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Ireland and England Trip - Day 4 of 11
Aug. 26th, 2025 11:59 pmTUESDAY
Gary didn't sleep well, having to get up and use the bathroom multiple times. On the other hand, I slept rather well. Perhaps three pints of cider helped. 😊 We got up around seven and went downstairs for breakfast.
When we finished eating, we sat in the lobby briefly to plan the day, then walked down the main street (O'Connell) to catch the tram to Heuston train station. On the way, we encountered a scruffy dude rushing up to people apparently begging for change, although I didn't quite understand what he was asking. We didn't have long to wait for the train to Kilkenny. (Insert South Park joke here.)
As we approached the first stop, Kildare, I noticed a large flock of sheep grazing in a field beside the tracks; later, we saw a couple fields of cows at pasture, but definitely more sheep than cattle. Further along, we passed a few horse pastures as well. A couple of families with noisy tween-aged children boarded a couple of stops in. Gary (sotto voce): "Basta!" ☺️ When we arrived at Kilkenny, everyone had to leave the train so those headed toward Waterford would need to board a coach.
We made our way into town, stopping by a confectionery shop by the river Nore for a soda for me and a milkshake for Gary. When we'd finished, we ascended the short hill to Kilkenny Castle and waited for the road train tour to arrive. There were two operators, one leaving hourly at the top of the hour and the other leaving hourly at half past the hour. Me: "The next train will be coming that way in five minutes." Gary: "How many minutes?" "Five." "Feck off." As we waited for a large party to arrive by motorcoach, our driver and tour guide, Paul, cracked jokes and, when I mentioned we would have gone to Charlestown but for the lack of train service there, mentioned he was from Curry, the next town north in County Sligo. Paul had a very nice-looking long beard and wore a Tam O'Shanter cap over a shaved head; nonetheless, once we were underway, he made a show of brushing his nearly nonexistent hair. There were a couple of places where the train came awfully close to the walls each side of the road, and when we crossed paths with the train going the opposite direction, he picked up a hurley (hurling stick) and waved it mock-threateningly at the other driver.
Shortly after that, we arrived back at the castle with an hour and change before our scheduled tour. We stopped by the castle park and found a bench, where I sat and caught up on journaling while Gary took pictures. After a slightly mad scramble to find the toilets across the street, we returned to the castle for our 3 PM tour in a light but soaking rain.
We were greeted at the door by a cubbish dude named Seamus, then directed to a small waiting room on the ground floor. Our guide (whose name I don't recall) met us there and escorted us to a basement corridor which had a floor grating revealing an archeological dig which revealed remnants of the pre-Norman settlement on the site as well as an old sally port which served as an escape hatch into the dry moat in case of being outnumbered by an invading force. As we left the basement, we passed through a chamber at the base of one of the towers which retained its medieval architecture (including a wattle and daub ceiling) after restoration. From there we ascended one level to a breakfast room (small and easy to heat), followed by a formal reception room. Two young boys in our tour party started acting up about then, and their behavior grew worse as the tour wore on despite the valiant efforts of their parents and our guide, who was remarkably patient even while presenting through gritted teeth. We ascended a grand staircase to the next level, containing more formal spaces, then a small cantilevered staircase to the more intimate spaces like the nursery, bedrooms and dressing rooms. (Our guide had to warn the boys' father not to give his son a piggyback ride up the cantilevered staircase as that was very dangerous.) We concluded the tour in a high-ceiling portrait gallery on the level below the top. We used the bathroom one level down, then exited through the ground-floor tea room.
By the time we finished the tour, the rain had stopped and it was bright sunshine again. In search of a seat, we found the bench by the road-train tour and exchanged parting handshakes with Paul as he prepared to leave with another load of passengers. Once we had rested a bit, we walked several blocks down High Street to the Marble City bar and tearoom Paul had recommended. The chicken supreme lived up to its name, and the Rockshore cider hit the spot. Also, the waiter was a fine young lad (Gary: "No.").
After dinner we crossed the street to pick up some sundries and drinks from a store that was about to close in five minutes or so. Gary knew exactly what he wanted, so we were in and out fast. We were going to visit the fountain and rose garden at the castle, but thought better of it after realizing we had less than 45 minutes before we had to hoof it back to the train station, plus there was an additional admission fee. Instead, I used the public restroom outside the garden and we started back, pausing by the river to find the coffee shops there had closed at two.
On arrival at the station, I was disappointed to find the elevator and stairs out of service, so we had to climb the ramp we'd used to exit the station. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad, taken slowly. We sat in the station until a tall dude came to check our tickets and let us out on the platform. The first train arrived on the track away from us and was destined for Waterford (apparently the track work from this morning was complete). Our train back to Dublin was next. Our assigned seats were occupied by two of a party of five, so we sat across the car with the fifth member of the party, a delightful lady originally from western County Mayo along the north coast who now lives in Adelaide, Australia.
It was getting dark when we arrived at Heuston Station. Fortunately, the mini-market in the station was still open, so we bought fruit salads (to make up for skipping lunch and proceeding directly to dinner) and beverages there. Riding the Red Line tram back to O'Connell Street, we noticed a lot of graffiti and sketchy surroundings along the route, and yet people were out and about all the same. On the short walk back to the hotel, Gary noticed a lady asking for spare change and gave her a €2 coin. She smiled in appreciation.
We returned to our room, watched a bit of the news while we had our snacks, and then Gary nodded off in front of the TV so I started preparing for bed myself (unfortunately, my usual nose blowing woke him up more abruptly than I would have preferred). We got to sleep about midnight.
Gary didn't sleep well, having to get up and use the bathroom multiple times. On the other hand, I slept rather well. Perhaps three pints of cider helped. 😊 We got up around seven and went downstairs for breakfast.
When we finished eating, we sat in the lobby briefly to plan the day, then walked down the main street (O'Connell) to catch the tram to Heuston train station. On the way, we encountered a scruffy dude rushing up to people apparently begging for change, although I didn't quite understand what he was asking. We didn't have long to wait for the train to Kilkenny. (Insert South Park joke here.)
As we approached the first stop, Kildare, I noticed a large flock of sheep grazing in a field beside the tracks; later, we saw a couple fields of cows at pasture, but definitely more sheep than cattle. Further along, we passed a few horse pastures as well. A couple of families with noisy tween-aged children boarded a couple of stops in. Gary (sotto voce): "Basta!" ☺️ When we arrived at Kilkenny, everyone had to leave the train so those headed toward Waterford would need to board a coach.
We made our way into town, stopping by a confectionery shop by the river Nore for a soda for me and a milkshake for Gary. When we'd finished, we ascended the short hill to Kilkenny Castle and waited for the road train tour to arrive. There were two operators, one leaving hourly at the top of the hour and the other leaving hourly at half past the hour. Me: "The next train will be coming that way in five minutes." Gary: "How many minutes?" "Five." "Feck off." As we waited for a large party to arrive by motorcoach, our driver and tour guide, Paul, cracked jokes and, when I mentioned we would have gone to Charlestown but for the lack of train service there, mentioned he was from Curry, the next town north in County Sligo. Paul had a very nice-looking long beard and wore a Tam O'Shanter cap over a shaved head; nonetheless, once we were underway, he made a show of brushing his nearly nonexistent hair. There were a couple of places where the train came awfully close to the walls each side of the road, and when we crossed paths with the train going the opposite direction, he picked up a hurley (hurling stick) and waved it mock-threateningly at the other driver.
Shortly after that, we arrived back at the castle with an hour and change before our scheduled tour. We stopped by the castle park and found a bench, where I sat and caught up on journaling while Gary took pictures. After a slightly mad scramble to find the toilets across the street, we returned to the castle for our 3 PM tour in a light but soaking rain.
We were greeted at the door by a cubbish dude named Seamus, then directed to a small waiting room on the ground floor. Our guide (whose name I don't recall) met us there and escorted us to a basement corridor which had a floor grating revealing an archeological dig which revealed remnants of the pre-Norman settlement on the site as well as an old sally port which served as an escape hatch into the dry moat in case of being outnumbered by an invading force. As we left the basement, we passed through a chamber at the base of one of the towers which retained its medieval architecture (including a wattle and daub ceiling) after restoration. From there we ascended one level to a breakfast room (small and easy to heat), followed by a formal reception room. Two young boys in our tour party started acting up about then, and their behavior grew worse as the tour wore on despite the valiant efforts of their parents and our guide, who was remarkably patient even while presenting through gritted teeth. We ascended a grand staircase to the next level, containing more formal spaces, then a small cantilevered staircase to the more intimate spaces like the nursery, bedrooms and dressing rooms. (Our guide had to warn the boys' father not to give his son a piggyback ride up the cantilevered staircase as that was very dangerous.) We concluded the tour in a high-ceiling portrait gallery on the level below the top. We used the bathroom one level down, then exited through the ground-floor tea room.
By the time we finished the tour, the rain had stopped and it was bright sunshine again. In search of a seat, we found the bench by the road-train tour and exchanged parting handshakes with Paul as he prepared to leave with another load of passengers. Once we had rested a bit, we walked several blocks down High Street to the Marble City bar and tearoom Paul had recommended. The chicken supreme lived up to its name, and the Rockshore cider hit the spot. Also, the waiter was a fine young lad (Gary: "No.").
After dinner we crossed the street to pick up some sundries and drinks from a store that was about to close in five minutes or so. Gary knew exactly what he wanted, so we were in and out fast. We were going to visit the fountain and rose garden at the castle, but thought better of it after realizing we had less than 45 minutes before we had to hoof it back to the train station, plus there was an additional admission fee. Instead, I used the public restroom outside the garden and we started back, pausing by the river to find the coffee shops there had closed at two.
On arrival at the station, I was disappointed to find the elevator and stairs out of service, so we had to climb the ramp we'd used to exit the station. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad, taken slowly. We sat in the station until a tall dude came to check our tickets and let us out on the platform. The first train arrived on the track away from us and was destined for Waterford (apparently the track work from this morning was complete). Our train back to Dublin was next. Our assigned seats were occupied by two of a party of five, so we sat across the car with the fifth member of the party, a delightful lady originally from western County Mayo along the north coast who now lives in Adelaide, Australia.
It was getting dark when we arrived at Heuston Station. Fortunately, the mini-market in the station was still open, so we bought fruit salads (to make up for skipping lunch and proceeding directly to dinner) and beverages there. Riding the Red Line tram back to O'Connell Street, we noticed a lot of graffiti and sketchy surroundings along the route, and yet people were out and about all the same. On the short walk back to the hotel, Gary noticed a lady asking for spare change and gave her a €2 coin. She smiled in appreciation.
We returned to our room, watched a bit of the news while we had our snacks, and then Gary nodded off in front of the TV so I started preparing for bed myself (unfortunately, my usual nose blowing woke him up more abruptly than I would have preferred). We got to sleep about midnight.