UK/Ireland Trip 2025

  Kilcommon Note:  This post is addressed to my siblings, concerning our visit today to Kilcommon in County Tipperary, which we believe was the home of our Irish family. Hi, everyone, from western Ireland, We made it to Kilcommon today but only have pictures to show for it. The town, what there is of it, was utterly deserted. We nosed around, went in the church, but couldn't find a soul. There was a building that looked like a visitor's center but it was closed and the only text on the outside was in Irish. So, see pix below. We're here for a couple days then on to Galway for a couple more. Then we'll drive back to Dublin to catch a plane to Manchester and soon after head up to Scotland. The final week of our trip will take us to York and then back to London. Cheers, Pat And got a kick out of this in the graveyard.

The Sites of Conwy We spent yesterday walking all over Conwy, which isn't difficult--it's a compact walled town of just 4,000 people. At one corner of the walls is Conwy Castle, built in the 13th century by Edward I. Also in town is an Elizabethan manor called Plas Mawr. We visited both after taking the Rick Steves walking tour of the entire town. We walked on and around the wall surrounding Conwy. With our favorite sign in Conwy--or anywhere (so far). Plas Mawr  is touted as "q uite simply the finest surviving Elizabethan town house anywhere in Britain." Robert Wynn, a wealthy merchant, built the house between 1576 and 1585. Afterward we walked down to the harbor and saw what has to be Conwy's dopiest tourist attraction--there was a line at the door--the smallest house in Great Britain. We passed. Finally, the highlight of the day, a visit to the Castle. It's remarkably well preserved, small enough to be accessible in an hour or two, and offers sweeping, brea...