A morning spent in Dungarvan

Recently while visiting my boyfriend’s parents in Cork we decided to take a drive and ended up in Dungarven in Waterford. Just getting into the car and driving is one of our favourite things to do – there are so many hidden little gems around Ireland that exploring on a nice day is just amazing. And this time we ended up with a morning spent in Dungarvan.

Dungarvan for those who may not be aware is a small coastal town in Waterford that also hosts a beautiful harbour. The Sunday that we decided to drive around the weather was beautiful and we found parking in Gratten square quite easily and then set off to explore. It was a Sunday but we were surprised how few things were open in the morning. The views certainly made up for the lack of shops open and then we stumbled upon Dungarvan Castle.

Dungarvan Castle 

I will be honest when I say that we didn’t know that Dungarvan had such an impressive castle! It was stunning though and open which was also good. The staff in there were so friendly and since they are under-going renovations entry is currently free to the entire castle and museum.

When we first went in we watched a film on the history of the castle and wow there is such an intricate and interesting past since it was founded in 1185. It was actually quite interesting and we quite enjoyed it. Then we went around the rooms of the museum and then the grounds of the castle. They have a fantastic tower to wander up to and the old barracks is quite interesting.

It is certainly worth a visit if you around Dungarvan and the weather certainly made the visit even better.

Dungarvan Harbour

The harbour itself was so serene and picturesque that the images above do not do it justice. The water was so still that it just looked like a painting. It was simply stunning and we spent around an hour just walking and exploring around the area and it was just beautiful. I was also surprised by how quiet the area was – there were so few people and cars around which to be honest also made the morning.

Interlulde Restaurant

We were really surprised how few places were open on a Sunday morning – I was expecting loads of little cafes open that served brunches. But we actually found it quite difficult to find somewhere to dine. The super helpful staff at the castle also confirmed that few places are open but did suggest a little cafe called Interlude. And to there we ventured. The food ended up being delicious. It was our favourite kind of food – simple flavours done well. I had the yummy crepes above with maple syrup and my other half had a breakfast bap with bacon, eggs and mushrooms. I would highly recommend going in – super yum!

Dungarvan is certainly somewhere that we will be coming back to – we really didn’t spend enough time there to see it all. There is so much more to do and we certainly want to do more of the walks. I just wanted to share the parts that we did do with you in case you were debating visiting – you should go! 🙂