Ireland: A Roadster’s Dream

Now here is a country after my own heart. It’s the greenest patch on earth. Ireland has at least 40 shades of green! It’s lush and everywhere, especially in the countryside, it smells divine, an all-pervading fragrance seems to abound all around.

Text & Photographs: Farzana Contractor

I highly recommend Ireland because in these taxing COVID times, this country will possibly offer you the most space and solitude. That is if you fly into Dublin and get into a car and drive away – southwards. Newbridge, Kildare, Kinsale, Kenmare, Dingle, Adare… And then you have the Cliffs of Moher, ahhhh… simply stunning.
You will be blown away by the natural beauty of Ireland and its old-world charms. Its Bed and Breakfast places, its castles, its unlimited coastline with super beaches. Its villages dotting the map, like happy postcards, with its farmers’ markets and amazing organic produce. Lamb in Ireland is among the best, and the cuisine quite robust. You certainly won’t go hungry here, besides the food had got good company, the Guinness stout – what was Busybee’s favourite!
Ireland is also known as the Land of the Horse. Horses have played an important role in the literature and folklore of this Celtic island.
And even now in modern times the importance of this handsome beast is undiminished. Irish thoroughbreds are renowned worldwide for their quality, speed and breeding potential. Racing is a huge sport and the Curragh near Newbridge is where they head during the summer months for the adrenaline rush.
To get the full import, a visit to the Irish National Stud in County Kildare is a must. Firsthand, you get to know about horses who are bigger celebrities than their owners who are world-famous people, right from top Hollywood film stars to Arab royalty, with even the Aga Khan thrown in for good measure.
From County Kildare you could head for County Clare. And take an exciting seaplane ride over a landscape so rich and varied leading to the Cliffs of Moher. You get a unique bird’s eye view of picturesque villages with sheep grazing in green meadows, looking like tiny, white, woolly dots!
One of Ireland’s most famous sights, The Cliffs of Moher (AillteanMothair) take your breath away. They rise to a height of 666 ft., are entirely vertical and the cliff edge is absolutely abrupt. From up in the air, it’s simply stunning. And you even hear the booming of the waves as they crash against the soft shale and sandstone of the sides of the cliffs.
With some places, it’s love at first sight. Adare, which should be on your route from Moher, is one such. It’s a doll-house town! Walking along its narrow pavements makes you feel you are on a movie set. It’s impossible to believe that thatched houses are real, that people really live in there! Each with their own charming garden.
Adare has a reputation to live up to, having once received The Tidy Town title, something the locals are very fastidious about maintaining. Adare is designated a Heritage Town by the Irish government and if this quaint place appears more planned than other towns and villages in Ireland, it is because it was once part of the private Dunraven Estate, which also included the Adare Manor, a castle where, until recently, the 7th Earl of Dunraven resided. It is now a hotel which I highly recommend. Adare Manor is rather  evocative, steeped in history, surrounded by medieval ruins, it has 840 acres of parkland, superb trout fishing on the river, an 18-hole championship golf course and the best of kitchens with contemporary Irish cooking. It houses a charming tea house, a classy restaurant with outstanding service. What more can one ask for. I loved staying here. I loved everything about it, including the long walk in endless corridors from the reception and restaurant areas to my room!
Driving to Dingle Bay from here, if you are of my vintage, will drive you mad. It’s where Ryan’s Daughter was shot, I don’t know how many years ago – probably over 50 – and yet the place looks the same. Pristine, vast, barely inhabited… But out here it’s not just about the sun, sea, rocks, beach, the island or the hills all around, it’s also about the way the wind blows, the crisp air, the sparkling sunshine – there is a mysterious aura, like as if the sea is whispering something to you.
I wasn’t surprised to learn the place is steeped in history, mythology and traditional Irish culture. That it has supported various tribes and populations for at least 6,000 years! Oh well.
Kinsale wears the gourmet crown of Ireland. But you must not rush here, taking the shortest possible route. I would say, go easy, go slow, get on to the Ring of Kerry, like I did. Unhurriedly, I drove along miles and miles, savouring every bit of the drive. Through Kenmare and Killarney and then onto Kinsale. (You could also take in Cork by hopping off and then back on to the Ring).
Believe me, this region has to be among the best drives of the world. The views are spectacular; forts and castles, historic houses, the narrow turning and twisting road hugging the coast, the awesome sea all around, the blue skies, the sheer drop of land on one side!
Arriving in Kinsale will be like arriving in a gourmet paradise. Especially if you are a fish eater! Fishy Fishy is where I ate. And went mad! A speciality seafood café, it offered everything from lobster to crabs, crayfish to cod, monkfish, squid, John Dory to my favourite, haddock!

Thatched roof house in Adare town

Adare Manor, the castle hotel

Elegant restaurant at Adare Manor