SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
I turned onto the wrong road just before we would have reached Castlefreke, our destination and found ourselves on a one lane, farm road that dead ended at a fallen tree. To say there was some tension in the car between Chloe and me would be putting it mildly. I blamed her for not helping, she blamed me for turning at the wrong place. We were nearly two kilometers up a small dirt road, and I had to back out, reversing down a narrow hill. Eventually I found a spot wide enough to turn the car.
We returned to the paved road, followed the Castlefreke sign, and drove along a road sandwiched between ancient brick walls. Wherever we were supposed to park wasn’t where we parked. Lost again, we asked inside a small, fly-infested pub for direction. Easy…we were almost there.
CASTLEFREKE CHURCH RUINS
The Castlefreke area has several walking trails. Our goal was to see the old Church ruins and the Castle. The path to the old Church enters a forest of deciduous trees so dense they block out all the sunlight. Luckily this patch doesn’t last too long. The road opens to a wide field on a hill overlooking the valley, high grasses surrounding crumbling church walls, the church bell tower and stone debris. Saffi, Chloe and I played hide and seek in the ruins.
We re-entered the forest, emerged on a path that followed along the edge of a field of cows and ended on the paved road. The “castle” was just down the street. Once we turned the bend, we could see it up on top of a large hill. We guessed who might live there — maybe Jeremy Irons? (one of my favorite actors who has a home somewhere in West Cork), or Lady Gaga or a prince? In fact, it’s not that glamorous. The castle is occupied by a Freke descendant.
When we left Castlefreke, we drove toward the sea, and ended up at a secluded, large beach, Long Strand. Surfers were out on the water. We were sad to find that a small pizza restaurant, Puffin Cafe, was closed for the season. Saffi chased rocks, and dug holes as Chloe and I strolled along, the sun beginning to inch toward the horizon.
