The other day I wrote about trying as many of the modes of public transport available to me in Dublin.

Today I want to cover items 2 &18 from my ‘To Do’ list for 2013:

2. Take an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment trip.
18. “A Day In My Life” in photos.

Travelling by train was the mode of transport I chose.

Monday 22nd July, saw me up early and ready for the road good and early.

I decided to take a train from the local Station in Adamstown and see how far I could comfortably travel in one day.

Leaving the house at 09:32 hrs, I walked to the train station. The next train to Portlaoise was due at 09:36 hrs

Thirteen minutes to reach the train station in the distance. That makes for an easy stroll. 😀

Although my Northern Ireland Senior Smart card is valid for all public transport in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get a train ticket for access to and from station platforms. It also records the journeys we take in order to charge Translink, the Northern Ireland transport system for our usage.

The train on the right is the fast Inter City, My train is further back on the left hand track.

The wheels are turning and we are on our way.

The fields are well bleached by the sunshine of the past ten days.

View on the window across the carriage, I had it all to myself at that time of day. Anyone in a hurry went back to Dublin to catch the non stop Inter City train.

He did not get on the train, the next stop was the final destination for this train.

Now to find my way into town, have a cup of coffee and do a little exploring.

Shop mannequins display the clothes sold in a nearby shop. Trees lined the street and were rather a nuisance. They must have dropped a wide circle of sap during the night. My shoes literally stuck to the pavement every time I passed a tree. I heard the locals complaining too. It was like walking on moist glue.

I felt I had traveled back in time about fifty years. Nothing really changed since I accompanied my father on journeys across the country all those years ago. Time to head back to the station and catch the next train to Cork on the south coast.

Not sure why this one was so ‘blue’ I blame the train window! 😉

Engine No 36 is on Display at the entrance to Cork Kent Station. Built one hundred years before I was born, this old workhorse is looking well!

I took the bus to St Patrick Street, the main thoroughfare. It was buzzing and lively. I enjoyed my dander and kept going until I came to the end of the street.

I wonder if that is the Tower of St Anne’s Church, Shandon? Do I hear the famous bells? There is one way to find out…

I crossed the river Lee and up some steps!

I spoke to those two gentleman and they assured me the steps would lead me to the Shandon Bells. I took my time. It was a very long climb for knees that live in a bungalow!

Once at the top I followed the directions i was given.

Pity I didn’t meet this guy at the bottom of the hill. We spoke for a few minutes but a call to his phone brought word of a burglary at his home. He needed to rush off.

I finally found the clock tower.

The clock was made in 1847 by James Mangan, a Cork clock maker. It was at the request of Cork Corporation who paid for it then and to this day still maintain it. The clock is known locally as “The Four Faced Liar” because in days gone by, the four faces seldom showed the same time.

The four dials are painted on the stone of the tower with each face having a diameter of 15 feet 7 inches. The roman numerals are 3 inches high, made of timber and guilded. The minute hand is seven foot three inches from centre to tip.

Even more steps!

The wooden steps take us to where you can ring the famous bells.

This young family working the bell ropes had come all the way from Alaska. The ropes are numbered one to eight like the notes in a music scale. A book sits on a lectern with several simple recognizable tunes for people to play on the numbered ropes. The young girl was calling the numbers for her family to play. This time it was Happy Birthday and I discovered that they were playing it on the birthday of the little fellow in the middle.

These steps needed thinking about – narrow very steep and with only a rope for help. It was a “Will I, won’t I” moment…

Now you know my answer.

View from a narrow window looking at the North Cathedral.

Look at how steep those steps are.

There are five barrels attached through pulleys to five weights which provide the power for driving the clock. Five is unusual as three are the norm. The clock ran for four days and had to be wound up by hand twice a week. The weights have now been disconnected and small electric motors are attached to the barrels, keeping the clock wound and running.

The 14 foot pendulum of the clock hangs through the ceiling from the clock works on the floor above. It takes two seconds to swing from side to side. The total weight of the clock is in the region of five tonnes. I would not like the weight of that time on my arm! 😉

The clock bears an inscription:

The clock bears an inscription:

“Passenger measure your time for time is a measure of your being”

The eight bells were installed in 1752, a gift from Daniel Thresher. The played out across Shandon on 7th December for the marriage of Henry Harding and Catherine Dorman. They were being played as I passed, and although I was given ear protectors, I didn’t dally to try and photograph the moving clanging giants.

The eight bells weigh a total of six tonnes and each one has an inscription. They were cast at Rudhalls foundry in Gloucester, England.

The final steps to the viewing gallery were a little precarious for me so I cried off made the sensible decision not to climb any higher. I still had to work out how I was going to unclimb all those steps.

If you are curious the view, professional photos and more history can be found here.

It was time to head back to the station if I wanted to make it home in time for dinner. The journey home was short, my head was buzzing with all I seen and the wonderful people I spoke to on my day of adventure.

I had a wonderful welcome waiting for me when I got off the train at Adamstown: