Romantic Ireland’s not dead and gone, it’s ready and waiting to be explored
Been Brabin Happy Story Ireland Has Say And A Love The Couple: Very To Michael Their Backdrop Special Vicky
In 1913, W.B. Yeats penned his well-known refrain lamenting the loss of romantic Ireland, noting that it is, in fact, “with O’Leary in the grave.”
Now, more than a century later, we continue to muse on this same point: is romantic Ireland really dead and gone, having vanished as cultural monuments are erased and our young people emigrate, or does it linger on in that ineffable Irish spirit that can be felt across the entirety of this little island of ours?
“It’s just so green,” Vicky Brabin of West Sussex tells me. “It’s wild and it’s rugged, and so incredibly beautiful. It just really fit into everything that we wanted from our honeymoon.” Tying the knot in October 2017 at St Davids in Wales, the rocky terrain and sweeping coastal views of Ardmore, Co Waterford lured Vicky and her husband across the pond via ferry for a honeymoon to remember.
“We spend a lot of time on the Welsh coast of St Davids — it’s where we got engaged and did much of our wedding planning — and we wanted to see it from the Irish side. The first trip we went on as a couple was to Dublin, and we quite liked the idea of replicating something in Ireland for our honeymoon.”
Lovers of outdoor adventure and fervent foodies, this five-day excursion was largely spent wandering around in the great outdoors and gathered around a dining table. From Michelin standard fine dining in five star hotels, to simple fish and chips enjoyed while chatting to locals in the town of Ardmore, Vicky assures me that the Irish food offering is absolutely mind blowing on any budget.
“Wherever we went, whether it was wandering along beaches or heading off on coastal walks, it was just so beautiful. We went up to Lismore Castle and did lots of exploring; Ballyquin beach had these big purple rocks we would clamber across. We walked to the Round Tower and the Cathedral, but we did have one day where we just stayed in the hotel, made good use of the spa, ate gorgeous food, and sat looking out over the sea, bundled up together while we got our heads around the fact that we were actually married.”
Coming up to their fifth wedding anniversary, Vicky and her husband are eager to reacquaint themselves with all things Éire. Until October finally rolls around, there’s one memory in particular this couple are keen to relive: “As the big day came closer, Storm Brian was making its way across to that west coast. We had these really crazy, moody skies — my hair is very much horizontal in most of our wedding photos — but as soon as the ferry reached Ireland, the clouds just lifted. I have this image in my mind of the sun just breaking through.”
While the enchantment of patchwork fields and creamy pints of Guinness draw many onto Irish soil, summers usually spent stretched out on foreign beaches have been put to good use by many who opt to rediscover the beauty of what’s in their own backyard. Such was the case for twenty-something couple Katie Gill and Chris Duignan, whose self-described ‘lockdown breakdown’ led them to renovating a Volkswagen Caddy into a fully-equipped camper.
“I needed a project to keep me busy while working from home,” Chris, who has a dedicated Instagram for his campervan adventures, says. “I got stuck into the nitty gritty of renovating while Katie provided moral support from the sidelines, with her feet up and phone out.” An undertaking that has served them well post-lockdown, they’ve since covered quite a bit of ground.
“It took a lot of getting used to at the start; figuring out where to park up, being comfortable outside — now we’re almost on autopilot,” they tell me. “Everything is set up and ironed out, ready for us to get going again when the mood strikes. We’ve done most of the Wild Atlantic Way, and the whole coast from Dublin down to Mizen Head. We’ve seen so much of Ireland, we really had free rein to explore more of it because we didn’t need to worry about the price or availability of hotels.”
Their first excursion saw them set off for Donegal, and with outdoor dining regulations still in full effect, they hardly set foot indoors for a whole week straight. Opting for a mix of campsites and wild camping, they’ve found that the romance can be found in the smallest of gestures.
“Chris very much thought ahead, because I really wouldn’t have been much of a camper,” Katie says. “He made sure that things were as cosy and comfortable as possible, and did his best to have everything we might need tucked away into some compartment of the van. He installed mirrors in the back for me, and would wake up early to make a cup of tea and eggs on a camping stove.”
Naturally, it’s not all smooth sailing. Co-pilots get cranky and carsick while zipping up and down mountains, dodging rogue sheep and navigating winding roads, but once the road levels out, the van’s parked up, and the back doors are flung open onto an awe-inspiring sunset, worries tend to drift out into the ether.
“A lot of the places we would have been staying in had no internet, and when it’s dark, it’s dark,” they recall. “You’re not watching films, you’re just chatting, sipping a mug of wine in the back of the van, looking through photos of the day gone by and planning for tomorrow. We would write down what we had done that day in a journal, and that’s so lovely to look back on now.”
From playing tennis on the beach in Portsalon and bodyboarding in Lahinch to sunset kayaking in Dungloe and relishing an undisturbed view of Glendalough at sunrise, they’ve seen it all from their very own, incredibly unique, VANtage point — pun very much intended.
A testament to the strength of their relationship, it’s not every couple that could last in such close confines. Citing teamwork and compromise as the cornerstones of a roadtrip well spent and a companionship well oiled, they recommend breaking up longer stints with a hotel stay, stringing up some fairy lights, and perfecting an ideal soundtrack accompaniment.
“It’s such a small space and such an extended amount of time to be with one person. Neither of us could do it with anyone else by our sides.”
From listening to the sound of the rain on the van’s roof to watching a storm rage on from under the blankets, that typical Irish weather, in all its changeable glory, is there to be embraced.
These sentiments ring true for Linas Jakutis, a man who spends his days traveling the many highways and byways of Ireland for work, picking up his camera in an attempt to capture the magic he sees play out before his eyes every day.
From raging winds and scattered showers to out-and-out downpours and scorching sunshine, the fact that one day can etch out so many different scenes is part and parcel of the country’s irresistible charm for Linas.
“Ireland has such an unbelievable landscape, and it changes colours so many times throughout the day,” Linas says. “From the morning’s sunrise to the rain or fog in the afternoon, it’s all so different. In one day you can get so many colours, and that’s a very special thing.”
Whether he’s traveling solo, or he’s got his wife of over 25 years in the passenger seat, Ireland’s intrinsic romance is an ever-present aspect of these journeys.
From the whisper of a trad session on the breeze and the familiar nod from a stranger on a country lane, to the panoramic views of forty shades of green, romantic Ireland is ever-present and immovable.