with stone walls and the ocean in the background, walking St. Finn’s beach and hearing the crashing waves of the Atlantic, being awestruck by the giant Cliffs of Kerry, and taking a family stroll along the coast on Valentia Island. Upon arrival in Killarney we thought some homemade Irish ice-cream would be a perfect way to end another successful day on the Emerald Isle.
September 11th
Today started out as what would be our only rainy day in Ireland (lucky!), but the weather didn’t stop us from our plan to see the magnificent Cliffs of Moher along the western seaboard. In fact, we put on our rain gear, raised the protective case on Everly’s carrier and set out to see the cliffs, only to encounter a break in the clouds and some sunshine! The cliffs run along the seaboard for about 20 km and are over 200 m tall in some spots. For obvious reasons we did not walk all 20 km, but we did enjoy the rugged coastline, the crashing waves, and the horizon beyond sandstone walls. We ended our day in Galway and had Ed Sheran’s, “Galway Girl” ringing in our heads as we walked the streets of this coastal city. Most notably we enjoyed the colourful storefronts, the vibrant patios, and the flocks of swans in the waterways. We ate a very non-traditional Irish meal of Mexican tacos and packed it in at our ‘goldilocks’ style cottage nearby in Barna.
September 12th
Daddy gets the badge of honour for today’s hike. The name of the hike says it all; Stairway to Heaven, also known as Cuilcaugh Boardwalk. This 8 km hike had many terrains beginning with a pathway through farmer’s fields full of friendly sheep. Everly was very intrigued by her new, fluffy pets! She also in turn learned the word ‘baa’ and used it for the entire trip whenever she got on daddy’s back for a hike! Next we walked a flat boardwalk through marshland which was still very scenic. But then the stairs came and although it was the stairway to heaven, I believe the quad burn felt like hell for James at times! We were rewarded with a beautiful vista atop the Cuilcaugh Mountain looking out into an expansive bog with various shades of green and brown. The temperature changed quite drastically so we didn’t stay too long and the way down was much faster! We ‘crossed borders’ later that day into the UK (Northern Ireland) and settled into our new home in Belfast. We took a meander down the cobblestone streets and narrow alleys in Belfast and landed ourselves at a traditional pub with live music, fish and chips, and beer!
September 13th
All road trips have some bump in the road, right? Well luckily for us the kind people of Northern Ireland made our bump more manageable! On our way to the northern tip of the island we had a rapid drop in one of the car tire’s PSI levels. We pulled off the road safely into a car park and realized that we were stuck there until we somehow found a tire that was not splitting at the seams! A kind man who was in his work van had finished a phone call and came out to assess the situation with us. He ended up taking one of us to his local mechanic who then came to us, removed the tire, went and bought a new (used) tire, replaced it and all within 1.5 hours (Everly missed it all as she napped in the backseat). Luckily for us our day wasn’t very scheduled and we didn’t miss out on anything with our little setback. We were rewarded with INCREDIBLE views of the Giant’s Causeway on the northern coastline, which is a jagged promontory of neatly packed columns of hexagonal basalt rocks created about 6 million years ago by a flow of lava. As the folklore goes, however, Giant Finn McCool built this causeway to Scotland as he fell in love with a Scottish maiden. We hiked along the columns, stood beside them (and felt tiny), walked on top of them, and sat on them. They are vast and a true wonder. Later we checked out a couple of the “Game of Thrones” scenes such as: Dunluce Castle and the Dark Hedges. Both were gothic and medieval-style and really took us to another place and time. We ended the day with a walk around the Titanic slip, the Salmon of Knowledge statue, and the cathedral where the new reigning King Charles had greeted his people only hours prior.
September 14th
This morning we embarked on Everly’s first ferry ride across the North Channel from Belfast (where the Titanic launched) to Cairnryan, Scotland. A quick 3 hour ride and we kept our eyes peeled for Nessie! Mama was happy to finally reach her 50th country on her bucket list that day! Everly is not far behind with 5 countries under her belt at 15 months! We stretched our legs out with a hike in the highlands at the Galloway Forest. We saw some beautiful views at Bruce’s Stone and a waterfall that empties into Loch Trool. Before settling into our AirBnB in Glasgow we went to a community park to play on the playground and for Daddy to get in a round of disc golf. Pizza and beer dinner (for the adults!) at Shillings Brewery in downtown Glasgow and then to bed in our new home for a few days.
September 15th
Today was special because we were able to introduce Everly to a part of history, that is the recognition of Queen Elizabeth II. In Edinburg we visited the Holyrood Palace and laid some roses in memory of and in respect to the 70 year reigning queen who died the day we left for our trip (September 8th, 2022) at the age of 96. There were several bouquets of flowers as well as many coins on the ledge with her head facing out. She had passed through in a processional days prior on her way to Westminster for her funeral. After taking a few moments of silence we then walked the infamous Royal Mile, which is the main throughway of the old town Edinburgh. Its culturally and historically rich street had us looking and listening in all directions! Between bagpipers, cathedrals, storefronts, narrow alleys, and pubs we felt it was the most entertaining walk we’d done on the trip thus far. We reached the end of mile at Edinburgh Castle and took a moment to observe the over 900 year old castle that was built atop Castle Rock, the result of a volcanic eruption millions of years prior. What felt even more impressive was the view of the castle from the castle gardens in the back. Everly spent some time crawling around the grass with the stunning view of fountains, statues, and trees. Later we walked along Princes Street and were awestruck at the cathedrals, monuments, and gardens with a view. We fueled up at a pub before tackling Arthur’s Seat, ancient volcanic rock forming Salisbury Crag mountain. It is a short yet strenuous hike and we were rewarded with 360 degree views of the entire city. Daddy’s quads were completely shot after this hike so we headed about to our AirBnB in Glasgow for some RnR.
September 16th
Today was a day of outdoor exploration around the largest loch (lake) in Scotland, Loch Lomond. We climbed yet another steep hill named Conic Hill, in order to have a 360 degree vista of the loch and the Trossachs National Park. This time Mama took the weight of baby Everly while daddy’s legs took a break. It sure was tough work near the top but the reward outweighed the work! This called for some traditional Scottish grub, haggis! The liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep comprise haggis, which sounds quite repulsive but we all enjoyed it, even Everly! We continued along to the Queen Elizabeth Forest and did some birding, relaxing on hammocks near a waterfall, and exploring the discovery centre. That summed up our time in Scotland, short but sweet!
September 17th
We said goodbye to Scotland as we crossed the North Channel once again back to Ireland. In the afternoon we arrived at a sweet little coastal town named New Castle. We completed our final, gradual hike in the Mourne Mountain range and walked a really elaborate hedge labyrinth maze. We really enjoyed New Castle and its charm and quaint main street. Everly made friends at the pub with her kisses and waving and by the end of dinner we had several people offering to babysit her in case we needed a night out! Our AirBnB was so cozy and comfortable and we actually didn’t want to have to leave in the morning.
September 18th
Before taking off to Dublin for our final day of exploration, we spent some time at the local playground that was along the seaside. Everly enjoyed the swings and playground, while Mama and Daddy enjoyed the view of the ocean and mountains. It was a peaceful way to start the day and we felt so grateful for our experiences so far in the UK and Ireland. Dublin was definitely a busy city, which we had expected, but we also are glad we left only a ½ day to tour around it. We walked the busy downtown (Grafton Street), explored the beautiful Trinity College grounds, and window shopped along Temple street. We had our final Irish meal and Guinness beer near the famous Temple Bar and Everly enjoyed the big booth seat with photos of sheep all over the walls. We appreciated the backyard at our bunkie AirBnB along with the swing chair and patio set and we reminisced about our adventures and how seamlessly we travelled as a family. One more sleep and then home to see Cooper. I wonder which country Everly will visit next?!
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