Day two began in Kilcoole. We got our first stamp in Nicky’s Village Market and persuaded Abi, who worked there, to have a quick photo with us.
We drove onto Greystones to the cove then where we had a lovely walk and watched some of the many swimmers taking their morning dips.
We popped in to get our stamps at The Rise at the Cove Café, where I got a hot chocolate and a croissant and my mother had a cappuccino and a gluten free Bakewell muffin, which were totally scrumptious. We had a great chat with Gavin, who runs the place, and he told us all about how the cafe started and its involvement with Tig Linn, and how they try to source all their produce locally. There is a real community feel here. We really liked this place and will definitely return (next time I’ll be taking a dip which may be followed by using their on-site sauna).
Next on our list was Kilruddery House and gardens. We just popped in here briefly to get our stamp and headed straight over to Powerscourt Gardens. We have been here many times before, but never tire of it. The colours amongst the trees and flowers are breath-taking, and that’s not even taking into account the whole grandeur of the buildings, towers, statues, fountains, walled garden, pet cemetery…I could go on and on… It must be seen to be believed.
This place has always been a favourite of ours and always will be. We reminisced about how as a child I used to roll down the hills and my mother was trying to remember all the different people she had brought here over the years…friends, and relations. After a good walk around and having soaked in the beauty, we headed off to Glencree Centre of peace and reconciliation to get our next stamp. While we were there my mother popped in to light a candle in their church and off we went to Laragh.
The drive to Laragh was incredible. It went through the Sally Gap and is a road neither of us had been on before. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular. We did stop a couple of times to take in the views and get a quick photo, but sure that’s all part of it. We popped into Lynham’s of Laragh to get another stamp and then into a very nice florists in Roundwood, called Green Room Flowers and then back up to the Glenview Hotel for afternoon tea.
We could have had this on their new terrace outside, but a bit of a wind had got up and the sun had gone in, so we were served this in the conservatory instead. The sandwiches were delicious as were the scones, and lovely mini-cakes and petits fours. We felt rightly spoiled. The service was excellent too, very friendly staff. My mother, of course, was chatting to them all, telling them how she used to work in the Glenview many years ago and how she had such fond memories of the place.
By the time we had finished, the sun had come out, so we got our stamps and went for a quick walk around their gardens. Being a wedding celebrant, I was very interested to see that they have recently revamped a hidden area for outdoor weddings. It was a really private space which was sheltered from the wind by trees all around and had a bar and lots of seating areas and a lovely waterfall. We took a few more pics and jumped back in the car for our final destination of the day: K2 Alpacas.
We arrived at the Alpaca farm and were met by the owner, Joe, a very friendly and hard-working man who gave us a grand tour of the place. He has a fabulous on-site shop with products made from the coats of the Alpacas…they were the softest products I’ve ever encountered: slippers, socks, teddies, pillows, duvets, hats scarves etc. and I will definitely be putting some of them on the Christmas list this year!
He showed us the old outhouses that he has converted into stylish one- and two-bedroom cottages which he lets out as holiday homes, and we were fascinated by his story of the journey he has been on with his business.
Then came the best part; we went up to the field to meet them all. Each of his eighty Alpacas had been named individually and he could tell us the name of every one that we met. We felt like children again. They were such gentle, cute and funny animals and Joe brought down a bucket of feed which we took handfuls of, and they were literally eating out of our hands. It was a brilliant experience! My mother was reeling off all the names of different people she wanted to bring to the farm. After that, is was to home to put the feet up and get ready for our next day’s fun!
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CLICK ON LINK TO READ MORE IN THIS WEEKS DIGITAL EDITION – Dublin Gazette – Digital Edition – May 25, 2023 – Dublin Gazette Newspapers – Dublin News, Sport and Lifestyle
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