Day 2 in Curracloe sees us head down the coastline for a big day trip. First stop is a renovated barn that has been turned into Murphy’s Barn, wedding centre and cafe. It’s well done with great coffee and massive scones for morning tea but there is a guard goat at the entrance who takes a bit of effort to get past. He’s a nasty little tike who manages to give Stacey and Caitlin bruises before the owner puts him back on a tether. With that attitude he’s lucky that he’s cute or he may end up as goat stew in the near future.

From Murphy’s we head to Blackwater to stock up on food and also look at a few churches that stand out as you cross the bridge into town.

We continue down the coastline and happen across a place called Clonmine where we see a place named Ballylannan Church and Cemetery. It is a pretty location with views across a waterway. On the other bank is the ruins of the original township called Black Castles and Clonmines. We drive around to the ruins and take some photos only to realise that we have inadvertently entered private property. Realising our mistake we turn around and head back out but are met by the owner who, thankfully, is forgiving of our mistake and generous with his local knowledge of the ruins.

He tells us that the local authorities and various restoration groups are currently working to stabilise the buildings and save them from any further deterioration. When finished these will be worth a visit as they form the original township and include the church and bank.

Not far from there are the ruins of a corn mill that dates back to the 1800s. It is also looking to be restored over the next 5 years. This area is littered with great historical remains.

From there we visit a number of different wrecks and ruins. The ship Portlairge is a rusting shell on the bank of St Kierans Quay. It was a stream driven dredger that was used to keep the waterway clear, which seems ironic that it has ended up beached. It is a very pretty setting though with St Mary’s church and graveyard perched high up on the other shore.

We then head out to Hook Lighthouse at the tip of the Hook peninsula dropping in at Tintern Abbey along the way, where we seemed to be more interested in the birdlife and flowers than the Abbey itself.

We arrive at Hook Lighthouse and have a picnic lunch on the rocky shore before walking around the grounds. The weather has been kind again with gentle breezes and sunshine making it a cool but bright visit.

Having made it to the tip of the peninsula it’s time to head back to Curracloe with stops along the way to Slade Castle which is a port side remnant of a castle and a salt house.

As we are driving back we see a grand looking building in a field with magnificent views. It seems an odd place for such a building so we stop and ask Google for some history.

The place is known as Loftus Hall and Google says, “Loftus Hall is a large country house built on the site of the original Redmond Hall, it is said to have been haunted by the devil and the ghost of a woman.” It’s an intriguing back story if you want to look into it further. Oh, it’s up for sale as well with a guide price of over €4m.

Our final stops are a bit different. The first is to the ruins of a church and graveyard in Templetown which happens to have been the home to the Knights Templar.

The next to the beachside area of Kilmore Quay for an ice cream cone beside the ocean.

Then the final stop is to Johnstown Castle for a quick visit. We didn’t go in as we made it there just as it was closing so only managed a couple of outside photos.

It was a big day, but well worth the time in the car. Next stop is Cork for a few days and some side trips.