Top 6 Moments of #TrailsofIreland

It’s been a brilliant ride so far; a fantastic journey on the roads of Ireland! Ever since the very first meeting with #TrailsofIreland co-conspirator and let’s face it, the ‘brains behind the operation’, Laura Kavanagh, we’ve been to six amazing destinations, eaten at least tonne of great food, been on amazing tours, met amazing people but most importantly we’ve had some amazing experiences!

We were absolutely delighted a week ago to find out that we had been shortlisted for the ‘Best Travel Blog’ in the country at Blog Awards Ireland! We thought that was very cool as we’ve only been running the blog for a few months now, even if it’s felt like years already!

So we’ve decided to give you a list of my favourite moments so far! It was so difficult to get the list down to 6 top moments and there were so many other great moments! So from Clonmel to Kilkenny, From Carlow to Limerick and more, what are the top 6 moments of our great Irish journey so far? Read on!

1. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s a bird

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Mayfield Birds of Prey just outside the city centre was absolutely amazing! I spend almost three hours here with Ray and Willy hanging out with owls, hawks and more! By hanging out of course, I mean feeding them and learning about them but most fun of all was having them fly to and from my hands! An absolutely exhilarating experience!

2. Drinking with the locals

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Carlow, dear me I think Carlow is one of the most underrated places in the country. It has everything from a thriving art scene to an amazing musical culture but also great places to eat and drink! My favourite place was Cantina a lovely little place that neighbouring business owners frequent after work. How did it create one of my favourite memories? Well after dinner, I somehow ended up drinking in the back room with the entire team. That was way too much fun! WAY TOO MUCH FUN!

3. Someone’s been painting

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I really loved quite a few things about Limerick, the museums, the people and much more by there was one moment I knew I would really love the city. Stumbling upon Maser’s (now gone) beautiful gas station was one of the highlights of the entire series and I probably spent about twenty minutes here just staring and taking photographs! I soon realised that Limerick is full of massive murals by top artists such as Joe Caslin, Fintan Magee and much more!

3. Jump! Jump! JUMP!!!

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The ‘leap of faith’ in Castlecomer Discovery Park right at the end or the beginning (or both if you’re me) of the treetop walk was an absolutely fantastic experience! I remember having to climb my way up a rickety swingy pole about two stories tall and then jumping and catching a trapeze bar that looks like it is a mile away (it really isn’t but when you’re up there….) here’s a bit of behind the scenes information for you; while climbing the pole in my very classy gait, I heard a very loud RRRRIIIP!! And sure enough a hole in my pants #MORTO!

4. Not your regular haircut

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My haircut at The Bearded Lady is right up there! I mean I popped onto this really quiet street at around 9 pm and here is this place with music blasting out while everyone else is closed; a DJ in the window spinning tunes and a few people having cans! I popped in to see what was going on and there was a few people playing PlayStation in the corner and just the one barber’s chair! So I sat down and had the chats and a beer and got my hair trimmed (which was a big deal!)

5. Drinking with the elected locals

Timi in Clonmel

There’s one moment that really stands out over every other one however, it was the very last trip to Clonmel and I was at the launch of the Clonmel Festival (this year it coincided with both the cycling and the busking festival) and basically the launch was a pub crawl around the town while everyone was dressed up in medieval clothing. About four pubs in, I was informed that on the crawl with me were the town mayor, three councillors, the president of the chamber of commerce and basically very important person in town. So here’s little old me, downing pints with these guys and being drank under the table. Just an extra point, yes they had their livery collars on, but I just thought it was part of the medieval outfits!

It is worth noting that my favourite place to visit so far was definitely Waterford! It has everything for everyone. It has great food, great historical sites, fantastic new businesses and a fantastic community spirit!

Make sure you VOTE FOR US to win Best Travel Blog and we’ll keep bringing you the best of Ireland as we see it! Until next time!

Timi