Kilarney to Adare

25th August
Kilarney to Adare
A nice sleep in, brekky, and then off to Adare. It was only about 100k to Adare so we arrived by 11am. A trip to the information centre, and a cup of coffee, while we watched the rain pour down. We got the directions to the castle and also the famous thatch roofed cottages. The town of Adare had become a slum area by the early 19th century when the third Earl of Dunraven who was landlord of Adare Manor (now a hotel) initiated all sorts of rural improvements including streets of quaint thatched cottages. Some are now shops or restaurants and a few private homes. One of them had the roof being re-thatched. With all of the rain coming and going the thatcher seemed to be having a bit of a rough day. We walked on towards the castle which was built in the 13th century. You can only go into the grounds of the castle if you go there on coach trip as part of a guided tour, other wise the gates are locked. We decided it wasn't that much different to a lot of castles we had seen and it didn't look overly impressive so we took some photos from the pathway and left it at that.
A stroll into town for a look around the shops. We found a lovely little cafe called 'The Arches'. More rain had come and gone so raincoats back on and back to the car and onto our B & B for the night, Berkley Lodge. We set off on another walk along the river than ended up near the castle so we took a few photos. We also saw the other side of town some nice old cottages. They are set back off the road, they have their own front fences that then lead onto a large lawn area and then a stone wall footpath and then the road. There are a number of streets set out in this style. Afternoon tea was in a lovely old pub called 'Aunty Lenas' which was established in 1836. Then the remainder of the afternoon was rest time. Nice to have a day to re-charge the batteries and go a bit slower.
Tonight we had fish and chips by the river. It was really very peaceful. Now to watch a bit of TV, an early night and be ready for an early get away in the morning.