Made a flying visit to Mount Sackville College, not far from Castleknock, to do a measure up. Was not there long and as Myos was a prominent feature opposite the Topaz garage where I stopped for diesel (15% cheaper than the North) and the car park looked pretty full I decided that it couldn’t be too bad for a spot of lunch.
An alcove
Entering the large open plan bar area the response to my query as to the availability of a sandwich was that there was only the carvery at lunchtime.
In for a penny in for a pound; I went round to the counter. There were a couple of people ahead of me so I got a chance to look at the offerings. The roast beef and bacon joint looked really well but I am wary of the amount of food one is expected to eat: asking for small portions is normally greeted with disbelief and the request ignored anyway.
Carvery
I looked at the plates (about the size of serving trays) of the persons in front of me and saw that they were piled high with meat, roasted and mashed potato and a selection of vegetables. If I’d eaten that lot I would have needed to sleep for the afternoon!
I settled for the peppered beef with rice and turned down the offer of vegetables and potato on the side! As it was it would have fed a family.
One could not complain about the quality or the quantity. They serve decent quality food at a reasonable price (€10.00 for the carvery).
As for clientèle; amongst others there was a party of three young mothers with their children, a couple of local businessmen, a construction crew and the architect and the principal of the college. Not a bad mix for a Tuesday lunchtime.
A Saturday walk with the dogs along the Loughshore at Whiteabbey gave me another chance to practice with my telephoto lens. These photos are the best of the bunch. Click on the them to see larger versions.
The Rochestown Park is another of my favourite haunts on the South Coast. It is quite a while since I was last there as business needs made the Blarney Park (unfortunately now closed down) or the Carrigaline Court more convenient. As it was my appointment was in Curraheen, just off the south circular road as is the hotel.
Last time I boooked in they were looking €120 a night and it is now back to €89 for B&B, a sign of the times. Having said this they were fully booked which cannot be bad for mid-week.
The rooms are “old world” with plent of space, mine had an L shaped desk with Leather swivel chair as well as the usual dressing table, combined ironing board and trouser press, tea and coffee, etc. etc. Free WIFI as well.
The leisure centre
They have an excellent leisure suite and pool plus a spa which, due to time constraints, I did not get round to using on this trip.
I went for an evening meal in the Sutton Bar rather than the main restaurant. They have quite a good menu and I picked on the duck breast with oriental vegetables and noodles. The duck was well cooked but I felt that the sauce/glaze was a little too reliant on 5 spice powder. The vegetables were very good but relied too heavily on various coloured peppers for the volume, whereas I would have preferred a little more in the line of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. What I did like was that they served the noodles seperately in a bowl so that one could mix in the sauce as one wanted. They have quite a good line in wines by the half bottle.
Sutton Bar
The bar was really busy but they have service very well organised with waiters and waitresses allocated to specific areas of around a dozen tables (you may guess the overall size) and you get typical Cork service with a smile and a chat.
I had a fairly early night and was up early for breakfast; there was a notice in the lift suggesting that, due to the number of people in residence this would be a good idea. There was plenty of fruit and a comprehensive selection for an Irish breakfast. My only complaint would be that the cold table consisted of chorizo and a rather bland cheese, not a sign of Irish ham or smoked salmon, which was rather disappointing. Never mind the tea and toast was most acceptable.
If you want a good hotel on the south side of the City with perfect access to routes out to West Cork then you could do far worse than this.
I been calling into An Poitin Stil, classed as a heritage Irish Pub, for as long as I have been travelling to Cork and Limerick, which must be at least 15 years. In all that time it has never let me down as a place where you are served good food and drink efficiently and with a smile.
You can always find a space in the busy car park and no matter what time you arrive there is a menu to suit. Their latest promotion is the 5 to 10 (p.m) menu with all starters at €5 and all mains at €10. Examples: starter – Mussels in white wine sauce, main – Grilled Pork Chop and Apple Sauce.
On this trip I just opted for the Seafood Chowder and a coffee to keep me going until I got to the Rochestown Park Hotel not far from Cork city. More of that in the next post.
Flew over to Leeds for a couple of meetings with suppliers and after a trip out to Skipton and a tour of Leeds University ended up for lunch at the Village Hotel North, on the Otley Road about 8 miles from Leeds/Bradford airport.
Very smart looking building and big airy foyer. The receptionist recommended the bar rather than the restaurant. This has two big screens showing Sky Sports News, luckily without any sound. They also have smaller screens with the hotel channel showing easy listen music videos.
The menu is pretty extensive with all the usual “pub-grub”, burgers etc. One chooses and then goes to the bar to order. My only concern would be that they take your credit card off you and keep it behind the bar in a glass. In these days of credit card and identity fraud personnaly I would not be too happy about this. but my companion did not seem concerned. Trusting crowd Yorkshire people (and not a bad thing either I suppose).
My associate does not indulge in red meat and chose the chicken burger and chips and, as he was driving, blackcurrant and lemonade. For myself the spaghetti with meatballs in a lightly spiced tomato sauce and a glass of Sangiovese.
Cheerful service, very good food, inexpensive and a big car park. If you can live with the credit card problem – or get them to process it when you order – a good place to eat.
The day was bright and sunny with the bees (we are lucky enough to have a large number) buzzing around the flower beds, so we decided to make the most of the weather and see what was happening in the area.
Sentry Hill House - Front Entrance
Isn’t it funny that one can live in an area for 25 years without noticing a local landmark. On Sunday afternoon we took a run up to Sentry Hill House, not ten minutes drive away, and found a 19th century farmhouse with an accordian band playing in the courtyard. They offer tours of the house itself and also have a local historical collection that was bought by the Newtwonabbey Borough Council together with the buildings. In fact the source of nearly everything in the house and collection was William Fee McKinney who lived there for most of his life and amassed and catalogued items of interest from both the local area and his family abroad.
Local schools apparently also use the venue for their history lessons. One lives and learns!
Knockagh Accordian Band
Following this we took the dogs down to the Loughshore for a run and for the first time this year came across a party in the water at the end of Gideons Green.
From Belfast Killymaddy TIC is about 7 miles to the west of Dungannon on the lefthand side of th main A4. I have stopped there many times over the past few years for coffee or a snack. It has recently been revamped and includes a craft and knicknack shop and manned (or rather womanned) information desk. They have the most comprehensive collection of brochures and leaflets covering both local Tyrone attractions and the rest of Northern Ireland and the borders. They also havae a very comprehensive and free ”Where to Eat” in Ireland booklet.
As far as the restaurant goes there is a good variety of dishes including the staples of burgers and fries. On this occasion I was on my back from a round trip to Sligo (again) and had an excellent bacon and mushroom omelette and chips. It was much needed as the café at which I normally get breakfast on the outward journey had had nothing prepared.
Another plus is the clean toilets, hot water and paper towels (there are hot air dryers if you are into that kind of thing)
This is an awfully belated post on golfing with Sandy McKinnon in Thailand and is really just an excuse to publish the photographs.
For those of you who were at 13 Sigs from around ‘60-’64 and/or 9 Sigs from ‘64-’69 you may well remember Sandy; and Kay as well during the Cyprus stint.
They now live for most of the year in Bangkok and were good enough to invite Josephine and I to stay with them in March on our way back from Cambodia. Unfortunately the photographs from my camera have disappeared into the ether but a couple taken on my mobile on the Muang Ake Vista golf course have survived. (surprise! surprise!).
It is hard to make a riveting story out of a long walk along a canal unless one is Claire Balding or a waterways enthusiast. I can say without fear of contradiction that I am neither of these and, after the first six or seven miles, the effort of putting one foot in front of the other was enough to put most other considerations way down the priority ladder. Having said this I feel bound by a sense of duty to my many and very much appreciated sponsors to give some flavour of the weekend in general and the 15 mile hike from Bingley to Leeds in particular.
Saturday 19th June – Arrived at Leeds/Bradford Airport about 10am, after a pretty uneventful journey, to find the temperature around 10° and a gale blowing. This was not quite what I expected and certainly wasn’t dressed for. Rummaged in case at bus shelter and found cashemere pulli which helped a bit!
The Old Post office Leeds
Eventually reached Leeds station and discovered that the hotel did not open their check-in until 2pm. Luckily Leeds is a pleasant city with some great architecture and I was able to pass away the time visiting the central market and a couple of the malls and watching the Yorkshire world go by from one of the innumerable coffee houses.
I eventually booked into my hotel, pottered about a bit and had just decided to have a couple of hours snooze when I had a phone call from Jim Malone, who was on the Skipton – Bingley section, asking why I hadn’t showed up. This was a strange query as I had never intended to be on the Skipton-Bingley leg. An inexplicatble feeling of guilt overcame me so I felt duty bound to catch a train to Bingley and meet them.
I walked about a mile or so along the canal, which included going up both the 3 and 5 rise locks.
5 rise lock, Bingley
It’s supposed to be flat!!! I eventually joined up with the happy band and we walked back to Bingley and thence into the Foundry Hill Bar opposite the station for a (well earned??) couple of pints. Great little pub with really pleasant staff and a great line in Saltaire Blonde Ale. Real Ale at around £2.00 a pint, “eh up” lads (and lassies)! From there back to Leeds and a wash and brush up prior to dinner which Tom (or Julian if you prefer) organised in the bistro of the Queens Hotel; he being in residence there. (That’s an almost Caesarian Gallic Wars construction). Dinner was excellent and made even more enjoyable by the waitress and waiter on duty in the restaurant. Their efficiency and sense of humour are qualities that seem to be lacking in too many staff these days. We had an extra couple of drinks in the bar to finish off the night – Well one does doesn’t one.
Start of the Final Leg - Bingley Station
A not too arduous start to the day, for me at least, meant breakfast at 7.45, and then on to Leeds station to catch the 9.00 train for the short trip back to Bingley, to start the walk back to Leeds!. One could get dizzy with all this toing and froing . In the Bingley station car park we were joined by other members of the team who had been staying at various points West over night. It was here I caught up with Terry Ireland whom I had not seen since ‘64: might only have been yesterday, just picked up our last conversation which had involved beer and minis!
Only 38 bridges to go
We were blest with perfect weather, the sun was out but there was a gentle breeze which made it ideal for walking. Before too long the group split up into about three or four sections with the “professionals” out in front and the rest of us in small packets chatting away about times past, or whatever! The great thing about going in the Leeds direction is that the locks are all downhill so that the only uphill bits are where the tow path goes over a bridge. I have only admiration for those of the party who walked more than one section and am amazed at the two stalwarts, Julian and Kevin, who covered all 9 sections and 127 miles. Of course it must be said that they practiced beforehand! But as it was not a game it was not ruined (Apologies to Flanders & Swann).
The Ice cream barge
After about an hour or so we came upon an Ice Cream Barge, so designated because it sold the said product rather than being made of it. Moored under a large tree it made the ideal point to take a well earned break and, we were told, there was nothing else along the path for a couple of hours at least. Then off we set again past the factories and mills of Saltaire and Shipley. My first wife was a Shipley girl but that is another story!
From here on it was a fairly uneventful walk until, about an hour and a half later we came across a canal side café.
Tom lays out the strategy
I had acquired a raw little toe by this time so it was a relief to stop, remove my sandle and, being much the wrong shape to do it myself, get Terry to apply a plaster. During this break who should appear but Maxi Wilson, of 13 Sigs Fame back in the 70’s, who just happend to be out strolling along. More reminisences! As a hostlery this was not the the most efficient I have ever been in – It took nearly 20 minutes to get a cup of tea, by which time everybody was wanting to move on so I ended up with a scalded mouth. Took my mind of my toe though!
We moved on towards Apperley Bridge which was our designate lunch stop and en route I was met by Lynne and Mick Shepherd, ex RAPC and 9 Sigs rugby player extraordinaire, who had driven up from Nottingham to make a donation to the cause. We had not met for, probably, fifteen years so there was more catching up to do. We arrived at the George and Dragon and somehow, due to excellent real ale coupled with lively conversation, I forgot to order lunch and so it was that I left foodless for the afternoon stint. This was probably a good thing as rumour has it that it is not good to do too much exercise on a full stomach!
Rodley
Terry having teamed up with the lead group I joined Andy and Kamie Beer to form a mutual support section for this session. This is one of the prettiest stretches of the canal, passing through Rodley, with its period terraces on the bank, and Calverley Bridge, where an old friend whom I met whilst on my Greek Interpreters course in Corfu in ‘72, has a riverside cottage. By this time we were beginning to feel the strain and we were counting down the bridges.
225G at last
But they got there first!
The start of the industrial skyscape of the Leeds suburbs were a welcome sight and when we found that bridge 225A was followed by 225D it elicited positive euphoria. Then, there it was, 225G and the end of the line. So about fifteen minutes later, and some 7 1/2 hours after leaving Bingley, we joined the first group at Wetherspoons for more excellent real ale. It is a pity that they did not run to foot baths as well!
The final resting place - Wetherspoons Leeds Station
I did it - honest!
Unfortunately a number of the party had to disperse home and Tom succumbed to an attack of terminal tiredness so it was a small party, Kamie, Helen, Maria, Andy and me that attended a final dinner an adjacent Indian Restaurant. For the first time I can think of I cannot remember the name but I do remember the outstanding chicken liver starter and generally authentic food. It also had a good line in Red Wine.(if anybody who was there can enlighten me as to the name please do it in the comments.) It was a pleasant way to end an exceptional weekend.
I had to be up at 4.30 am to get a taxi out the the Airport for my 7 o’clock flight. Monday was definitely a day to be forgotten.
The most important part of all this is the “unofficial” final tally of sponsorship which amounts to just under £5,500. This is a really impressive total and is a credit to all those who took part, those who supported and especially to all those of you who put their hands in their pockets when asked. On a personal note I would like to give special thanks to Julian (Tom) McMahon for involving me in this enterprise.
Also thanks to Kamie and Andy Beer, Julian, Maria. Laura and Tom for their photographic contributions
SEE THE SLIDESHOW -click on the pic to go to full size
My good friends the Rankin’s called into the office to discuss a piece of furniture and having finalised the design requirements, plus me having slipped a chair in to the equation, they invited me to join them for lunch. The idea was to test the newly opened Newry Bypass and get to Fitzpatrick’s Restaurant in record time. This of course did not take into account the erroneous reporting that the last section of the bypass had opened at eleven o’clock! It hadn’t! Looking across to the northbound carriageway it seemed that this had been opened at about 13.03.
The potting shed
On previous trips down the Carlingford road I do not recall getting past the Ballymascanlon Hotel so was amazed to be introduced to the Irish answer to the “Traditional Irish Pub” a couple of kilometres further down the road.
The bicycle park
Arriving in the car park at first glance Fitzpatrick’s appears as the picture book example of the rural farmhouse style building with whitewashed walls and slate roof. The adjoining courtyard boasts a plethora of flowers growing in pots which are set in anything from bicycle baskets to a van engine compartment. Of course there is also the regulation horse and donkey in the adjacent paddock. I actually thought that the donkey was a cast model until it brayed!
Once one enters it appears as the Irish answer to the ubiquitous “Irish Bar”, at least one of which is to be found in every major city round the world. Every available inch of wall, cill and beam sports period adverts, pictures and artefacts.
The amazing thing is that it works without ever seeming to be “over the top”.
Every available space!
We were taken to our table by a young lady who was certainly not indigenous but who was definitely very well trained. She took our drinks order and provided us with menus. At first glance it occurred to me that anyone who can include “Almost famous French Onion Soup” and “Now Famous Chicken Wings” as offerings is certainly worth a try.
Helen and I picked the Whole Baked Sea Trout on seared courgettes with Hollandaise sauce, with chips on the side, from the “day’s specials” menu whilst Trevor went for the sausages with champ and onion gravy.
The fish was cooked to perfection, just firm, and the chips were golden crisp; how do they do that? The courgettes were melt in the mouth and the Hollandaise sauce complemented it all perfectly. Not only that but there was a serving of vegetables as well: cauliflower, broccoli, mange tout, carrots and green beans. All of which managed to be cooked “just so”.
Trevor report his sausage ring to be excellent and the same for the champ and gravy.
We finished up with a couple of standard coffees.
Not just any loo!
The Gents loo is also worth a mention as it resembles a Victorian apothecary’s. Beware the hand dryers which are designed to remove the skin along with the water!
We returned to Belfast via the now opened Newry Bypass. Unfortunately no-one was offering gifts for being one of the first 1000 cars.
Having said this there were lots of police out with little books and those flashy black things they are so fond of pointing at people.
No doubt we will revisit this excellent hostlery at some point in the not too distant future.
