Relaxing at Our Cottage

I cannot say enough for our first accommodations in Ireland.  Ballagh Court is comprised of five cottages, including three that were part of the original farm built in approximately 1800.  Richard & Salva (our hosts) purchased this farm from his family back in 1999 to avoid having the buildings raised.  He has since fully restored the old stone farm buildings into very nice self-catering units.  He has also built two separate stand-alone bungalow dormer-style houses.

We were in cottage #1, which was a spacious two bedroom, two bath accommodation that also featured a large country kitchen and a wonderful living room complete with wood burning stove.  Our evening fires became a highlight of our time when we returned home each night.

As a working farm, Richard's grandson collects and sells eggs from their hens.  We kept our breakfasts light with cereal and toast, so we did not partake in Callum's Free Range Eggs.

I booked this accommodation last fall through Imagine Ireland, a UK company that handles bookings throughout Ireland.  If you are looking for a nice place to stay at a very reasonable price, I encourage you to look them up.  Of course, you can also book directly with Richard at Ballagh Court if you would like.  I think the pricing is comparable whether you book with the hosts or through a booking agent such as Imagine Ireland.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Maggie, their farm dog!  She was quite friendly, whenever we saw her. It was nice to see her when we came home each night.  While not a replacement for our Miss Heidi, I did enjoy having a dog around.

Self-catering for our first five nights in Ireland worked out very well.  With Ellie's late arrival over the weekend, David and I did dine out our first night.  After that, we bought groceries at what was about the same as a general store in the next town over from the cottage.  For roughly €60, we were able to buy food for dinner for four nights, along with the necessary items for breakfast (cereal, milk, bread, etc.)  David always travels with his own "home blend of coffee so we didn't have to pay the high prices that are commonplace throughout Ireland.

Today (Wednesday 25 April) was  rather miserable in terms of the weather.  It rained heavily throughout the night and much of the day.  When it was not raining hard, we did have on and off showers.  Add to that the cold damp wind, and we decided to stay with the plan of taking an easy day today, especially since tomorrow through Saturday will be rather active with quite a bit of driving.

Richard just left here about 20 minutes ago, wishing us well on our continued journey throughout Ireland.  I cannot say enough for how friendly he and Salva were during our stay.  He also provided us with a couple of suggestions for our time in County Galway where he knows several people including a pub or two where we can expect to find traditional Irish music and dance.

So tonight we'll be packing up our stuff and getting ready for an early (7:30a) departure for Cobh.  Back during the time of Titanic, Cobh was known as Queenstown which was the last port of call of the White Star Line's ill-fated luxury liner.  We have plans to take in a historical walking tour about Titanic and her people, as well as the Titanic Experience.

The plan is to check-in at the Ballyseede Castle in Tralee by dinner time.  I don't know when we'll next have internet service but will do what I can to blog at the next opportunity.