I had a great solo adventure over the Halloween Holidays. I was signed up to a course 'Feasting with the Ancestors' in Glenealy, Wicklow at the end of week and wanted to travel to see a friend in Cahersiveen on Halloween so decided to make a road trip of it and tick off some counties I hadn't yet visited.
It took the best part of a day to get from Belfast - Cahersiveen, with some pit stops along the way. I stopped to eat my lunch at Kildare's Japanese Gardens but didn't go in as I was on a deadline and it would have been pretty pricey for a quick stop. I stopped again in Limerick for a coffee and a geocache, after spending a very long time looking for somewhere to park. Darkness was descending and I still had a long way to go so didn't spend too much time exploring.
I arrived in Cahersiveen late at night and was warmly welcomed into the home of Anita. Arrivng in the foggy dark meant I didn't have any idea of the beauty I'd driven through on the Ring of Kerry, but couldn't believe my eyes when I was leaving on the sunny Thursday morning! Early on Wednesday morning we headed to The Old Barracks to get started on preparations for the evening.
Taking a break from the Halloween prep, I went in search of my first Geocache in County Kerry. Found a well hidden gem in 'Over The Water', and thankfully the sun decided to come out as we had been worried about what the rain would mean for the outdoor evening event. A beautiful part of the country.
The Old Barracks is an odd building, not quite fitting with the rest of the local architecture. has it that architectural plans were mixed up with a building planned in India. But who knows!
After face-painting all the characters, and preparing leaf templates for the children's hopes and fears, the festivities were ready to begin. Sean O'Laoghaire rounded off the night with a reading of his story about 'Jack Shadow' who had come to steal the hopes and dreams of the town.
Children were treated to tid-bits of the story and acting from the dressed up locals as well as a fire poi performance and the chance to play on the largest drum in Ireland. The night was a huge success showing that Cahersiveen has plenty to offer and lots to look forward to! Would love to be taking part in Spookemon three in 2019, but I will be watching my best friend get married in New York at the time!
Before leaving the next day I had the chance to drop Sean to his home in Portmagee, and meet his lovely goats!
We also stopped to appreciate the views looking out towards Skellig Micheal. Tours were finished for the years so I guess i will have to find another excuse to come back and visit this UNESCO World Heritage site. Nevertheless the views were stunning, and we picked up some French hitch-hikers making their way out to the cliffs.
On I went to Cork, stopping in Kilarney to buy ropes for my 2019 Forest School pilot at Kilarney Army Surplus Store. Cork was so cold I had to invest in a hat, which is unlike me; and unexpectedly steep in places. Had a delicious vegan Thai Green Curry at the Quay Co-Op with a friend from Forest School Training then hit the Hay at Sheila's Tourist Hostel as I was still suffering from the Halloween celebrations.
I was underwhelmed by Cork, it reminded me more of Belfast than whatever I had been anticipating through word of mouth. But then again I probably didn't approach it with fresh eyes after a long drive, an hour long traffic jam entering Cork centre and the nightmare of finding a parking space. I got a good few geocaches the next day while hanging around waiting for my walking tour to start (for which the organisers didn't show up). Sheila's was the only hostel I was in on this trip that had a piano (albeit in need of a bit of love and attention), so was able to get some practice in after breakfast.
From Cork I headed to Kilarney, arriving in the fading light and too late to explore the castle. Anyway, a lovely town that I would like to visit again. Just one geocache in Kilarney - 'Smithwick's'. Due to my height impediment i had to climb the wall beside the river to get it, something I regretted while I was standing up there in the wind and rain with the water rushing below me. Thank God my mother couldn't see me. Anyway - an interesting hide!
On to Glendalough in another storm. A hair-raising drive in the dark with no one else on the road and twisting unpredictable roads. Eventually made it alive to Glendalough Internaional Youth Hostel. A lovely place to stay and pretty quiet at this time of year. The only geocahce I got in Glendalough was 'The Cousin's Cache' which I found after hunting on several different occasions for the entrance to this particular spot. Eventually i found it by putting the co-ordinates into Google, using the driving directions and parking illegally for what i thought would be a quick park and grab. It was well hidden and took me quite a long time to find, I was just about to give up when I spotted its potential hiding place. This would have been a beautiful spot for a walk if I'd had more time and is probably a little known gem of Glendalough.
I had such a beautiful, soul restoring weekend foraging and learning ancient fire skills with Lucy O'Hagan of Wild Awake and Courtney Tyler of Hips and Haws Wildcrafts. We learned about the three biggest warning signs for potentially dangerous mushrooms - evident on the Amanita Muscaria above. We also discussed legalities of different plants on different sides of the border. This mushroom is legal in the South but illegal in the UK, whereas St. John's Wort is illegal in the Republic!
Lucy's 'deer eyes' spotted a very pungent smelling 'Stinkhorn' (ahem, 'Phallus Impudicus'). Had come to the conclusion this year that nothing in nature really smells disgusting but it appears I was wrong.
I was excited to see Birch Polypore in the flesh as I had watched videos about making plasters from this mushroom but had assumed it wasn't native to here. This mushroom is antiseptic, anti-viral, antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour. Lucy made a plaster on the spot from the abundant mushrooms growing on a fallen birch tree. This mushroom is also meant to good for common winter illnesses when used in teas, something I'll experiment with if I come across them again in the next few months.
i was also amazed when Courtney found Porcini Mushrooms (or Boletus Edulis). Again I assumed these were not native to Ireland as I have spent many years buying the expensive dried version for risotto.
There were many other interesting finds over the weekends such as these huge Parasol mushrooms, Artist's Conk (Ganoderma Applanatum) and many species which couldn't be identified on the spot.
We got to work shelling acorns to make some of Courtney's Acorn Coffee. The acorns need brought to the boil three times, changing the water each time to remove bitter tannins before being dried, roasted and then ground. The remaining grounds are then simmered in hot water or milk for around 20 minutes to extract the flavour.
Everyone chipped in on Sunday to help prepare the feast after learning how to make fire using a bow drill with Lucy.
We had soup, stew, rosehip sauce, nettle pakoras, foraged salad, pesto, fermented ketchup and salted greens and some of the group had Wild Venison from the Wicklow mountains which Lucy and Courtney had cooked overnight in a Fulacht Fiadh.
Overall one of my favourite holidays ever, and all without leaving the country! Never realised before how much fun and freedom there can be when you take yourself off for a solo adventure. No greater joy to be had than singing at the top of your lungs without a care in the world while watching the Ring of Kerry whiz by in the Winter sun. Next stop Krakow :)
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