Waterford

Follow the Vikings

Follow The Vikings Roadshow came to Waterford on the Easter weekend. I guess, attendance would be greater if the festival took place on some other weekend, but what to do – even Google never does Easter Doodles At least we know for sure that the Vikings have been eventually converted

Familiar streets look different. Amazing actors and dancers from many European countries came to Waterford- or rather Veðrafjǫrðr– to celebrate our viking heritage. Famous for their spectacular performances, the Roadshow will tour another seven viking locations (twelve altogether) in the UK, Spain and Scandinavia.

I only caught a glimpse of the night show, but you can see plenty of images on their website.

Ancient viking civilization made a major impact on European history and culture. Far from being just barbaric raiders, the vikings left the legacy that is still evident today in various parts of the world.

You can learn more about the Viking roadshow here: https://www.followthevikings.com/ Check out, may be it is coming to a town near you.

Meanwhile, many other Viking clans came over and camped in Cathedral Square, the heart of The Viking Triangle. Craft making and sale, musical numbers and fights – everything for your entertainment. You can have many of your viking-related questions answered here.

And this is our own Citric the Viking. Undercover 😉 To see him in his glory, visit the King of The Vikings virtual reality show.

The Viking virtual reality show is my favorite attraction in the city, and #1 ranking by TripAdvisor. They opened last summer and I went there three times. Once you put the headset on, you will find yourself in the middle of the viking invasion, up to your eyes in the water swimming between the burning longboats and under the flying arrows. You will love it.

King of the Vikings virtual reality show website http://www.kingofthevikings.com/ Booking essential.

As I happened to live in the Viking Triangle and came from the land of viking heritage, everything ‘viking’ captivates me. Including literature. I share a link to Shehanne Moore’s blog, because I absolutely love her book The Viking and The Courtesan (Time Mutant series), and her other books too. Please visit Shehanne’s blog, but watch your feet so that you don’t step on a hamster 😉

Some music from Youtube to complete this post 🙂

www.inesemjphotography.com Have a wonderful weekend!

Anne Valley Walk

Anne Valley Trail is one of the overlooked treasures of Waterford county. I have written about the trail before. This is what I found on my last visit.

Rushes were swaying to and fro rustling in the wind, and I noticed a tiny ladybug feasting on something that looked like a caterpillar.

Yellow dung fly sat chilling on the young fern frond. Don’t be misled by the name – adult dung flies spend most of their time hunting small insects in vegetation.

Furled fronds of young ferns look like cute little animals.

This one looks like a furry snake 🙂

Larches sport the most beautiful shade of green.

I check on every blackbird I see in case it is a Red billed chough. There is a couple of them living in the Anne Valley. I saw one last year, but it quickly disappeared in bushes before I grabbed my camera.

The blackbird is quietly following me as I walk.

Finally he shows himself for long enough to take a picture. Funny, curious bird.

Song Thrush young keep together.

This scared baby is a juvenile Robin. A clumsy dove landed on his tree and he moved closer to where I sit. I feel good 🙂

Warbler ignores me as if I don’t exist.

I took pictures of some simple but beautiful flowers.

This insect is trying to look like a wasp, but it has only one pair of wings and quite a wide waist which gives away its true identity : it is a Syrphid fly.

A group of swans, some of them last year’s cygnets, are floating near the island in the middle of the pond where they will spend the night.

Four ducks, survivors of the family of ten, didn’t want to be photographed.

The swans are finally getting ready for the night, and I am heading home.

One more picture of Foxglove before I drive away.

Thank you for joining me for this walk.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Waterford Greenway: do it the green way

I absolutely believe that every child should have the experience of riding a train. I don’t remember my first train ride. I was only two weeks old then. The trains have changed a lot since, and most of the railways have been closed.

The first public railway in Ireland was opened in 1834 between Dublin and Kingstown ( now Dún Laoghaire ) despite local opposition. The railway line between Waterford and Dungarvan was built in the 1870’s to link up with the Lismore and Mallow railway. The stations along the route were Kilmeadan, Kilmacthomas and Durrow. It was a very expensive line to be built at the time, with a 418 feet long tunnel, three stone viaducts, two causeways, a number of bridges and three road crossings. The railway line was officially opened in August 1878 with the first train departing Waterford at 10.10.

The first pedal-driven bicycle arrived to Ireland in the 1860’s. It was heavy and uncomfortable, and didn’t impress most of the population. The things changed in the 1880’s with the introduction of the chain-driven bicycle and Dunlop’s pneumatic tyres. Cycling became a part of the everyday modern life, however the ladies wearing trousers caused quite a stir and often faced verbal abuse.

The Waterford-Dungarvan railway line was closed in the 1960’s as part of a major program of line closures. The last passenger train left Dungarvan for Roscrea in 1967. The tracks were removed in the 1990’s, but later Kilmeadan-Waterford section of the route was leased to the Suir Valley Railway group, and the tracks were restored. The Waterford & Suir Valley Heritage route was opened to the public in 2004. The route operates from April to September, and also during Christmas holidays, midterm etc. At the same time, a Kilmacthomas to Dungarvan section of the railway was developed as a walkway/cycle path.

Some facts and anecdotes from the Waterford railway history can be found in this link.

Railways are declining. Cyclists are thriving 🙂

In 2013, the Deise Greenway group handed over 7000 signatures of support to the Mayor of Waterford County and the Major of Waterford City for the Greenway bicycle route to be developed in the place of the disused railway line from Waterford to Dungarvan. In 2014 the project was approved.

Complete route has been launched today, yet construction works are still in progress. I have walked the Greenway on many occasions, and decided to put up four blog posts with photographs from different sections, so that you know how many photo opportunities the route can offer 🙂 These are all early spring pictures.

We start the route from Gracedieu, Waterford.

The most beautiful feature on this stretch of the road is the Red Iron Bridge.

The bridge was constructed in 1906 to link the port of Rosslare to Cork and Kerry as a route for ‘boat trains’ and faster transatlantic mail delivery. Local children used to walk across the bridge to get a can of coke from a shop on the other side. It was a beautiful nine span bridge with the central span opening for shipping. It still has its control cabin from where powerful hydraulic mechanisms were operated to lift and lover the central span.

Now the central span is removed and the bridge looks gap-toothed…

The bridge has always attracted the local youth. To get to the bridge you have to walk a muddy path. If you walk off the path you step on a wobbly surface that used to be a local kids favorite fun. It is quite scary, but probably exciting for the kids to walk on the wobbling ground ( I did it). Teenagers used to come here and drink some beer. I don’t know if someone is still coming here, I have to go and check out. This photograph was taken in 2005.

On the opposite side of the river there is a group of derelict buildings and abandoned boats. It was a busy area in years gone by.

We keep walking along the Greenway path ( watch for the dog poop) and leave the Red Iron Bridge behind. I always hope to see birds, and lucky me – there is a Robin.

The Robin is inspecting the cracks in the wooden sleepers.

His body language is so cute 🙂

After a quiet conversation with a neighbor they both take off.

Another landmark is The River Suir Bridge – a cable stayed bridge with a length of 475 m (1558 f) that was opened in 2009. I drove over this bridge twice with no reason, just for fun. This bridge has the same purpose as the abandoned railway – to connect the port of Rosslare to Cork and Kerry.