Wolfhound Tours- Day 1- Castles and Abbeys

Today we started our adventure with Dave and Wolfhound Tours. We met the others- people from all over the USA- Washington, Alaska, Michigan, North Carolina, and Alabama. We loaded up our stuff and we were on our way. Dave was a great story teller and knows everything about Ireland. He did voice impressions of people in the various counties in Ireland. It was very funny. We had a long drive today to get towards the Southwest area of Ireland.
Our first stop was The Rock of Dunamse and the Dunamse Castle. A wonderful ruin on the top of a hill. Built in the second half of the12th century. There was a small chapel below. Great views all around.




We drove a bit to a small village to have a potty stop and pick up a picnic lunch. It was off to the ruins of Athassel Abbey from the 12th century. It sits on 4 acres.  It is the largest medieval priory in Ireland.  We had to climb over a stone wall and then cross the field to get to the Abbey. We ate our lunch in the ruins. So much history here.



After that stop, it was the Hore Abbey and The Rock of Cashel. We roamed around the Abbey first and then had to climb the hill to get to the Castle. In Cashel, I purchased a necklace from a local silversmith that started at age 16 as an apprentice. He was now 70. My piece is an old celtic symbol that represents the past, present and future. The ruins were amazing.








Our final stop for the day was to check out Cahir Castle. One of the largest castles in Ireland and it sits on an island in the river Suir. It was built from 1142.






We then drove thru the scenic countryside to Gougane Barra. We stayed a a beautiful inn next to a lake that also had a peninsula with a chapel. Stunning scenery. The inn had a Chef and the food was outstanding. We all talked after dinner and got to know one another. A great start for our tour. Can't wait to see what is next.





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