A couple of weeks ago, a fantastic venture was launched in my beautiful home town of County Sligo. Go Strandhill welcomes you to our little secret. Check these guys out and you will soon find yourself hopping in the car and making your way to the North West of Ireland to get in a few days of surf, good food, a pint of the black stuff and some adventures around the amazing landscape not to mention some of the most heart warming welcomes in our little island. They have done all the hard work of seeking out all the best spots around to make it easy for you to plan your trip.
Tag Archives: home
I went out to the Hazelwood…
The Song of Wandering Aengus
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.
When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.
Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
– William Butler Yeats
Filed under Adventures
Spring has sprung!!
The sun is shining gloriously and the birds are tweeting in their nests. The hot pants are out and the vibe around town is amazing. People are soaking up the rays and the beer 
A trip to King’s Park and a punnet of strawberries are the makings of a great Spring. In my eyes. That is all you need. If life could be so simple. Strawberries and picnics, it would be a great place. In fact, I think it is. Walking around the streets of Perth and people-watching as the sun beams down on the beautiful people I began to realise, I like this place. I have been here 2 months so far and this weekend, strolling around the city in the sun I caught myself grinning. Fitting in is an awesome thing but feeling at home in a city that is not your home is pretty darn good in my books.
Filed under Adventures
The Call Of The Wild
The last part of summer 2010 brought me back to my hometown in the North West of Ireland, Sligo. A beautiful surfers paradise surrounded by jagged mountains and rough seas. I love coming home and seeing all of the old faces and catching a glimpse of the new ones.
My first port of call when I arrived home was to head out to the Voya Seaweed Baths out in Strandhill with my sister Denise. They are an essential for any trip to Sligo and just ease you gently back in to good vibes of the town. After we had soaked up the seaweed, we popped into ‘Shells Cafe’ on the Seafront, a very cute and cosy cafe recently opened under new management serving scrumptious home-baking. A fill of eggs on soldiers with homemade beans and a pot of tea did the job and we were ready for the day.
A few days later on a trip to Mountbellew with my folks, myself and mum stopped at the Horseman at Lough Arrow viewing bay. It was such a beautiful evening that we had to stop and take a close up look at the mysterious man watching the roads.
Back in Sligo on a chilly Monday evening, I was out for a stroll with the pops when I got some intriguing messages to head into town for a quiet drink. I landed in to McGarrigles where the fire was lit and surrounding it were some of Sligo’s ever so dreamy local musicians. Every second Monday, The Buck Leppin boys as I like to call them play in McGarrigles on Sligo’s O’Connell Street. They are made up of Anthony Mannion, Luke Mercer and Leon Mooney with the odd appearance from some of the local musicians such as Micheal Conefrey and Leo Morris.
I had never seen them play before in this setting and I have to say it was so beautiful. They played one of my all time favourite songs ‘Wagon Wheel’ by Old Crow Medicine Show. After a few glasses, or should I say small pints of vino I was feeling very sentimental and got completely lost in the moment. It’s time like these that I adore being home in Sligo, surrounded by the good time boys and gals! They went on to sing other classics from Creedance Clear Water and Dave Rawlings. Giving each song a noticeable personal edge of their own.
My last few days were spent saying my goodbyes to the boyos and taking advantage of the good weather. Danny and myself decided to round up the troops and we high tailed it out to Coney Island one stunningly blue skied day. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day. We headed over at lunch time, the tide was out and the cars were loaded down with tents, clinking bottles of beer and a couple of sossies to keep hunger at bay.
We landed out and immediately decided to set up camp on the beach, a perfect spot and a room with a view.
After noticing that the tide wasn’t just creeping in but running towards us at a speedy rate, we decided to un-peg the tents and hurl them into the field just behind the beach. The troops then set off on a fire wood mission and I opted for an evening dip with the sun going down..
Taken by Vanessa Scanlon
(These were the rocks that we had originally pitched our tents on 
)
When we had our little camp ready and as the sun began to wind down for the evening, we perched our chairs on top of the rocks by the beach and watched the sun set. It was absolutely magical. The sun was glistening off the sea, the barbecue was lighting and the smiles were all round!
Taken by Vanessa Scanlon
After the sun set it was back to camp to warm up by the fire and enjoy the cool evening.
My last wharrah of the Sligo trip was a night out with the girls and some of the boys thrown in….. I think I’m still recovering
Filed under Adventures
