There’s a family of swans out on the Anne River that I’ve been watching for months now.
The seven cygnets have got very grown up and I know that one of these days they will have flown away. This makes me think of W.B. Yeats’ poetry.
Today, the swans were waiting for me so I clicked record, just in case.
Here’s how they were:
Co. Waterford ABC is a feature here on Social Bridge where I am identifying my highlights of this diverse county in Ireland where I was born and which has been ‘home’ for the last 26 years. There will be just 26 posts ~ one for each letter of the alphabet and I hope you will join me in discussing your views about the places, people, events, things that I select. Would you have chosen differently? In a county with such natural beauty and diversity in terms of history and heritage, one could quite easily identify 26+ highlights for each letter!
Co. Waterford is situated in the south-east of Ireland and has a coastline of approximately 106 miles (170 kilometres).
Annestown is a charming little village on what is called the Copper Coast. It is 14 miles from Waterford City and 6 miles from my hometown, Tramore.
Annestown village is rather unusual in the Irish context as it has has neither a pub nor a shop. The village, which is built on a steep hill, consists of a row of brightly painted, flower-bedecked houses and an elegant Church of Ireland.
Annestown’s picturesque, sandy beach has an air of total tranquillity. It is snuggled between cliffs at either end and is a swimmer’s paradise. I was fortunate to have the opportunity of holidaying in Annestown on four different occasions down the years and one of the greatest pleasures was to run down the hill, very early in the morning, towards the little gap that gives access to the beach at the village end.
Just there, below Annestown House, there is a small woodland which is home to crows whose wild activity and loud cawing are an essential part of the natural welcome to the beach.
No matter where one’s eyes are drawn in Annestown there is beauty to meet them. The River Anne meanders down along the Anne Valley from Dunhill and enters the sea at Annestown Beach. Standing on the bridge in Annestown beside the pink house which is right on the river bank, there is a marvellous view up the valley to the towering, ivy-clad Dunhill Castle which itself has a long and colourful history.
Annestown is one of those places which is on the road to wonders on all sides but, for me, it is a place to stop and absorb a unique calm and nurturing of body and soul.
SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland 