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| Meeting of the Waters |
On our way to Enniscorthy where we were to spend the next night I took the back roads past the small village of Conary Lower. Near here the two rivers of Avonbeg and Avonmore merge to become the Avoco River, marking this spot as 'Meetings of the Waters'. It was a peaceful place with a bust of the celebrated Romantic Irish poet Thomas Moore who penned, among many, many works the song of the same name: There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet/as that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet/Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart/Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart. The fog from the Irish Sea greeted us as we headed to Cahore Point for a late morning break where, surprisingly, a few brave swimmers were enjoying themselves in the dull-green water. From Cahore it was another hour drive to the port of Wexford where we stopped for lunch. The sun had broke through the cloud when we arrived and parked along the quay. It was a beautiful afternoon to explore this small town on the mouth of the River Slaney that was founded by the Vikings in 800AD. From Wexford we turned back north on the N11 towards Enniscorthy and the Castle Winton, our stopover for the night. Castle Wilton is situated on the banks of the Boro River in the heart of Wexford County and is surrounded by open parkland and quiet wooded countryside. We had to drive past a large field of cows ready for milking and a sheep dog who played tag with us as we approached. The earliest reference to Wilton dates from 1247 when the first fortified tower was built on this land. It is recorded that one of the last pistol duels in Ireland took place here in 1807. A number of families, after which each of the suites are called (we stayed in the Furlong Suite) called Wilton home over the course of the next 400 years before it fell into the hands of the Alcock family. In 1923 it was burnt to the ground by arsonists following a number of turbulent years in the Irish Civil War. Renovations of the castle began in 2003 after more than 80 years left to ruin. We were met by the current owner who related a bit of the history here as he checked us in. There is no staff other than himself and it felt quite strange to stay in this almost deserted and perhaps haunted castle, hidden away here in the Irish mists. Tomorrow we are going to kiss the Blarney Stone so I will be sure to bring along a big bottle of hand sanitizer. GWS
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| Thomas Moore Memorial Park, Avoca, Co Wicklow |
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| Cohore Point |
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| Wexford Town |
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| St Selskar's Church, 12th century, Wexford |
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| Wexford Quay |
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| Wilton Castle,Enniscorthy |
