So, this trip was particularly special for Amy and I. It was the first with our son, Freddie. Freddie was 3 months old at the time of travelling, and we were relatively close to both of our parent’s to hopefully make the trip manageable – and to be be honest, it was. It was very nice.
We started off by checking into our AirBnB which was right on the coast opposite Carlingford Castle. We dropped off our bags, and ventured into Carlingford itself.
A short walk from our abode for the night was Taafes Castle, a homey, old school Irish Pub (obviously it’s an Irish Pub, it’s in Ireland) – words can’t describe how picturesque the pub was, but pictures can:
Next up was Ma Bakers, small, cramped and perhaps not as nice on the inside – but still pretty from the outside. We were warned we only had 30 minutes here before children had to be off premises – so it was only a flying visit, and a reality for our newly found parenthood that we now need to be considerate of child friendly venues.
The Anchor, the most lively of Carlingford’s pubs, and the one with food offerings – we ordered a starter here as we’d already eyed up the chip shop nearby. The crab claws were phenomenal, and a perfect starter for our soon to devour fish and chip.
Amy took Freddie back to the AirBnB to put down to sleep, and I grabbed dinner for us from the esteemed Feeley’s Fish & Chips, with fresh caught fish and delicious chips – it is one of the nicest fish and chips I’ve had, and I consider myself to be somewhat of a fish and chip connoisseur. We relaxed, had a few late night drinks and called it a night.
What’s better than breakfast at Tiffany’s? Breakfast at Fishy Dishy. It’s not actually. We were finding it difficult to find somewhere to grab breakfast. The food was average, the portion was pitiful, and the price was exorbitant. I would not recommend.
As we were then refuelled, we ventured off towards nearby Templetown Beach to introduce Freddie to the sea. I carried him in whilst barefoot, but it was too cold to dip his own feet into the sea, and we had started to feel the chill ourselves – so swiftly ventured on.
Next up was Long Woman’s Grave, a mythical location on the Cooley Peninsula where Irish mythology teaches us a lesson in deceit, I think? I’ll recall it from memory here in an abridged version. I will fact check afterwards, and let you know how accurate I was…
The story goes that 2 brothers were set to inherit the kingdom, but one of them tricked the other into a gambit, where he would inherit as much of the peninsula as he could see – but did this on a day where there was a thick fog. So the brother went up to the highest point on the peninsula, could see virtually nothing, and his inheritance was reduced to mere metres in any direction at the top of the summit. The other brother laughed off into the mist, knowing that virtually the entire peninsula was his. The deceived brother then deceived a noble French lady (who was very tall) and the heir to a massive fortune, into moving to Ireland and sharing in his own fortune. But when she got to Cooley, she realised she was deceived herself, so she launched herself into the sea and died. Her body was retrieved – and buried, and hence the long woman’s grave. Her husband to be felt shame for deceiving her, and also killed himself – but nobody really cared about him since it was his fault the Long Lady died.
Fact check: she was a Spanish Noble Lady, 7 foot tall, and died of shame upon realising she left a fortune behind in Spain for nothing, rather than jumped in the sea. Her husband, Lorcan, did however throw himself in the sea.
After paying our respects to the Long Woman, we ventured onwards to Lumper’s Bar for a coffee to warm up, and to have a brief pit stop within before venturing back to Belfast. Lumper’s Bar is a very spacious venue with beautiful decor, of Elvis, local beers, and other Irish pub memorabilia. I would like for it to be more easily accessed by me, as it is somewhere I’d happily visit more often.
Whilst this blog is a bit more compressed, and a review of businesses more so than my normal posts, it reflects the reality of our trip. A flying visit to a nearby seaside town with a young child, but it was a beautiful, memorable trip – and I’m happy to be able to share it with you.
