June 30, 2015
Fethard on Sea via Hook Head to Waterford.
Ouch! Bit tender this morning lowering myself into the Brooks saddle, I thought that it was broken in but now it was threatening to break me. We had an early start as P&P had to head off to open their cafe in New Ross, we trundled into Fethard-on-Sea which is a gorgeous little village, then a short hop to Baginbun, famous as the site where the Normans landed to invade Ireland in 1170. The Normans were ‘invited’ to Ireland by Dermot MacMurragh the deposed King of Leinster who was looking for a ‘bit of help’ to win his kingdom back, Big mistake!! The Normans arrived, and being much more organised than everyone else proceed to conquer all round them. The Norman influence is still easily recognised in this area, with tall fortified castles common in the area. Older people in Wexford still recognise the old Norman land divisions with the Barony of Forth and Bargy and the Barony of Shelmalier still spoken about. All that remains at the landing site in Baginbun are earthen banks where the Normans established fortified positions.
We followed a footpath across Carnivon Beach and then really pleasant backroads to the fishing village of Slade, where we watched the gulls for a while. This is a small harbour where local boats fish for crab and lobster. From Slade it was a short spin to Hook Lighthouse, according to the blurb this is the second oldest lighthouse in the world, with the current tower built in the 12th century, but with a beacon in place since the 5th century. The lighthouse is now open to the public with a really interesting little museum and a simple cafe. We fuelled up with coffee and had a wander around, the museum had a ‘lifesaving carriage’ horse drawn with ladders and breeches buoy it was designed to be towed to a place where a ship had come aground. The crew would fire a rocket over the ship with a rope attached, once the ship was linked to the shore they would use the breeches buoy to rescue people.
The day had really improved from a misty start to warm hazy sunshine and the roads high above the Waterford estuary were perfect for cycling with nice views across the estuary and ships coming and going. We had a quick look around Duncannon then on to the car ferry from Ballyhack across to Passage East. A euro each for the ferry, which saved an 80km trip by road to Waterford. We had a easy run into Waterford where our friend Attracta lives. Feeling a lot more comfortable with the better weather today was a good day in the saddle. Attracta had friends from Australia visiting and we enjoyed another evening of good company.
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Today's ride: 43 km (27 miles)
Total: 83 km (52 miles)
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