No better spot… even if the fish won’t bite
GREAT IRISH BOLT HOLES
In the latest instalment of this occasional series celebrating a correspondent’s favourite getaway, James Meehan explains his love of the southeast.
I AM very fortunate to have good friends who live near Rosslare, so for years the southeast has been my go-to place. During lockdown I could hardly wait for inter-county travel to open up and I could hit the golden beaches of south Wexford.
As a long-suffering angler I can while away hours, and days, fishing for bass off the beaches, mainly not catching any but hey, that doesn’t really matter, does it?
The weather in Wexford is strange and my friends are convinced there is a micro-climate created by the meeting of St George’s Channel and the Atlantic. Whatever the truth, the weather in that corner of Ireland seems to be better than the rest of the country, and certainly the huge skies and beautiful light are magnificent.
Regardless of the weather, and indeed sometimes the stormier the better, there is nothing like a long walk along
the beach at St Helen’s bay or Carne to clear the head and afterwards a visit to the Lobster Pot in Carne for some refreshments.
However I prefer to scoot on out the coast a few more kilometres to Kilmore Quay and get the best fish and chips you will ever eat from the Saltee Chipper, then just sit back in the harbour and watch the world go by.
Afterwards I usually wash it down with a pint in Quigley’s, in Kilmore village. If you don’t drive, don’t panic – you are in for a treat as the Dublin-Rosslare train journey is one of the most beautiful in the country.
The journey takes you out by Killiney Bay and down the coast through Bray and Greystones into Arklow. The later part of the journey is along the banks of the Slaney river into Wexford town where the train, avoiding traffic, slowly makes its way along the Quays and on out to the ferryport at Rosslare Harbour. I have spent hours sitting on a bench at the top of the hill watching the ferries load and unload. It is quite mesmeric, like watching a colony of ants go about their work.
Now don’t go telling everyone as most people don’t know that one of the nicest beaches in Wexford is just behind the ferryport. Go and check it out.