|
| |
|
KILMORE QUAY |
| |
|
|
| |
KILMORE QUAY comes as a real surprise after the largely dull
countryside which precedes it. A small fishing and holiday village of
thatched cottages and whitewashed walls, with a good sandy beach, it's
attractively situated around a stone harbour wall, looking out at the
nearby Saltee Islands. County Wexford's Maritime Museum is housed in an
old lightship alongside the marina (May-Sept daily noon-6pm; April & Oct
Sat & Sun noon-6pm; £2/2.54).
The village hosts a seafood festival , usually in the second week of
July - a fine excuse to eat plenty of seafood. One of the most popular
seafood restaurants and only a short walk from the harbour is The Silver
Fox (tel 053/29888). The village also has a handful of good bars,
including Kehoe's , right in the middle of the village opposite the
church, which has excellent barfood year round and singalongs during the
summer. Walkers , down by the harbour, is probably one of the best fish-and-chip
shops in Ireland.
Kilmore Quay is also the point of departure for visiting the uninhabited
Saltee Islands , one of Ireland's most important bird sanctuaries,
especially for puffins, razorbills, cormorants, shags, gannets,
kittiwakes and auks. In the nesting period of late spring and early
summer, there are thousands of them; by the end of July they have all
left - so time your trip carefully. Boat trips to the islands may be
available during the summer - contact Declan Bates of The Saltees
Princess (tel 053/29684) or Dick Hayes (tel 053/29704), who organizes
deep-sea angling trips at around £15/19.23 per day.
B&B accommodation can be found at the quaint, thatched Curlew Cottage
(tel 053/29772; £26-33/33.01-41.90); and Harbour Lights (tel 053/29881;
£33-40/41.90-50.79), a short walk from the harbour. For a smart
guesthouse there is Quay House (tel 053/29988, kilmore@esatclear.ie ;
£40-55/50.79-69.84), conveniently situated on the road into the village.
An hostel and camping are available at Kilturk Independent Hostel (IHH;
closed Oct-April; tel 053/29883), a quiet spot about a mile outside the
village on the R739.
|
| |
|
