Birds & Tea & Sheep
August 14
Our morning begain with breakfast in the beautiful main dinging room of the castle. The fresh baked scones topped with black current jam were a treat. The service was formal but also enjoyable. Everyone was treated as royalty.
We had until late afternoon to enjoy the many activities available on the Dromoland Castle grounds including golf, boating, archery, falconry, bicycling or just sitting by one of the many fireflaces with a book. Most of our tour group opted for the birds of prey talk and hawk demonstration where we got to see a young falcon fly free up to the top of the castle and swoop down to catch some prey.
Our family took an optional falcon walk with Clementine, one of the naturalists who works at the castle’s rookery. Clementine explained how they care for the birds housed at the rookery including daily charting the weight of each bird and making sure they are all healthy. Because the birds weigh so little, a change in a quarter of an ounce can mean there is an issue with the bird’s health
At the rookery we got to hold an owl and hear about their feeding habits of different species of owls. After learning about the rookery we were all provided with a long leather glove and headed out on a falcon walk with Clementine. During the walk she let the young falcon fly freely and periodically would place a small piece of meat on one of our outstretched gloves. The falcon would swoop down and grab the meat. It was quite an experience.
In the afternoon Charlie and BJ took out bicycles which are available for guest use and they rode them the entire periphery of the property. David, Ruth and I attended the elegant afternoon tean in the main dining room. We spent almost 2 hours drinking tea accompanied by small sandwiches, pastiries and finally scones with jam and clotted cream. One of our tour companions joined us because her family had other plans. We had a very enjoyable afternoon.
In the evening our tour group boarded our tour bus to Rathbaun Farms, a sheep and goat farm. The farm has been family owned for many generations. The original thantched roof house is set up as it was when the owner was a child. The back half of the house is used for group meals and baking classes. Upon arriving we enjoyed what they called “nibbles” but it felt more like a meal. We then learned to make scones.
While our scones were baking we got a tour of the barn where some of the animals are kept and we then got to see the family’s border collie, Bailey in action as she herded some of the sheep back to the barn. Everyone then got a chance to feed baby sheep who enthusiastically sucked down bottles of milk. There was a lot of laughter to be had for sure as the baby sheep eagerly finished bottle after bottle of milk..
Dinner consisted of Irish stew, bread, boiled cabbage, potatoes and ham served family in the main house. Our final course was the scones we made earlier in the evening, served with a delicious home made jam. A piano player/singer performed for us during dinner and afterwards. He played a variety of popular songs and traditional Irish sing along songs. i don’t think I will ever get get “No Nay Never” out of my head. It was perfect entertainment for the occasion. Before departing we got a photo of the entire staff, our musician and our tour guides. You could tell that they are all friends. On every tour we took, the site-based tour guides enjoyed working with our tour guides, Stephen and Gabby.this really contributed to making the entire tour a special one.
Before departing I got a few more photos of the old Rathbaun Farms buildings.
Once back at the hotel we turned in. Tomorrow is our last day and we will visit the Cliffs of Moher. It is hard to believe our trip is coming to a close already.