The Ham Nomads

22 Jun 2014. <IE> Carlow, Co. Carlow; Avoca, Co. Wicklow; Dublin —

Brownshill Portal Tomb

Woke up in the picnic area just short of Carlow, after the shortest night of the year (Summer Solstice — we're so aware of this after our extensive communion with neolithic man!). We weren't really looking for anything in the town, but on the road atlas there was a megalithic site marked just outside — the Brownsill Portal Tomb. On our way out, we kept our eyes peeled for it. Sharp-eyed Susie spotted it first, a large rock in the middle of a barley-field. We pulled into the carpark and got out to walk what must have been about half a kilometre in to the object. As we approached it, it kept on looking bigger and bigger. Apparently this is the largest dolmen in Europe. The capstone itself weighs about 150 tonnes! And neolithic men put it in place using sheer muscle power — and remember, this was before the domestication of any animals except perhaps the dog!

After experiencing a neolithic wow factor, we were on our way out, when we struck up a conversation with a local who was out for a walk. He asked us if we had been out to "the Towers", apparently a good site for walking with a magnificent garden. We have taken the official view that you ignore the advice of locals at your own jeopardy, so we decided to check this site out. His directions to find it were spot-on, and we had absolutely no difficulty getting there. The "Two Towers" refer to the towers of the gatehouse to Duckett's Grove, a rather bizarre mansion and gothic revival castle. There used to be a pub at the Two Towers, so this has kept the site in the minds of the locals.

The original square house of 2 and 3 storeys was transformed by J.D. Duckett into a "spectacular castellated Gothic fantasy" (Mark Bence-Jones, 'A Guide to Irish Country Houses) in 1830, after he married a rich American heiress. The mansion was burned in 1933 and is now a ruin. Work has been done to stabilise it, and they are just starting to take tours round the place. There's not much money about to do the extensive renovation work the place needs — and deserves — but if they can just conserve it for the future, this will be a huge step in the right direction. One thing that has been "renovated" is the magnificent walled garden adjoining the mansion. This in itself is worth the visit! There are two separate walled enclosures, and they have both been turned into rather lovely formal gardens of annuals and perennials. They have not, as in some places, made one part the display garden and the other the kitchen garden — both parts are spectacular display gardens — although the Lower Walled Garden, once the site of the old orchard, again contains many fruit trees. The Upper Walled Garden has displays of roses, peonies and other ornamental plants. And the woodland overhanging the walls provides a beautiful backdrop. There is a gift shop there, and a tea room is due to open up on July 5. Please check out their Facebook page. We walked the site, chatted with the lady in the gift shop, and left bemused and with a rather lighter slant on life.

We then finally drove across to Avoca in County Wicklow. This is a very pretty town, and has been a popular retreat in Wicklow for a very long time, but it got a renewed injection of vitality when it was used as the location of the popular TV series 'Ballykissangel'. If you know the series, you'll recognise the photos! Fitzgerald's Pub is still there, and the church is visibly recognisable. Most of the other houses in the main street have changed somewhat — what can you expect after about 18 years! We went in to the cafe at the Avoca Weavers Mill, a producer of woven woollen products with a local Irish look and feel — mainly for the tourist market! When we arrived for lunch, we had to fend for ourselves amongst about two or three busloads of tourists, mainly American. Warren was in the queue ahead of an American woman who, once she heard his non-American accent, immediately slowed her speech down, over-enunciated and used a lot of hand signing. Enough, really!!

Enjoyed wandering Avoca/Ballykissangel, then set off for Dublin. Got to the Western outskirts, then did a little exploring to find likely parking places. Once again, our friends from Monsteraboice came through with flying colours! Their recommendation of the Park and Ride at Red Cow was spot-on. The Park and Ride, run by LUAS (the Dublin Public Tram and Bus system) allows you to park for 24 hours at a time for the princely sum of €4. Tomorrow we take the tram into the centre of Dublin, where we will purchase a Tourist LEAP Card, only just introduced (they must have heard we were coming) which allows you unlimited public transport travel in Dublin for a period of 72 hours, just the amount of time we're planning to stay!

Distance driven — today, 127 miles ( 204 km ); to date, 3,100 miles ( 4,989 km )