It had been a while ago since our last trip away from Dublin and into the mainland of the Emerald Island. Come to think of it, the relaxing but rather uneventful city trip to Limerick must have been the last time either of us left Dublin for a non-foreign bound destination. High time for some good old road trip into a region we haven't made our own yet. Again the LP proved an invaluable contribution by suggestion the riverside walk as mentioned in the title. Appearing rather random, as Borris as well as Graiguenamanagh (try pronouncing that) are both tiny, tucked away villages in the country side of counties Carlow and Kilkenny. We would never ever have found these hidden gems let alone the pretty river side walk that connects them on our own.
The itinerary worked out according to plan; early rise on Saturday to drive to Borris, light lunch in a cozy tea house with a lovely warm open fire, where after we managed to get hold of the second and last bus of the day to Graig. 'A tenner will do for the both of you' the elderly gentlemen behind the wheel said when we mounted the massive but nigh empty touring car. Twenty minutes later we disembarked in the very pretty riverside village of Graig, where an old lady running a convenience store made sure we understood where to leave the trail in order not to bypass Borris. At the golf course, OK, let's do that. Tempted to explore the place further but urged on by the looming knowledge that we didn't have too much leeway to get to our destination before dusk we set off walking, quickly leaving the last riverside houses behind us where after there was nothing but water and multicoloured vegetation surrounding us. It was absolutely lovely to be outdoors for a full day, and I very consciously enjoyed the peaceful winter landscapes, the fresh air, the exercise of wading through ankle high grass, and the variety of tangible artifacts of Irish history we came across. The latter include a giant rusty pulley that must have been used at some point for moving boats along the canal (the path we walked is called the towpath), ruins of riverside houses, and remains of what used to be a small harbour just off the waterway. When after a good two hours' worth of sturdy walking we reached the bridge depicted below, we knew we had advanced too far as Borris was already behind us. No golf course to be seen and anyway there weren't any trails to cut through the meadows and forest separating the river from the heritage town. So after some scenic chilling all that was left to complete the loop was to walk the remaining half an hour on road, after which we checked in at the very cozy Step House in Borris town.
Going back a few centuries, along with the majority of the historic village that counts barely 600 people, the Step House was a lovely place to reminisce the day out and to enjoy a hearty burger with a few pints. Our destined pub crawl was cut short to a glass of baileys in a bar down the road where after we decided we were better off by buying a bottle of the creamy treat in the local store and nourishing that in bed. Well, nourishing some of that in our awesome bed in our awesome room and watching some match of the day to top it all off a great Saturday came to an end. One of the best breakfasts I've had in ages this morning and a relaxed drive back to Dublin, where the afternoon awaited us to be enjoyed at home and the remainder to the baileys is being taken care of as we speak. Another very satisfying and most rewarding weekend away in Ireland, whose variety of astounding destinations and natural and cultural wonders still keeps us going even after almost two years in the country.
