Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Not Enough Time in Wales

 

One of King Edward's English defenders
watching for unruly Welshmen

Conwy Castle

June is almost over as this blogpost is being written and Gym and his lovely bride have been home now for a few weeks. As always, the author failed to publish the last few articles related to a trip before that trip ended. Bear with him though because the last three stops on the epic Atlantic Odyssey cruise were all very noteworthy.

Wales

The MSVista crossed a calm Irish Sea on the morning of May 31, 2025, and tied up at the docks in Holyhead, Wales. Holyhead is a busy port. It is a key ferry terminal for people and commercial goods crossing between Wales and Ireland. There are ferries running every hour in both directions. Holyhead is home to about 13,000 people, with the port being the main employer in the town. 

The port is located on Holy Island which is dominated by Holyhead Mountain. This 220-meter mountain is composed primarily of quartzite and limestone, which were quarried to construct the Holyhead Breakwater, between 1848 and 1873. This massive structure is the largest breakwater in the UK. At the seaward end of it, there is a square lighthouse.

Gym and Mrs. Gym planned a visit to Conwy Castle that day. This involved leaving Holyhead Island on the North Wales Expressway and crossing the bridge over the Cymyran Strait, then passing through the lush farmland of Anglesey. If you continue along on the expressway you eventually leave Wales and at about 160 kilometres from Holyhead, you would be in Liverpool. But when the expressway descends into a tunnel about halfway to Liverpool, you travel under the Conwy River and when you emerge on the other side, you can look back across the river at a spectacular site. In front of you is the stunning Conwy Castle and the adjacent city walls of Conwy. 

After the second Welsh uprising in 1282-1283, King Edward I of England raised an army and conquered Wales. He then instigated a massive and very expensive castle-building spree in Wales, to keep the natives in line. Conwy Castle is one of the most outstanding examples of this massive crown-financed building binge and it and the quaint walled town are a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the few hours that our hero and his lovely sidekick had in Conwy, they climbed up and examined the defences of the castle and walked every street inside the old city walls. Gym loved it there. 

It's definitely worth returning to North Wales. One could spend a week in this area to check out the other three Edwardian UNESCO sites nearby. It would also be cool to visit the old quarry on Holyhead Mountain and walk the length of the Holyhead Breakwater to the lighthouse.

Gym and Mrs. Gym had a fine dinner that night in Vista's Polo Grill. As the ship left the protection of the breakwater, it set a southwesterly course for their last landing of the trip, on the Emerald Isle. They were bound for County Cork.

Stay tuned!

Entrance point inside town walls

Looking up at the defences from inside the castle

Castle Gate

Looking at the castle defences from atop a front tower

looking across the River Conwy

Castle chapel inside one of the towers

St. Mary's inside the town walls

Edward's Deli on High Street

High Street

Smallest House in UK, just outside Conwy town
walls overlooking the river

View of Welsh countryside from castle

Cool bank building

Gym had to go see the Edward's meat pies.
He wasn't hungry at the time.

Inside St. Mary's

Vista's Polo Grill jellies

 

Atlantic Odyssey 2025:: A Stroll into Dublin

On May 30, 2025, the MS Vista sailed into Dublin Bay and dropped its anchor. Ship to shore transfers were to be done by tender that day. Unfortunately, the drop off point for the tenders was at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, nowhere near the Liffey River. One had to get a cab to drive the 10 kilometres to the Temple Bar area where St. Patrick's Cathedral and Dublin Castle are situated. But our adventurers had seen all that stuff before and they just wanted to go ashore and go for walk.

Gym and his dear companion decided to stroll through some of the more chi-chi neighborhoods in the capital. On the way to the Ballsbridge and Donnybrook districts they traveled above Seaport Park where they observed a a few 'polar bears' braving the sub 15C surf.  The air temperature was much warmer than the sea though and there were numerous locals out on the park pathways pushing upscale strollers and pulling posh canine companions. To our hero, the populace appeared to be mostly Millennial and Gen Z but that made sense because he'd passed multiple campuses of Trinity College and Dublin College scattered throughout the area. At one point along the way, Mrs. Gym deftly steered her husband away from a row of watering holes between two campuses. 

They continued on and came to several blocks of beautiful detached stone houses, on generous lots, surrounded by hedges of rose bushes and flanked by ornate wrought-iron gates. They had arrived in the Ballsbridge area. There were a few listings by Saville and Sotheby's. When Gym returned to the ship he checked out the list prices and they did not surprise him. His favourite house was on Ailesbury Road and was listed at 8M Euros. 

The dynamic duo dined in a quaint little Irish public house and returned to Loaghaaire Harbour by cab. They had reached their step-count goal for the day and then some.

That night the Vista would cross the Irish Sea to Wales.

Grand Canal near Ballsbridge, Dublin

Pink door/white door duplex

Clayton Hotel in Ballsbridge

Blackrock park

Apperol Spritz on the terrace

Swimmers in Dublin Bay

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A very friendly public house where the Guinness is fresh

Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Belfast and the Giant's Causeway

Hexagonal columns of basalt at Giant's Causeway

Leaving Donegal and the Republic of Ireland behind, the MS Vista sailed back into the North Atlantic and turned right. She rounded the top of the Emerald Isle and in the morning of May 29th sailed into Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland and a constituent part of the UK. Mrs. Gym put away the Euros for the day and grabbed the sack of British Pounds. 

Belfast and the surrounding area have so much to offer. Our hero and his dear wife had a difficult time choosing where they would spend the few hours that they had in Northern Ireland. They ended up passing on  everything in Belfast city and so they would miss the Titanic Belfast Museum, St. Georges Market, Cave Hill Park and the Black Cab Tours. As usual, they discovered that they needed to return someday and spend a few more days there.  

As Mr. Gym's favourite subject in university was geomorphology, he wanted to see the Giant's Causeway and his lovely sidekick agreed to join him in this endeavour. It was a bit of a drive outside of the city but it was well worth it. And it turned out, there were a few bonus experiences close to the Causeway, that werepart of the itinerary.  

The Giant's Causeway is a must-see venue. The paved pathway down the cliffs to the igneous formations is wide and safe. It is about 1.5 milesl down to sea level and back up again. Beside the pathway is a paved one-lane road for the trolley that runs up and down the grade. The trolley is  for the elderly and the lazy sightseers. The exposed outcrops of the hexagonal-shaped columns of basalt are stunning and really worth seeing. The facilities at the top of the cliffs are clean, modern and comprehensive with spacious and ultra-modern washrooms, a very nice cafeteria and a gift shop. In the summer months, they average several thousand people a day there and although it was crowded, everything flowed pretty well.

Just eight miles down the road from the Causeway, Gym was pleased to be able to drive by the venue for this year's British Open. The 153rd Open is being played at the Royal Portrush Golf Course from July 13-20, 2025. When the bus drove by Gym could see the bleachers going up and the hospitality tents being erected. 

A little farther down the road from the golf course is the ruins of Dunluce Castle. Shots of it appeared in Game of Thrones. Dunluce was the inspiration for the castle of the House of Greyjoy. The bus stopped here for a photo opportunity.

Finally, on the way back to Belfast the bus drove past the town of Bushmills and its famous Irish Whisky Distillery. Gym was saddened that they couldn't stop for a tasting.

All-in-all, it was a great tour.

That night, the Vista would steam south into the Irish Sea. The next stop was Dublin where Euros would again be the currency-du-jur.

the basalt turns black near the water and becomes
treacherous to walk on

the hexagon shape is evident from the top but some 
of the columns are worn by erosion

Another angle

The Bay of the Cow

Mrs, Gym on path down to Causeway

Not too crowded

Royal Portrush Golf Club

Almost ready for the Open

Royal Portrush Clubhouse

Dunluce Castle

Atlantic Odyssey 2025: Donegal, Ireland

 

It had just finished raining when our adventurers
first sighted the Emerald Isle and a rainbow
 appeared over the port bow of the ship. 

On the morning of May 28th, 2025, the MS Vista cruised into Killybegs, Donegal and tied up to the pier. Killybegs is a very picturesque town in a deepwater fjord on the south coast of the county. Killybegs was mainly about fishing in the old days. Today though, the economy has become more diverse, especially since the infrastructure was given a boost by the European Union. Ireland joined the EU in 1973. EU grants helped to improve the port and build new highways. These investments allowed tourism to become an important part of the economy. 

The dynamic duo decided to go on a scenic hike that day. They would be driven to a very special place in the foothills of the Bluestack Mountains. They lucked out with the local fellow that led the group that day. Keith Corcoran, the author of several books on Irish folklore, would be the guide.

About 30 kilometres outside of Killybegs, the small group piled out of a mini-bus in a parking lot next to a rural soccer field. The hike involved a 2.2-mile loop that climbed up and back down the side of the impossibly green foothills. 

At the halfway point of the hike they came to the Disert Graveyard of Donegal. This is a site where pagan Druids and later Christians gathered to worship in a beautiful outdoor setting between the mountains and the sea. Massive stones were used to build a tomb and erect an alter at the site. A nearby well  provided water for baptisms. It is said in the literature that most of these constructions date from the times of St. Colmcille in the 6th century.  Keith did an excellent job of  passing on the lore and keeping everyone entertained. Then, everyone hiked back down to the mini-bus. There were no casualties.

Keith's Corcoran's latest book is titled; "Finding Fairy Mysteries in Donegal; Close Encounters with the Wee Folk". Find him at https://www.irelandguidedtravel.com/

A point near the Rotten Island Lighthouse

A nice place overlooking the harbour

A stream running through the valley in the
foothills of the Bluestaack Mountains

Author and guide Keith Corcoran

Alter 

Iconic scene from the Emerald Isle

Gym hiked by this lovely farmyard 

 

Atlantic Odyssey. 2025: Outer Hebrides

 

Hebrides Bagpiper

Stornoway is the capital of the Island of Lewis and Harris. Weird name, or what? Well it turns out that Lewis and Harris are rival subgroups of the MacLeod clan. These sub-clans lived on different parts of the island. Gym thought to himself that maybe MacLeod would have been a more appropriate name for the island but he remained quiet about this throughout the day, so neither clan was offended.

Stornoway is another place in Scotland with an excellent deep water harbour. The MS Vista tied up there on the morning of May 27, 2025. Mr. Gym and his fair companion made another smooth transition from ship to tour bus and there they met their guide. He was a physicist with a PhD and had until recently been toiling away at what he referred to as the "uni in Glasgow". He moved home to the Hebrides so his son could be born there and not in the big city. From this, Gym deduced that there must be something to this place and was eager to see the sights.

The tour did not disappoint. Richard was any excellent guide. Notwithstanding the fact that he usually lectured on Physics, he was knowledgeable on many subjects related to his homeland and his passion was sincere. The highlights of the tour are set out below: 

1, From the Stornoway docks the tour drove east to the Calanais Standing Stones. Just like in the Orkney Islands these henges are older than Stonehenge. They are 5000 years old dating back to Neolithic times; 

Calanais Standing Stones

2. Continuing on to the north, the tour stopped at Dun Carloway Broch. This fortress dates from the First Century AD and is one of the best preserved such strongholds in Scotland. Unfortunately in 1861, the MacAuley's busted the place up a bit when the Morrisons of Ness hid out there, with some stolen MacAuley cattle. It hasn't been the same since. Gym sent his sidekick into the old stronghold to examine the structure from inside;

Dun Carloway Broch

Looking at the damage the MacAuley's did

3. Next the bus stopped at the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village. Here there are nine restored thatched 'blackhouse' buildings in a heritage village. Gym and his fair companion were able to get a feel for what it must have been like to live in these homes that were inhabited and still heating with peet in the 1970s. Blackhouse comes from the fact that there was no chimney in these buildings. The smoke just escaped through the thatched roof but not before it turned everything black. They were burning peet in one of the houses when Gym was there. Gym thought that a peet fire is somewhat smokey like a wood fire but it also has a sweet and earthy undertone making it less harsh on the nostrils; and,

The Gearrannan Blackhouse village

Note the thatched roof

4. On the way back to the ship, Richard passed around his tweed vest. And yes, Harris Tweed is from Harris! Did you know there is a Harris Tweed Authority that can only sanction products meeting specific standards as Harris Tweeds? It's true!

That evening the Vista would sail south to Killybegs, Ireland.

Stay tuned!

A Scottish Highland cow

Hand-cut peet drying and a peet cart

The northern coast