Ness Wood: Day 25 – Ireland 2014

This page contains affiliate links, and we may receive compensation if you click on a link. You can read our full advertising disclosure here.

3 May 2014

Our days in Ireland were winding down, but we had one more day left of sightseeing before heading back to Dublin. Our final stop in Northern Ireland was Ness Wood, a lovely woodland park with paths along the water that leads down to a waterfall.

Ness Wood

We arrived at Ness Wood in the morning, around 10 AM or so. We took our time strolling through the woodland trails. After nearly a month in Ireland, we were nowhere near ready to say goodbye. So, we decided to soak up every tree, leaf, and piece of moss that we could in our last park on the Emerald Isle.

The trail runs alongside a gently rolling river, the waters crashing far upstream, tumbling over the waterfall. We read that otters are a common sight, but we didn’t see any despite much looking.

Much like most other places we visited during our trip, we had Ness Wood to ourselves. It was like our own private goodbye to the wilderness we immediately fell in love with when we arrived. It was a bittersweet visit. We didn’t want it to end because it meant that we were that much closer to heading home. When we finally arrived at the waterfall, we stayed for quite some time, taking in our surroundings and trying our best to imprint the image in our minds. It was a beautiful place to bid farewell to the wilds of Ireland.

The Beauty of Ness Wood

An Evening Among Friends

Claire, one of our amazing friends from the Titanic Memorial group, had gotten in touch with us and offered for us to stay with her for our last night in Northern Ireland. We were more than happy to take her up on the offer. She and her husband had become like family to us, and we could think of nothing better than sharing an evening with her before we left.

The evening was the best kind of night in. The three of us sat and chatted for hours, deep into the night. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly friendships can be bonded. Years later, when Billy proposed to me (in Ireland, no less), Claire and her husband were among the few friends we had the pleasure to tell in person the next day. Aside from family, they were the first to hear our good news. We’ve gotten to share so much with our friends in Ireland, and I’ll be forever grateful for that, this night included.

After much laughter and levity, we said goodnight and laid our heads to rest for the last time in Northern Ireland.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy