In Awe Of Ireland

IAOI 06 – Aughadown

Having stopped to take a look at the map, we decided to try to follow the road that would keep us closest to the shore, making our way round the four ‘finger’ peninsulas that form the South-Westernmost coast of Ireland. This road appeared to be the N71 and so our route took us through some incredible landscapes, with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and mountains on the other. The gorgeous sunny weather that greeted us in Dublin had now royally rounded on us and had turned to heavy rain and dark skies. Still this was beautiful and the scenery would have had Thomas Hardy struggling for similes. We pressed on, but eventually my legs needed a stretch (being the designated driver, due to Adrian’s cycling mis-hap) and so we pulled in at a tourist viewing point at Aughadown, with a high view over the rolling Atlantic. Looking out to the shore we saw what appeared to be strange lines in the sea. From that disatance it was hard to make them out properly, even to be sure if we weren’t imagining them. the help of a digital camera showed them up to be real, though we still weren’t sure what they were.

A quick spurt of logic drew Adrian to the three-foot square tourist board that exaplined that these were mussel farms. The locals stretch long bars of rope out to sea, each with fronds dangling from them, under the water. Mussels naturally cling to them and hey presto! A mussel farm.

What we did both agree is that the cottage, nestled in amongst this would be our ideal home!