UK Road Trip Week 8 - The Pale to Caergybi
- Ash Collins
- Feb 13, 2023
- 5 min read
Excitement in the air as we woke to bright sunshine in the fair city of Dublin. With the 3 safely tucked away in the secure underground carpark for a well-earned rest, we strapped on our comfy loafers in preparation for upping our step count. Yes, well, hmmmm our first few steps were up and onto the Green Line tram platform for the short 5 stop journey from Charlemont to Trinity College...we didn't want to peak prematurely 🤪
Having completed the very relaxing tram ride, we disembarked at Trinity where only a short stroll away lies Ireland's oldest and highest ranked university, Trinity College. Founded in 1592, Trinity College is located in the heart of Dublin, opposite the historic Parliament House.
The main entrance at College Green boasts a magnificent front arch and wooden doorway. As you emerge from it, the cobbled Parliament Square opens out before you with the Campanile, or bell tower, in the centre marking the meeting point for our guided tour of this most famous of institutions. Our tardy and very hungover docent for the day was Connor Kelly (how Irish can a name get), a student of the College. Despite his obvious hangover, CK delivered an inspiring and humorous tour around the campus, regaling his group with anecdotes and peccadillos from days gone by.
One of the more interesting tit-bits provided by our guide focussed upon the notable individuals elected as Scholars (Schols) of Trinity College Dublin. Schols is awarded to those who achieve a first class honours average (>70%) in a set of challenging voluntary examinations, held in January which test a student's ability to "consistently demonstrate exceptional knowledge and understanding of their subjects". If successful, the benefits include waived fees, rooms in college, dining rights at Commons and a post-nominal title, "Sch.". Typically, less than 1% of the undergraduate population is awarded the scholarship.
Connor, looking even more worse for wear, bid his group a fond farewell at the entrance to the Old Library. The 'Long Room' as it is known, houses 250,000 ancient books and manuscripts including the ornately decorated ninth-century Book of Kells along with 500,000 other publications. Interestingly, the Old Library will soon be undergoing a restoration program that will take the best part of 5 years. Each of the 750,000 publications will be carefully removed from the library, examined, cleaned and stored in purpose-built vaults until the two-level, 65m Long Room has been restored thus enabling the physical preservation of the books within the five centuries old bibliotheca.
Thirsty work this walking and touring so our next destination will not surprise any of our readers...St. James's Gate - The Guinness Storehouse. Founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759, the site was originally leased for a paltry £45 per year for 9,000 years (no longer valid) and has been the home of the Guinness brand ever since. Each year, punters consume ~1.5 billion pints worldwide and every St. Patrick's Day, an estimated 13 million pints of Guinness are served in 150 countries. Interestingly the largest market outside of the UK for Guinness sales is Africa (Nigeria largest consumer) representing 35% of total sales, making it the second largest market for the stout globally.
Guinness Storehouse is Dublin's most popular tourist attraction. The converted brewing factory was transformed into the Guinness museum, incorporating elements from the old brewing factory to explain the history of its production. The exhibition takes place over seven floors, in the shape of a 14 million-pint glass of Guinness. The top floor is the Gravity Bar, which has an almost 360° panorama over the city, where visitors can claim a pint of "the black stuff". Predictably Trace & I made ourselves very comfortable up top as we quenched our thirst with a couple of pints of the "Irish Champagne".
The following day would follow the more traditional tourist route as we jumped on board the Green Bus at at St. Stephens Green for hop on / hop off tour of Dublin. Nav and I will take these tours as a means for gathering our bearings and orientation around the cities we visit. A full circuit tour of 25 stops takes around two hours to complete and is a worthwhile investment for any traveller (no Pikey's permitted).
With the bus tour complete, it was time to get back on 'the plates' and cover this grand city by footpath. Our first port of call was the famous Temple Bar in the heart of the city. This honey-pot tourist trap is a must see however I would warn weary travellers to wander through by day. This pub is always busy so we decided to visit the wonderful Distillery Store which is annexed to the pub.
This quaint little whiskey bar and 'offie' has a large collection of rare and collectable whiskeys from around the world providing whiskey tastings that are suited to both whiskey connoisseurs (not us) and beginners alike. There is also an extremely impressive collection of golf memorabilia on the walls that will grab your attention. Being a little chilly after the open top bus tour, Nav was very keen to get her wind gums around a traditional Irish coffee to warm the cockles. Would be rude not too so we wandered in and made ourselves comfortable at the bar. Our resident whiskey connoisseur proceeded to pour Nav her coffee whilst I opted for a wee dram for similar affect...job done!!! With our insides warmed, we continued on our intrepid adventure through Dublin taking in all the sights and sounds this most magnificent city had to offer.
Reluctantly we left the comfort zone that was the Distillery Store to continue our journey on foot as we meandered around the cobble stoned streets and alleyways of this beautiful city. Incredibly, after our Dollard Market lunch extravaganza on Wellington Quay, we found ourselves in another whiskey joint...The Jameson Bow St Distillery. In 1780 John Jameson threw open the doors of his distillery on Bow St. and over 200 years later, the former factory stands as a monument to Irish Whiskey. Jameson Distillery is known for having one the world’s leading distillery tours, with cocktail making classes, premium whiskey tasting sessions and learning how to blend your own whiskey. Yeah, yeah just pass us the cocktail list madam!
As we awoke on our final morning, reality had set in that we would be departing the Emerald Isle on the 2.45pm ferry to Holyhead. As emotional as we both were about leaving, there would be one final, and very emotional act to play out on this day the 19th September 2022...the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. With a late check-out secured, Nav and I were glued to the flat screen as we watched the funeral procession that honoured the United Kingdom's longest reigning monarch.
As some miserable farker once said - "all good things must come to an end" and that they have for us we departed Ireland. Regardless of which side of the border you might be standing, Eire is such an amazing country. The sun really does shine in the hearts of its incredibly generous people.
Cheers 🍻 and safe travels 🚦
Ash n' Trace...
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