Walkies and other wanderings.

Part Ten.1.0

Not wanting Himself to think that a week in Ireland with me was all work and no play, I endeavoured to take him out and show him some of the sights. 

Himself's favourite bridge

We were lucky with the weather, as for the first week wasn’t all sheet rain and storms! Most afternoons the sights were one of the many local beaches (bet you thought I was going to say pubs!) there’s a choice of five or six within a few miles (pubs and beaches). The dog loves to tear about on the sand or hunt amongst the rocks (when she’s in the pub she’s more sedate and just hunts crisps). When her little legs get tired she bounces relentlessly against the back of my knee. I think this means she wants me to pick her up (so I do) but she may just be trying to bring me down. 

Best dog beach ever

Wait for meeee.....

Happy families

Watch those puddles

BIG puddle

That's my house in the middle

Gannet bay

Rabbit metropolis

Rabbit? What rabbit???

While we may have had sunshine, we also had wind, so most conversations were conducted using impromptu sign language as our words and breath were whipped from our mouths by the incipient gale. We decided that the dog is not a natural hunter. The dunes are alive with rabbits, to the point where even the shortest of strolls is to risk a broken ankle as a burrow collapses under you. Every time we pointed her at a target she invariably galloped off barking in the wrong direction. The rabbits sat in the sun at the mouth of their burrows and sniggered. Every now and then she would spot movement in the distance and pitch off at top speed, only to stop and look around in a bewildered fashion when it vanished from under her nose.

Something she has managed to learn is that some puddles may be deeper than others. She doesn’t enjoy being wet and she particularly dislikes being out of her depth. When my mate’s dog runs into the sea she runs up and down the shoreline barking frantically as she clearly fears for both his safety and his sanity. There are many shallow pools in the sand and she discovered that most are only an inch or two deep, so she carried on running across at full speed. Note that I said most…. The occasional pool can be rather deeper and she got taken by surprise on a number of occasions as she suddenly found herself paddling rather than running. She was deeply unimpressed and now treats all puddles with deep suspicion and distrust. 

To my absolute amazement she followed me as I waded across the river at low tide as we returned to the car. By the time she emerged on the far bank she looked as surprised as I felt. I was certain it was an abberation, but she did it again the following week. My little dog is becoming very brave and hardy!

Intrepid sea dog.... going the wrong way!

In the course of our wanderings I found a fair bit of driftwood, which I can’t decide whether to burn or turn into something artistic. I also mentioned to Himself that I could use three or four flat stones or slates to put candles on. This resulted in an extensive collection which filled all my pockets to the point of bursting (once Himself gets an idea in his head, there’s no stopping him. Or perhaps he was just hoping to shove me off a convenient cliff and watch me sink without trace….). I also found a traffic cone and a pair of slightly distressed glasses. The traffic cone will be useful as I plan to put it on the septic tank as a warning when the silage is cut (I thought my front lawn might as well make itself useful, and I owe the phantom gardener enough money as it is). The glasses, although prescription, are handy as I really should get some, but can’t be bothered (and don’t want to pay for them). I may end up boss eyed as a result, but no one is likely to notice.

The conclusion of most walks turned out to be the pub. In one, Himself got wildly excited, pointing out the window ‘did you see that???’. Bemused I looked out across a calm bay glittering in the sun. Nothing. ‘Wait, wait, it will come up in a minute…’ (what? Your pint???). Shortly afterwards a large white bird bobbed to the surface. ‘I’ve never seen a gull dive like that before, it just tucked it’s wings in and went straight down!’ Ummm… that’s because it’s a Gannet? To my amazement, despite Himself’s respectable amount of sea time, he’s never seen a Gannet diving. Perhaps I am becoming jaded. On the ships I used to sail on (square rig sail training vessels), we regularly saw dolphins,. Many dolphins. Now dolphins are wonderful and amazing and playful, but at the end of the day, one dolphin looks much like another. I got quite cheesed off when someone would shout ‘dolphins to starboard’ and the whole trainee crew would immediately drop everything and swarm to the starboard rail…. Which I was trying to paint. The cook, when he wanted to clear the Mess, would get on the tannoy and call ‘dolphins to port/starboard’. The Mess would clear in seconds amidst a mad scramble for cameras and binoculars, at which point he would lock the doors.

The forecast was fine for Himself’s penultimate day before I had to take him to the airport. In appreciation of his efforts I gave him the day off and said I would take him wherever he fancied (within reason of course!). He expressed an interest in exploring the peninsula to the North of us as he pored over the map and mangled the pronunciation of almost every town on it. 

Heading North

The day dawned fine and clear. We made a brief stop in a market town on the way as there were a couple of things I needed, such as a mattress protector and pillows (if you intend to let others use your bed in your absence such things are important). I left him holding the dog as I ventured into the relevant shops. Every time I came out he had vanished! Now either every haberdashery shop was a portal into an alternative reality devoid of himself and dog, or he just didn’t care about interior décor and has a short attention span. I was getting a little tetchy as I stomped off in search of him for the third time, to find him innocently gazing into the window of a tool shop two streets away. (Important note, NEVER go tool shopping with a bloke, a screwdriver and half a dozen screws will inevitably morph into an entire toolkit of peculiar and esoteric bits of metal and plastic, a bit like when you go to Tesco for milk and bread and somehow emerge £60 poorer and unable to carry the contents of your trolley in both hands). The forecast hadn’t been entirely accurate, and as we headed for the hills (a magnificent mountain pass with spectacular views) the cloud descended, and continued to descend until it reached sea level. By the time we reached the top, visibility was about 50 yards. In true tourist fashion we sat and grumbled in the car, scattering the crumbs of our lunch onto the dog.

The cloud lifted

almost

As we descended the other side the visibility improved and we were treated to some spectacular views, but I have no pictures as my hands were busy with the steering wheel as I negotiated the switchbacks and his were clutching the doorhandle and dash as we lurched around each successive bend. We were lucky not to end up in the ditch (that position was already occupied by the rather smart car which was too impatient to wait in a layby until we squeezed past and we were treated to a rather expensive graunching noise as he bottomed out ). We went somewhat out of our way to visit a place I remembered from my childhood as being wonderfully remote and isolated and rather magical. It’s now a ‘country park’ with an extremely expensive carpark (which explains the lines of cars parked along the approach road). It is still very beautiful, but some of the magic has gone. It has good sheep though!

Who are you and what are you doing here????