I spent a couple of minutes frantically searching the room for my breakfast voucher , eventually finding it in my wash bag , where I had put it for safe keeping and then immediately forgot about it.
I queued up with the rest of the hungry patrons for my full Irish, served by two very chirpy ladies.
Suitably full of caffeine and bacon products I packed up the car and pointed west.
A leisurely half hour drive brought me through Roscarberry and on to Skibereen. I continued as far as Ballydehob , the scene of many debilitating hangovers in my early twenties when my brother Pat owned a bar there. I swung right to take the mountain road over to Bantry , where I saw a young guy with his thumb out looking for a lift . I can remember standing in the exact same spot about 15 years ago so it seemed only right I pull over .
My new passenger introduced himself.
" Raven, like the bird".
Over the next 20 minutes I learned that Raven grew up in Ballydehob , moving briefly to Norfolk where he toiled in a hotel kitchen in what sounded almost like slave conditions. It's amazing what people will share about themselves to a complete stranger. I dropped Raven on the Bantry drimoleague road and continued on through Bantry to my first stop of the day, Mannings Food Emporium.
Mannings Food Emporium
www.manningsemporium.ie
Mannings is an essential stop on any trip through Ballylickey for food lovers. The Manning family have had a store on this site since the 40's where they started selling milk and cream from their herd of Jersey cows. Over the years the store has been passed on through the family to become a supplier of fine artisan produce and a huge supporter of locally sourced produce.
My first experience of Mannings was a few years ago when I stopped there with my wife on the way to Allihies on the Beara Penninsula . We met Mr Manning and ordered a charcuterie board for two. There are no menus , you get what Mr Manning picks for you. Mr Manning has probably forgotten more about food than I'll ever know so it was an arrangement I was happy to go along with. The food was spectacular , the meat and cheeses perfectly matched , heaven.
A severe looking lady and her family poured out of a Range Rover and sat at the table next to ours , the kids complaining loudly about being bored and hungry whilst Mum and Dad sat in silence looking impatient.
The matriarch called for menus
" there are no menus " , explained Mr Manning .
" I'll make you up a board for four , okay?"
" am .... Okay" she replied.
They sat looking very unsure about the whole no menus business , when Mr Manning arrived back with a stack of plates and cutlery .
" you might pass them around there would you?" He said as he landed the stack of plates into her hands.
Her face took on the look of someone sucking a particularly sour lemon as she passed the plates and cutlery around. I could barely contain my delight when he returned with cups and saucers to add to the pile.
Mannings Food Emporium
After our lunch we picked a few bits and pieces to buy in the shop. Mr Manning starting totting up the total on his new till, pressing the buttons timidly as though the till would explode if pressed wrong. After entering all the items he pressed the total, which came up on the display at a cool €30,027
"Hmm, I think something's gone wrong " he explained
There followed much furrowing of brows as everything was re entered in the till until finally we reached a more reasonable bill, worth every penny for the entertainment alone.
I drove on through Glengarriff towards Castletownbere. The landscape takes on a more barren mountainous look as you go further west and brings out a calm in me I still can't explain , the heather and rock an antidote to the mania of city living. After a few miles I turn right towards Lauragh and on to the Healy Pass.
Named after Cork politician , Tim Michael Healy , and built in 1847 , the Healy Pass snakes over the Caha mountain range from Adrigole to Lauragh. A series of severe hairpins climb to 334 metres. Built originally to aid famine relief in the 1840's , it's main purpose now seems to be frightening the life out of tourists as they steer tiny rental cars slowly along the narrow ribbon of tarmac, which is shared with many fearless sheep.
Healy Pass
I stop briefly in Kenmare to pick up a charger for my I pad and quickly get on the road again. I follow the N70 to Sneem , where I stop for lunch. Sneem , like many towns and villages in this part of Ireland is teeming with tour buses and cars.
Lunch is a plate of delicious fresh scampi in Breens Riverside Cafe.
The weather deteriorated rappidly as wound my way around the coast, fog rolling in from the Atlantic .
I had planned on camping in Caherdaniel but decide to carry on into Waterville , a busy seaside town where a statue stands to former summer resident Charlie Chaplin.
A quick check on booking.com finds a room in a hostel 11km away for €25 , perfect.
Dromid Hostel
Hosteldromidwaterville.com
I arrive at Hostel Dromid at 7.30pm. Situated 11km from Waterville along the Kerry Way , it looks out onto the McGillycuddy Reeks .
I'm greeted by the caretaker , Alice , a native of Tipperary , checks me in. She explained how the rooms are all colour coded to make check in easier and then proceeded to get thoroughly confused about who was in what coloured room . After checking note books and every key in the place I'm put in the green room .
I'm alone in the hostel apart from two German cyclists who meet my attempts at conversation with blank stares . Having stocked up earlier in Mannings I have a delicious simple dinner of Durrus cheese, Gubeen salami and some bread , washed down with a nice Tempranillo.
Tomorrow, Clare.
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