The Gap of Dunloe

The Gap of Dunloe is really special place.

 Years ago my mum and Dad were there off having a stroll and there's a picture of my Mum sitting on a rock and she's a good 5 months pregnant. My older sister having never been there in her entire life ended up getting married in the Gap of Dunloe. That was her in the tummy in the pic and that photo showed up about a month before the wedding. To the present........

Bring rain gear, it can start pouring rain here at the drop of a 1 cent coin. Me and Neil went here last summer, well we went to Killarney on our summer holidays, and set off from Kate Kearney's Cottage where we parked the car. We got absolutely soaked, but we didn't care, and kept on walking.

Look at how close all those clouds are? Walking through the gap imagine, when you see no service on the iPhone, what it was like two million years ago when a glacier lived there.

 Leaving from Kate Kearney's you'll keep the river and streams to your right and come across a few lakes on your way. Just keep walking straight.

And don't forget to look up....... there are loads of streams running down the sides of the mountain......

It's not just all nature though because if you keep on walking you should come across some derelict little houses. Imagine living all the way up here on your own back when there was no electricity or Wi-Fi.

Easy enough now to see why the lads moved on..........

Keep on keeping on as they say and you'll get to this lake......

Look to the foreground and you'll notice that the gap has started to narrow now......

We got as far as here and turned back, we were truly drenched. But were refreshed after some afternoon tea in Aghadoe (think it was less than a tenner for this.....)

And we got all warm, dry and cosy, looking out at this.......

The lake we would have arrived at had we completed our walk.

monart

Afternoon tea is back in vogue....

Really pretty afternoon tea.......

However it isn't something one idly rocks up to. Rather it's quite the special event and must be attached to some occasion or another; Christmas/annual meet-up, a birthday, a mum's birthday, etc.

For me it was a pre-wedding treat for my boyfriend's sister and so myself, a co-bridesmaid and the mother-of-the-bride, headed off to 5-star Monart, Wexford.

On arrival, co-bridesmaid and navigator rolled down the window of her driver's door and pressed the buzzer at the gate. The voice asked us how we could be helped and we informed him of our afternoon tea booking. Take note here - you need to book a time. The gate opened soon after.

And we were on our way, through the old house, down the glass tunnel and into the great big expanse and hide-away that is Monart.

I love when old and new get mixed, love it. Then in the reception area we were met by this great big yoke...........

Our date was during the heatwave and we had the option to sit outside and take in all the beauty of their geisha-like garden.

Look at the reflection of the trees, that you can't even see in the shot, in the still lake water? Gorgeous. And the little bridge yonder?

We even got acquainted with the residents while we were waiting for our table to be lined up.......

My granny used to keep a little farm and told me that from time to time some of the animals would become pets. She once had a duck and a bainbh (pig for non-Irish amongst you) that used to sleep in a car my granddad was fixing up. She said she came out one morning and there was no sign of the duck, 'til the day she died, she swore the bainbh ate the duck. Anyway aren't they super cute? And there were geese too quack-quacking away. Look closely and you'll see the baby duckies.

To the main event we went then and took our seats upon the terrace looking out on to the lake and gardens and forest in the distance.

We got given the menu..... you can choose your type of tea; oolong, Earl Grey, lavender flavoured etc, you can even exchange it for coffee. And for the food part you can have two of the one type of canapé if there's one you didn't like.

Look close and you'll see the price. Yup 20 of your finest euro for all that......and here is the big reveal, this is what came on my three-tier plate......

Four savouries on the ground floor, three different scones on the middle and then the penthouse was reserved for the sweets...... they even made the water look extra special.....

The tea and coffee are served in big heavy, silver pots so they keep hot for ages, therefore allowing you to take forever with the chat, the delicacies and the surrounds.

After all that we still had more to look forward to and went for a stroll around the glorious gardens.

So for 20 euro, a few hours of sheer, uninterrupted bliss and a as much tea as you have conversation to drink and chat to..... it was a fairly great day at a very decent price.

http://www.monart.ie/