The Ham Nomads

21 May 2014. <IE> Kilkenny, & Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny —

Our camp last night

The day has dawned beautifully. A fog to start off, but clear and sunny from 8:30am.

St Canice

St Canice - interior

We went to the northern end of our planned day, and started at St Canice's Cathedral. St Canice died in 599 or 600AD, and Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh) is named for her. The Cathedral was built between 1202 and 1285. Beside it is a round tower that dates from the 9th century, and it is one of the two in Ireland that one can climb — it's 30 metres high (5 metres short of its original height having lost its conical roof) and is climbed using 121 internal stairs. The view is stunning from the top.

Kilkenny from the Round Tower

Black Abbey window

Then we went down to the Black Abbey, but bypassed it temporarily as a Mass was in progress. Went instead to the Chapter House Tea Rooms in St Mary's Cathedral for a pleasant morning tea sitting outside in the glorious sunshine. Then back to the Black Abbey. One of the most peaceful places we've ever been into. It is famed for its stained glass windows, one of which is huge!

Next we went on to St Mary's Cathedral. This is huge, but constructed less than 160 years a go. It is undergoing renovation, particularly in the Chancel. We were there during choir rehearsal, and it was a delight hearing young voices permeate the cathedral. Typical of a young choir, the music was angelic, but the sounds when the children were dismissed at the end of the rehearsal were diabolic!

Rothe House upper room

Next item on our agenda was Rothe House and Gardens. This is an early 17th century merchant's home, consisting of three separate townhouses, three enclosed courtyards and a reconstructed garden to the rear. The front house was for his business, the one behind it his dwelling, and his 12 children spilled over into the third! The houses are in amazing condition, with much of the timberwork being original — the hand-sawn floorboards are fascinating, as the wear of the years has left the harder parts of the timber standing proud, so there is almost a roller-coaster effect. And the roof beams in the upper room, although not original, are stunning!

Kilkenny Castle

Warren's feet were protesting by now, so we were going to return to the van when we realized we were within striking distance of Kilkenny Castle. Sat on a seat in The Parade (running up by the castle) eating freshly fried hot chips. Beautiful. Then went into the castle grounds. The park is huge and many people were enjoying the warm sunny day — young mothers with their children, lads with their soccer balls or their girlfriends, tourists with their cameras, and locals just out to relax! We were about an hour in the park, chatting with the locals (the Irish do love to chat!) before leaving to go over the road to the National Craft Gallery and, behind it, to Butler House (a hotel and convention venue whose magnificent formal gardens are open to the public). Just enjoyed ourselves, before finally making our way back to the van.

Left Kilkenny going southwards towards Thomastown and the Jerpoint Abbey. Arrived there at 5:15pm — they were in the process of closing, but the delightful people suggested we go in for about 10 minutes to get what photos we wanted. Even though we will be calling back tomorrow, who knows what the weather will be like then, and it was absolutely perfect right at that time, even to the direction of the sunlight!

Jerpoint Abbey

Jerpoint Abbey colonnade

We are now camped in a layby and can see Jerpoint Abbey out through our back window!

Distance driven — today, 19 miles ( 30 km ); to date, 1,359 miles ( 2,187 km )