Kilkenny

We made it to Kilkenny.  It was another dry day - we've been very lucky, W thinks there might be a hosepipe ban soon - though rather grey.

We parked up on a little side street, by a random tower (1st extra) - some brief internet research tells me it is called Corner Tower, dates from 16th or 17th Century, and was part of the walls around the suburb of St John's.

We then walked into the centre, where we visited (when it reopened after lunch) the tourist information centre, and discovered that the reason we have been unable to find books of walks is that they are no longer produced - you have to use the internet.  All very well when you have access to a printer, which is not a luxury available to many tourists, I suggest.  Otherwise you're dependent on the tiny screen on your mobile. The chap in the Tourist Info kindly printed up a couple of the walks we are considering.  Ireland is quite well organised in waymarking some good loop walks.  Kilkenny has a well organised and clear internet tourist information site where these can be accessed and downloaded, some of the other counties in Ireland are less well blessed.

We also visited a book shop, where we treated ourselves to some  of the local Ordnance Survey maps, and some nice books about the folklore surrounding some of Irelands plants and birds.

And we had a lovely lunch, before meandering back to the car via the riverside.  We liked Kilkenny - it's mildly reminiscent of Norwich with little alley ways, many churches, some of which have been repurposed, and random bits of old city walls.  It had a nice vibe - we will be back.

Our mood was less good later.  We got back to our cottage about 4pm, W logged on to his emails, to discover that the solicitor who offered an appointment at 10.00 on Monday had failed to see his reply (definitely not a "failed sending", as I was copied in, and received my copy) and had emailed him late morning to say that since he hadn't replied, she had now given that appointment time to someone else!  And of course by this time it was impossible to get hold of her - phone messages and exasperated emails have gone unanswered. 

Hey ho, we'll see what Monday brings.  Meanwhile, we'll enjoy a bonus weekend in Ireland, albeit with a slight hassle of moving to a different AirBnb tomorrow.