The weather was not great, but at least it wasn’t raining, so we decided to drive to one of the landmarks along the coast, the Baltimore Beacon. A 15 m high, white-painted stone beacon stands high above the channel between the mainland and Sherkin Island, near the entrance to the harbour of Baltimore. Afterwards, we stopped at the village of …
As a medieval stronghold, the current keep of Blarney Castle was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty and dates from 1446. It is famous for the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. When you get to the top, you may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the …
From Waterford starts one of Ireland’s Greenways – cycling paths on former railway tracks, but the weather was so bad that we visited Waterford but left the bikes where they were (in the garage). We spent the night at the other end of the Waterford Greenway at Dungarvan and luckily the next morning it was …
We for sure had typical Irish weather during our first days. There was some sun, but most of the time we had a fine drizzle and very grey skies. Our fellow travellers had some difficulties to board the ferry because of their low ground clearance, but when they reach the right road they will be …
We arrived early in the morning at Rosslare in Ireland. The weather was definitely different to the heat wave we had experienced during the last week in France. Not far from Rosslare lies the castle of Johnstown, which we decided to visit. We took a long walk through the gardens and around lakes, went on …
Before we had to board our ship to Ireland, we had time to visit the Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg, which is situated next to Europe’s last remaining Art Deco Transatlantic Maritime Station, where travellers would have arrived by train, to continue their journey by ship, for example the Queen Mary, which first docked …
We just had missed the event of this year, with the 24h of Le Mans taking place on 14–15 June 2025, but of course we had to go there and visit the museum at least. These endurance races take place at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans since its inception in 1923, making it the …
Built between 1518 and 1527, Château d’Azay-le-Rideau is considered one of the finest examples of early French renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river, this picturesque château reflects in the water, while inside the rooms are lovely decorated. For solid foundations in the damp ground of the island, the château had to …
We had found a camping at the river Cher, just above the Castle of Chenonceau. (Camping le Moulin Fort) We could go for a swim in the river and in the evening, we took the bikes to get a first glimpse of the famous castle. Thomas Bohier, Chamberlain to King Charles VIII of France and his wife Katherine …
Our first destination in the Loire valley was the Château de Chambord, constructed by the king of France, Francis I. (1494 – 1547) as a hunting lodge! Its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The layout is reminiscent of a typical castle with a keep, corner towers, and defended by …
