t was time for us to leave Westport this morning and continue our journey north.
And today we were officially crossing the border into Northern Ireland.
For most of our trip we’ve been traveling through the Republic of Ireland, but Northern Ireland is actually part of the United Kingdom, along with England, Scotland and Wales.
A little history lesson…
The island of Ireland was partitioned just over 100 years ago. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, consisting of six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster. After the Irish Free State was established in 1922, those six counties remained part of the United Kingdom.
So while we’re still on the island of Ireland, we’re now in a different country.
And one of the funny things about crossing the border today?
There’s really no big dramatic moment.
No passport control.
No customs booth.
No big gate.
You just keep driving.
Although there ARE a few clues that you’ve crossed over.
The road signs change from kilometers to miles, and we’ll now be spending British pounds instead of euros.
Fortunately, we had a few stops planned before reaching our cottage.
Our first was in Bundoran, along the coast of County Donegal, to see the Fairy Bridges and Wishing Chair.
And honestly, with a name like that, how could we NOT stop?
The Fairy Bridges are natural rock formations along the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. Despite the name, they’re not really bridges in the traditional sense. They’re natural sea arches and blowholes carved into the rock by the pounding Atlantic.
The formations have been attracting visitors for hundreds of years and were actually one of Bundoran’s original tourist attractions back in the 1800s. Local stories about fairies surrounding the area go back even further, to at least the 1700s.
It was windy and chilly while we were there—and when I say windy, I mean WINDY—but the views were absolutely worth getting blown around for.
From the cliffs, you have incredible views over the beach and across Donegal Bay, with the Wild Atlantic crashing into the rocks below.
After walking out to see the Fairy Bridges, we made our way over to the famous Wishing Chair.
Of course, there are rules to this.
You’re supposed to sit down slowly, take in your surroundings, think about your wish and then tap the chair twice.
And most importantly…
You can’t tell anyone what you wished for!
All four of us took our turn sitting in the chair and making our wishes.
We’ll see if the fairies come through for us. 😉
By the time we finished, we had definitely been blown around enough and decided it was time to find some lunch.
Our cottage wasn’t going to be ready until 3:00, so on the recommendation of the owner, we stopped at a little coffee shop nearby.
Unfortunately, everyone else apparently had the same idea.
It was packed.
Probably a good sign that the food was good, but we weren’t waiting.
We walked a little farther down the street and found another little coffee shop where we tucked ourselves in for a quick bowl of soup and a cup of tea.
Simple.
Warm.
Delicious.
By the time we finished lunch and wandered around a little, we heard from the owner of the cottage that we could arrive early—around 2:30.
Perfect!
The little village of Belleek is only about five minutes from where we’re staying, so off we went.
We turned down another tiny country road, crossed a little bridge and suddenly the scenery looked like something out of a storybook.
A beautiful lough on our left.
Cow pastures. Sheep, sheep, sheep.
Rolling green hills.
And then we pulled up to our home for the next few days.
Keenaghan Cottage.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Whitewashed walls.
Thatched roof.
Red door.
Here we go!
If you were going to draw what you imagined an old Irish cottage should look like, this would pretty much be it.
And as it turns out, it really IS the real deal.
Keenaghan Cottage dates back to the 1800s and is an authentic traditional Irish thatched cottage sitting on the shores of Keenaghan Lough in County Fermanagh. It has been beautifully restored while keeping the character of the original cottage and has even been awarded five-star status by Tourism Northern Ireland.
Apparently it’s the only five-star authentic traditional thatched cottage on the entire island of Ireland.
And WE get to stay here!
When we arrived, the owners were just finishing tidying everything up.
We met Lisa, who could not have been more lovely or genuinely gracious.
Her instructions were basically:
Treat the house like your own.
Use whatever you need.
If you need anything, just ask.
And most importantly…
Enjoy yourselves.
Then we walked inside.
WOW.
Okay, it’s definitely a different kind of five-star experience than Ballynahinch Castle.
But honestly?
It’s every bit as special.
The walls are thick, the doorways are low enough that there are little signs reminding you to WATCH YOUR HEAD, and everywhere you look there are little details that make the place feel warm and cozy.
It’s like staying inside a storybook.
There’s a huge fireplace in the living room, two bedrooms, two large bathrooms, a washer and dryer and plenty of space for the four of us.
Not exactly what I was expecting when I saw the thatched roof!
We unpacked and got ourselves settled.
And then Kelly and I realized something.
We had no wine.
Well, obviously this was an emergency.
Fortunately, Belleek is only about five minutes away.
Back into the car we went.
We stopped at the local grocery store, which also has what they call an “off-licence.”
For my American friends, that’s basically the Irish and British version of a package store—a place licensed to sell alcohol for you to take away rather than drink there.
We grabbed a couple bottles of wine, some whiskey for the boys and a few things from the grocery store.
Then it was straight back to the cottage.
We didn’t want to miss a minute there.
If you remember, last night in Westport we made a pasta dinner instead of going out.
Apparently we made enough pasta for a small army because we still had leftovers.
For once, making too much food worked in our favor.
We all agreed that this cottage was simply too cute to leave, so we stayed in for the second night in a row.
We heated up our leftovers, added a few things to the meal and sat around the big wooden table enjoying a cozy dinner together.
And then there was the fire.
In this part of Ireland, peat—or “turf,” as you’ll often hear it called—has been used as fuel for generations.
Ireland’s bogs contain layers of partially decomposed plants that have built up over thousands of years. Traditionally, families would cut blocks of peat from the bog using a special spade, stack the pieces outside to dry and then burn the dried turf in their fireplaces for heat and cooking.
For generations, the turf fire was literally the heart of many rural Irish homes.
And there is a very distinctive smell to it.
Peat isn’t used nearly as extensively as it once was. We now understand how environmentally important Ireland’s peatlands are—they store enormous amounts of carbon and provide unique habitats—so peat cutting and burning have declined and are increasingly restricted.
But the smell and warmth of a turf fire are still very much tied to traditional Irish country life.
Once we checked with Lisa and made sure we knew what we were doing…
We lit that fire!
And there we were.
Inside an 1800s thatched Irish cottage.
Fire going.
Wine poured.
Bellies full.
Surrounded by nothing but countryside and quiet.
What a lovely, lovely evening.
We watched a little TV—which we really haven’t done much of at all on this trip—and eventually, one by one, everyone decided it was time to head off to our own little corners of this fairytale cottage and get some sleep.
I have no idea what the weather is going to bring tomorrow or exactly what we’ll decide to do on our first full day here.
But I do know one thing.
I’m looking forward to waking up in this little cottage, sitting quietly with a cup of tea and looking out at the Irish countryside.
Sometimes you don’t need much more than that.
See you down the road!
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