Holidays in County Wicklow

Marguerite, Jude and Ben are on their summer holidays ....... they're down in wonderful Wicklow. County Wicklow is definitely one of their favourite holiday destinations and with it only being a couple of hours down the road, sure it's perfect then.  Here's how they got on.

'We're all going on a summer holiday ....... no more working for a week or two ...... fun and laughter on our summer holiday!

Marguerite and Ben like to sing this wee tune when heading off somewhere. 

'Get us to the beach quick!
















After the two hour drive to Wicklow Ben and Marguerite are sprinting down to Brittas Bay Beach.














It may be windy ..........

........ with a little drizzle ...... but Marguerite is having loads of fun at the beach. 

In Ireland folk don't have the luxury of getting up every Saturday and knowing it's going to be 80f with sunny blue skies and heading off to the beach ...... no not at all ....... it's more like you just get on with things ....... and that means just going to the beach whenever. Sure what's a bit of wind and drizzle when you're having fun?  Nothing a good umbrella won't sort out that what!




Ben has nearly the whole beach to himself ..... perfect!














Ben quickly got stuck into some 'skimming' which is the beach activity of chucking stones into the tide in such a way that the stone bounces multiple times on the water surface.  Ben and Jude are quite good at this by this stage.











When going to the beach Ben always takes his ball. 













Marguerite and Ben having fun on the beach.




















Besides taking Ben to the park in Brookline the first ever outdoor activities Marguerite and Jude had Ben doing was flying a kite on top of Summit Avenue in Brookline. 













In those days Jude flew and Ben watched (well he was only 6 months old!!)

But now, with Ben being three years older, ....... well he's ready for his flying lessons!! 

And he wasn't long getting the hang of things!















It was a windy day so he had to hold on real tight!















Good job Ben!
















Marks out of ten ........ ten!

Today the water was quite rough so Ben was under strict instructions to stand back a bit.

Brittas Bay is a great wee spot indeed.  Today Ben had lots of fun. 

After the beach they had a short drive .........
















........ to Laragh, Lynham's of Laragh to be precise. 

Ben liked the view from the restaurant.

Cheers!!  

This hotel was class.  Really good.  It was perfectly located and the space inside was perfect to allow Marguerite and Jude to relax while affording Ben some scope for running around without annoying folk. 

This little spot upstairs was just perfect for that ........ 

........ especially given that Ben was in 'ultra messer' mode tonight!!

After dinner they went out for a wee dander and an ice cream ...... 

..... and a run through the Green. 

The view out the bedroom window of the hotel was pretty cool indeed. 
















Ben got friendly with the cool Star Wars figure in the reception area of the hotel. 

Breakfast today was a laugh with Ben keeping all the other guests amused with his running up and down lifting various items of food and overloading his table with them. 











After breakfast they headed back to the beach.  This time to a beautiful wee spot called Silver Strands.

Wicklow has loads of cool beaches.  A different day, a different beach ..... that's how it works!!  

Marguerite splashed out this morning and bought herself this cool wee beach seat for 10 Euro.  That was a deal and a half.  Wha? 














Hug time on the beach!














Today Ben was sporting his Kilkenny top.  He has Antrim, Mayo, Cork, Kilkenny and Down ...... five counties out of 32, that's not bad for a three-year-old ....... and his absolute favourite is his Down top.  But he really likes this one too.











Ben playing football on Silver Strands Beach.














Ben loves running along the edge of the water ...... 

........ and running into and out of the water ....
















...... and kicking and splashing in the water.














He also likes checking out the sea-weed and other interesting stuff laying about beaches. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch ........ Marguerite is busy building sand castles aplenty.













Until Ben came along and wrecked them all!














Ben and Jude love playing football on the beach.  Here they are doing just that.

Here's a cool Marguerite selfie with Ben in the background.  

The next game they played was throwing a Rugby ball.  Ben was quite good at this!













No matter what the game is it's always good fun.

Snack time on the beach. 

So that was two days in a row on the beach and that's pretty good going.  And it tires you out!! 

Soon after this pic was taken Ben was fast asleep. 

And so they headed to ......

........ Wicklow Town.  Hannah's looked just the ideal spot for lunch and so it was.  A couple of sandwiches later and they were off again ......



  











........ to check into Trooperstown Lodge.

This house was pretty spectacular indeed.  It is owned by the Wicklow Heather (where Marguerite and Jude normally stay when in this area).  

Ben couldn't wait to get in.









The living rooms were class ........ with loads of great paintings and lots of old stuff ....... check out the painting behind Marguerite and Ben.  Cool.

In this room there was a tea making area which also had a bowl full of biscuits.  Every night Ben would open all the biscuits and arrange them nicely along the seat.  As you do!!!

He loved those biscuits!!!









Piano Man.

This place had loads of living rooms and in this one Ben was very fond of the Piano.  He would play away for 15 or 20 minutes ...... banging away on the keys ....... singing along ..... just don't give up your day job Ben!!








Piano woman.

So Marguerite sat down beside Ben and starting playing a tune.  It was a nursery rhyme ...... but it was still a tune ...... and very impressive it was too (this kinda gig ain't easy).  Full of hidden talents that Marguerite one!

This is where Marguerite, Jude and Ben would relax in the Trooperstown Lodge.  Today they watched Ronaldo and Portugal win the European Championship Football and ........











....... Portaferry's Ciara Mageean with Bronze in the European 1500m final.  It's crazy stuff to think that a girl from Portaferry is one of the fastest runners in the world at this distance.  Well done Ciara (third here in green). 










When Ben wasn't eating biscuits he was running up and down the corridors. 

For dinner tonight Marguerite, Jude and Ben went to the Wicklow Heather.  This place is just great. 

Tonight Ben was again being a messer.  Here he is sticking his tongue out .........













....... and generally just clowning around with Marguerite.  Marguerite would tell Ben off ...... and he would laugh!!













After dinner the Wicklow Heather offered a complimentary glass of Bailey's. 

'Certainly squire, I'll have one of those if yer offering!!











A wee family pic after dinner at the Wicklow Heather.












 

The next morning and they were back at the Wicklow Heather for Breakfast (Trooperstown Lodge is just down the road and if staying there you have breakfast at the Wicklow Heather ...... which is perfect because it is so nice there). 










After breakfast they headed into Wicklow Town to the Kidzone play area. 

Ben couldn't wait to get in!

Small kids just love these places.
 













And big kids too!














Air Hockey ..... Ben loves this game. 

  

Next stop was Mount Usher Gardens. 

This place was beautiful. 














Marguerite spotted an Adirondack Chair and jumped straight onto it!!! 

Meanwhile Ben spotted a watering can and starting watering all the plants! 

Marguerite has spotted a 'sale' an

d she's dragging Ben.














 

Moments later he comes out of the shop. 

It's 70f and a nice sunny day ........ and Ben is walking out of the shop with an umbrella.

A bargain at 12 Euros!

Another cool family pic ..... umbrella and all.
 
After leaving Mount Usher Gardens they headed to ........












...... the Wicklow Gap. 

This is a really nice drive with some pretty cool scenery along the way.

Here's Marguerite in a nice cool pic.

Marguerite and Jude pic in the Wicklow gap - Take 1.

So Jude has this 10 second timer thingymabobber on his camera ..... loves it he does.  So he sets it up and the bolts away to get in the pic.  Sometimes it works .....sometimes it doesn't.  Like here for instance as he must have had the 2 second timer set rather than the 10 second one!

Marguerite and Jude pic in the Wicklow gap Take 2. 

Now that's a nice pic if ever I saw one!

Next up was a visit to Glendalough.  Here is Ben checking out the river flowing past.

Marguerite loves this tea cloth.  It's about a Mother writing to her son in America and providing an update on family matters.  Marguerite reads it every time she is in Glendalough. 

She should just splash out and buy it the next time she's there!!!! 

Yum yum .... ice cream time!

Ben and Jude in Glendalough. 

This is just one of the most scenic places there is ....... beautiful. 

Here lies someone who could afford a pretty cool headstone!

The old ruins at Glendalough are pretty spectacular. 

In this one Jude peeked through the window hole down there at the bottom ...... just at the same time as some wee Japanese woman was peeking in the other way.  Jude jumped back shouting 'Ahhh', and all ....... he freaked out momentarily!!!  Very funny it was too, especially with the wee Japanese woman laughing her head off at him!




Ben still munching his ice cream while walking around. 















Chilling out Ben style!

The last time Ben was here he was 9 months old ...... being pushed in a pram ....... a baba ....... now look at him ........ 3 and three quarters and strolling along ....... cool as a cucumber!












Then he gets tired and wants a lift.

This is a cool all action / selfie / family pic as they all strolled down to the lake.

Spot Ben holding on to Jude's ear / sun-glasses / cheek-bone / eyeballs and Hair. Wha?











The lake at Glendalough is stunning. 

















A perfect spot to just sit and relax and look about at the beautiful scenery ....... 















...... just as Marguerite and Ben are doing here.

Chucking stones in the lake at Glendalough. 

Jude and Ben chatting about this and that down at the water edge.













Ahhh ..... another 10 second timer pic her folks ....... that's just lovely!!!

Silly pic on a cool tree - take 1.

Silly pic on a cool tree - take 2.

Ben leaving Glendalough.














Back at the Trooperstown Lodge and it's the end of the holiday.

Ben has the umbrella out again as he and Jude sit down in the wee garden den.  This place was class, it was just a wee decked area (with roof) stuck away down at the bottom of the garden. 

You can pack a lot into 4 days in Wicklow!