How was your week post Paddy’s day? Any memorable walk of Seamus? Hope you all had good fun! I was wondering how I could celebrate the occasion, I even thought about attending Dublin’s parade for a minute even though I’m not fond of crowds… Luckily my good friend came to the rescue and invited me to a little day trip in County Wexford. It was the perfect way to celebrate Ireland. I actually never went to Sunny Wexford. I was even dubious of the county’s nickname but the sun shone bright that afternoon and it felt great to get away from the city and discover a new part of the country.

Our first port of call was Curracloe which is famous for being the location of the D-Day scene in Saving Private Ryan.

We walked the coastal circuit, the whole 6 miles (10km) of it. It took about 2 hours. We started with the Raven Reserve. It is a beautiful pine forest where locals come to walk their dogs or run. It is supposed to be a good place for seeing birds and the Red Squirrel but I can’t say I saw anything. I suspect that it is easier with patience and a pair of binoculars.

The forest path leads to a grassy patch of the coast, which is another part of the bird reserve. There was a group of black birds of some sort on a sand island (see the black dots in the above picture) but couldn’t really make out what they were. I read as well that the beach is a good spot for seal-sighting.

Ballinesker Beach was picked as a location for Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan for its ressemblance to Omaha Beach in Normandy. Just like the French beach, it is a beautiful stretch of sand and I can imagine it to be a great place to spend the few Irish Summer days. But I have to commend the local kids as they were already enjoying the waves in the middle of March! Brr!

I had the loveliest start to the day, tune in this Sunday to see what other parts of Wexford I visited that week-end!

Practical information

The Raven Reserve / Curraloe Strand / Ballinesker Beach – link
10 miles (6km) – take about 2 hours to complete the circuit
Bus: Bus Eireann 379 (Mondays & Saturdays)