I've never seen as many cows as I have in Ireland, and this walk took us up close and personal with a few!
Have you ever stood eye to eye with a cow? They are weird looking! I thought this one was looking at me, but now I'm not convinced - his eyes seem to be pointing in diferent directions!
This herd of cows stopped us going RIGHT to the top of the hill, but even so, the views were stunning and we'd chosen a lovely day to go!
These views inspire you to take gorgeous pictures of your family...this is what I had in mind...
...this is what I got...
Its better to catch them unawares...
We didn't make it right to the top this time - I think we need a local guide to lead us through the terrifying herds of animals that look at you with their cross-eyes, but instead we headed back down towards the field next to Bill's. We'd been watching the combine harvesters hard at work, cutting the hay and rolling it into the big cylinders, then wrapping them in plastic and scooping them up to cart them off. The field had been so busy for the last few days but as we walked passed, the combine harvester and tractors had gone! So we went for an explore. Megan was horrified that we were trespassing - she kept glancing over her shoulder to keep an eye out for an angry farmer - she was ready to leg it!
While Megan kept a watchout at the gate for gunslinging farmers (I know, we're a little dramatic), look what the more brazen members of the family found...this is about as bold as we get! Luckily, these bales of hay are REALLY heavy - if Sam actually could push this down the hill, it would do serious damage!
...so it didn't take long to tempt Megan over! Who can resist climbing on a bale of hay?!
Luckily we made it out before the farmer came back and saw us playing!
Last hurdle was getting through the barley field - that hadn't been harvested so we had to be a bit more careful there.
While we were in Ireland, we were only an hour away from Roscrea which is where my Grandma Beattie's Grandad (Martin Tracey) came from. We have his army records and so know a bit more about him than other Great Great Grandparents so I really wanted to visit his town.
We only had about half an hour left until we had to leave to meet Grandad at the swimming pool so we marched for a quick explore of the town.
Its a funny old town - obviously bursting with historic buildings including a castle. 
I wanted to buy one of those "Old Roscrea" books, like "Old Abbeydale" and Old Millhouses", so I went to look for WHSmiths. No such luck. There was a Tesco, but almost all other shops were small independent shops. Not like in England where all towns have the same chain shops. Where's a Waterstones when you need one?!
I couldn't ask the kids to give up their swimming pool appointment, but I would have loved to have gone and toured the castle and mill museums. I think that will have to be my next visit!
...while the more sensible ones hid under a towel!
After a bit of lunch, we went on a guided tour of the lighthouse. Although Liam didn't say before we went in, he was expecting the tour to be naff! But surprisingly, we all enjoyed learning about one of the worlds oldest working lighthouses! 
It was a great place to explore and we had great fun.
Geoffrey is Bills cousin. When Liam and I first got married, he lived in London and was an administrator/book keeper type person. We used to see him quite often, and its so different seeing him on the farm.
I was more than a little distracted by her huge udders! 
The farmland is amazing...
It was just a shame that the river was too swollen for us to have a dip!
Bill's Uncle George loves horses and his current distraction was this horse which was ready to pop! She was due to give birth a few days after we flew home, but we were hoping she'd produce early so we could see her baby! She didn't, but you could see Uncle George's excitement and anticipation. In the future, the foal will be a show jumper.
