Sue and Paul Connolly: Whacky Wexford and talk about Hook, line and sinker.

Whacky Wexford is located on the most south-easterly tip of Ireland and boasts some 275kms of stunning coastline with golden sandy beaches, rocky headlands and more. It is a county steeped in history (like most of Ireland) featuring the finest castles and historic sites in Ireland…..to be sure to be sure…..I tink.

We have been staying at a small B and B (bed and bugs said one of Paul’s new friends he met on his morning walk) near Rosslare Harbour. The amount of traffic from the harbour indicates that every man and his dog must go in and out from this place. We had a visit to New Ross and went through the replica Dunbrody Famine Ship, the Emigrant Flame and the life size welcoming sculpture of JFK whose great-grandfather Patrick left for America in 1848 from this quay.

As JFK family hails from around these parts we visited the homestead the house he visited 5 months before he was assassinated. The splendid visitors centre at the original Kennedy Homestead offers visitors an audio-visual trip through history, to help tell the story of the famous US. President and his family. All in all I thought it was tastefully and respectively done. We then moved onto the Hook lighthouse which is the oldest operating lighthouse in the world. Climbed to the top to get a great view and to see if we could spot any whales.

Tea at a small place called Fethard on sea before heading back to the National Heritage Park just out of Wexford. I had seen a bat and moth night advertised on their website so turned up there at 9.30pm. Great fun and I now look at moths in another light …not the one they are drawn to. The bats were tiny and could be seen to be skimming just above the water’s surface to feed on the insects. We were able to catch sight of the 11 pm satellite and a falling star which got us talking about the meteor showers that were going to take place later on during the week. Late night home but well worth talking to all the Wexford Harry Butlers.

We visited Curracloe beach where ‘Saving Private Ryan” beach landing scenes were shot. We regretted not having our bathers with us as it was such a lovely sunny day and a swim would have been enjoyable……not that any other beach goers where in the water. In all the time we have been travelling around we always have a bit of a laugh about how people park on the opposite to chat or to just call into the shop. The best traffic jam is when the farmer drives his tractor into the town, pub or just because he can. The cars coming in the opposite direction always have to park up somewhere quick smart.

We said our goodbyes to our host Aiden who advised us to go to Kilkenny and not to bother about Waterford. I had this thing about seeing the home of crystal so St Paul made a small detour just for me. It was well worth it and glad we did the tour of the factory. Some pieces are not my cup of tea, however, that might be because they are out of my price range. Paul reckons some of the pieces were disgracefully tacky. A cool 30,000 euros would make you the proud owner of a non realistic grizzly bear. After our crystal fix I went off to the ladies in the Waterford Crystal building and came out saying to Paul "Wow they have even got toilet seats that look like they are made from crystal. The effect is amazing. You should go into the gents and take a photo". Off Paul goes into the gents with the camera! Off course I was pulling his leg. Not sure what the guy at the urinal thought when Paul walked in with camera in hand ......................!!!!