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Bar the essentials – and yes, that includes chocolate and a red jumpsuit that was marked down to half-price – I’ve not had the urge to buy much since COVID-19 crash-walloped into our lives back in March. But one thing that I have decided to treat myself to is a collection of poetry by Mary Oliver. Oliver, who passed away in 2019, was a Pulitzer-prize winning writer whose work was greatly inspired by the natural world, and the life lessons therein. If you have a little time, I’d encourage you to Google her poem The Summer Day, which ends with the rallying cry of: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” If you didn’t think a poem that is ostensibly about a grasshopper could stir something in your soul, you might think again.
I’ve had the chance to visit every county in Ireland, so I thought I had every nook and cranny of the country conquered at this stage
I’ve been really lucky in recent weeks to have some time off to enjoy the natural beauty around me. Like most people, we’ve been “staycationing” this summer and as we are currently expecting our second baby, my husband and I are very cautious about social distancing and have tried to do as much as we can outdoors, mostly along the west coast.
Through this job over the last 15 years (yikes!), I’ve had the chance to visit every county in Ireland, so I thought I had every nook and cranny of the country conquered at this stage. However, the Derrynane mass path loop walk in my native Kerry has to be one of the most beautiful routes I have ever explored, its foxglove-lined lanes kissing the spectacular Wild Atlantic coastline. Similarly, the Queen Maeve trail in Knocknarea, Co Sligo took my breath away – in every sense – while Gougane Barra forest park in west Cork provided a far more gentle, but no less rewarding amble.
We’ve also had the opportunity to explore places that have long been on our to-do list, like Scattery Island in Co Clare, with its excellent OPW tour, as well as rediscovering landmarks that I visited with my family on summer holidays as a child, such as Glenveagh National Park in Co Donegal.
When we’ve stayed overnight in places or eaten indoors, we’ve been mostly impressed by how businesses had adapted to the challenges of COVID-19
The walled garden there was bursting with colour the day that we visited, and if you find yourself up that neck of the woods this summer, I’d encourage you to add it to your itinerary; though you might want to hire a bike if you don’t fancy the 4km walk from the car park to the castle, as the shuttle bus was not running due to restrictions, at least when we were there.
When we’ve stayed overnight in places or eaten indoors, we’ve been mostly impressed by how businesses had adapted to the challenges of COVID-19; though I admit that initially I was very nervous, as I had not been out for as much as a cup of coffee from March until early July. It amazed me how quickly the visors, masks and sanitising stations became “normal”; but again, if we saw that a particular place appeared busy, we used our own judgement to pass it by, or opted for a takeaway to eat outdoors. And I can say that probably the most memorable meal so far was a simple chicken and stuffing sandwich with “proper” ham and a bag of crisps, eaten on the Kilkee Cliffs on a spectacularly sunny day. Sometimes, it’s just the simple things you’ve missed.
There’s another line from Mary Oliver that I love: “Sometimes I need only to stand where I am to be blessed.” You don’t have to wander too far in Ireland to realise that it’s true.
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