After a solid breakfast, including tucking away a few spare items for morning tea we left Arklow.

We had weird weather today. It drizzled and mizzled but did not really rain. We had a very low mist for much of the day.

The ride today was 114 km with 950m climbing. The climbs were all ok, nothing too onerous. The roads varied, some were very busy, some had no verge, others had a verge of even a cycle path.

A series of one off sights to start with. Leaving Arklow at this roundabout was the honey hive.

Pity we are not around for this event. Lock away your treasured oldies!

A nice church and house.

Beautiful gardens with nice security detail.

Don’t shoot me!

Dang, another event we are missing out on 🤣🤣.

Really new signage, but some drivers today did not get that particular memo.

An old flour mill.

Wexford another town founded by the Vikings around 800 AD. Nearby is Rosslare Harbour, a ferry terminal with ferries travelling to Wales, France and Spain.

Lunch was planned for Wexford. We crossed the bridge, and I fancied sitting outside in a cafe along the river. Not to be, as we could not find one. We went to Tesco supermarket up the hill instead and sat in the carpark. Food was good!

A statue dedicated to John Barry, the father of the USA Navy, who was born in a nearby village.

Lots of pretty flowers along the waterfront.

Leaving Wexford, this sign had me off the bike to photograph. My four children have an Irish heritage, and their surname is Geelan. Their great grandfather emigrated to Australia from Ireland. However, he was from Co. Leitrim, further north, closer to Northern Ireland.

We started to see some of the EuroVelo 1 signs. We will criss cross, and follow EV1 on our continuing journey.

We stopped at this ruined church, then noted something else across the water, per the following photo.

Post ride research indicates that this site is known as Clonmines Abbey. It is on private land. It is a deserted medieval borough dating back to the 13th century.

Arthurstown looked eerie too.

Up the hill, and around the corner from Arthurstown is Ballyhack.

Ballyhack contains a 15th century Norman castle that has been partially restored. Features include its dungeon and a murder hole! It was from this village that we hopped onto the ferry, that crosses the broad estuary of The Three Sisters, to Passage East. Using the ferry saves around 55 km cycling.

I chatted with another cyclist. He is from France, living near the Swiss border. He is on a three week cycle ride and following a similar route to us.

Passage East is a small fishing village on the west bank of Waterford Harbour. The Norman invasion of Ireland began here in 1170.

Up the hill and around, was very pleasant. After about 8 km we were on the outskirts of Waterford, in super busy traffic again.

Waterford is the fifth largest city in the Republic of Ireland famous these days for Waterford Crystal (although sadly was shut down in 2009 after the falling into receivership).

Again, it was the Viking raiders who first established a settlement nearby in 853.

Reginalds Tower is the oldest building in Ireland and believed to be the first in Ireland to use mortar. It is located in the area known as the Viking Triangle. A replica Viking longship, 12 metres in length is on display outside the Tower.

The tower has a long and interesting history.

Waterford has an interesting series of buildings relating to their history, within an area known as the Viking triangle. Everywhere you walk, there are Viking references. Even the wifi password at our accomodation is ‘Viking city’.

This is a memorial to the youngest British soldier killed in Word War 1, John Condon, aged 14. His war grave is one of the most visited in Belgium. John was born in Waterford in 1900.

A cathedral has stood on this site since 1096 when Malchus, the first bishop was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. With an extensive history, the medieval cathedral was demolished in 1773 and Rep,aced by this current cathedral.

The Bishop’s Palace was built in the site of the medieval palace. It has been describes the finest 18th century ecclesiastical palace in Ireland.

These are the remains of the Franciscan Friary, funded in 1241 by King Henry III. In 1541 King Henry VIIIclosed the monasteries and it reopened as an alms house. Inmates were required to pray for the soul of Henry VIII right up until the middle of the 20th century!

The entrance is watched over by Luke Wadding the only Irishman to have ever received votes in a papal enclave.

There are a number of museums in the area including Waterford crystal, medieval and a Time museum. Everything had closed when we wandered around by this installation is outside the Time Museum.

Paintings on building exteriors is another feature in Waterford. Many clever ones, but given it was rainy, this seemed appropriate.

We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. It has a robot that delivers food to tables, and takeaway to the front. It’s name is Bella.

Another day is done. Thankyou for reading 😊❣️