nbjtours

Athy

35 miles

1105 ft climbed

For our penultimate day in the saddle we had originally looked to do 100 miles but the weather played its part and ruined that possibility, although in reality our legs ( well Chris’ and mine ) were pretty ruined from the amount of cycling we have done over the past two weeks anyway. We were therefore not upset at the lower mileage.

We have come across lots of ruins on this trip whether old farmsteads caused by the potato famine or more recent abandoned farms as mechanisation and city working has taken over. Today we saw more large medieval castles and religious edifices than any other day Incredibly much was down to Henry VIII whose dissolution of the monasteries had a devastating effect in Ireland as well as in England as his reign extended here.

The morning dawned with some sun so we were optimistic of a good day as initially only showers were forecast. Having got up early and dispatched our porridge we were on the road by 8.00 and cracked on on damp but flattish roads.

The roads were pretty quiet and our first leg was only to be 20 miles to the Rock of Cashel. Before we even got there though in the middle of a farmers field surrounded by cows and sheep we came across these unmarked ruins.

Only later did we discover these unheralded ruins are of the biggest abbey complex in all Ireland covering 6 acres. The farmer obviously finds them an annoyance and keeps them low key. In the U.K. there would be a visitor centre tea shop and a £20 entry fee. However it has to be remembered that there are over 700 major religious ruins in the country, so choices have to be made.

We agreed to meet Nigel & Monica at the Rock of Cashel. This is the site of the ancient kings of Munster and purportedly one of the most important architectural historic sites in all Ireland as it incorporates a Hiberno-Romanesque chapel built for King Cormac McCarthy completed in 1134. Although it is dwarfed by the subsequent cathedral built by his enemies the O’Briens who killed him. Entry to the chapel is restricted to 200 persons a day to avoid moisture damaging the frescos so we were lucky to get in.

After the visit we had our coffee and croissants pleased that our early stop had beaten the tourist buses that were now arriving.

We got ready to go out for the next leg to Kells ( a different one to the book of Kells) but having put our cycling gear on and got ready to leave it started to rain. Not only that it remained very cold. We looked at one another and Nick said ‘That’s it I’m not cycling in this ‘ We were not about to argue so Chris and I got back in the camper.

We decided to drive to the next stop , Kells, and see what the weather was like when we got there.

The rain continued but we thought we’d have a good look round. This site was not the tourist bus Mecca like Cashel, as there were only four cars in the car park. Inside the ruins we did find a solitary guardian in his little wooden shed as this site was administered by the state.

An enjoyable visit to this large site The rain continued to fall so we decided once again to go as far as Carlow and reassess. Hooray – as we got to Carlow the rain almost stopped and keen to get back out on the bikes we got Nigel to stop the van so we could cycle the last few miles home.

Stopping for a natural break we noticed this farmer had planted his crops at slightly different times so produced this incredible picture which does not seem real but I can assure you is not photoshopped.

Nick then took the peloton on a speedy 10 km ride into Athy ( pronounced A tie) where we found these cars ready for an event tomorrow. Athy was the base for the first ever international motor race in the British Isles in 1903 when the Gordon Bennett Trophy race was held here because it had straight roads around. At the time there were only 200 Cars in the whole of Ireland so it must have been quite a sight for the locals when the 12 cars set off.

Athy’s most famous son is the great polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton who was born and initially educated near here. I popped into the local museum and had a nice chat with the ladies manning the desk Whilst not ever reaching the pole his greatest achievement was saving the lives of all of his men when they got stuck in the ice by guiding an open lifeboat 800 miles and trekking over a glacier to save them. A true inspirational character claimed by the British as one of their own!

As the boys were unable to find an open hostelry Chris was keen to get to the campsite as soon as he could. He powered the last two miles to enjoy a quick beer outside the already erected tents before the rain descended again in force. The second one to be had in the camper. He was doubly rewarded with a spag bol for dinner as he had requested.

Although the game was close Nick once again prevailed at cards making it four wins in a row and easily won the tournament.

Although we had not done much cycling today we at least managed a few miles and took in some fabulous ruins. We may have to get a really early start in to achieve the target tomorrow.