#annascaulireland | Where Sasha Went

South Pole Inn – Annascaul, Ireland

November 21, 2018

On our evening in Annascaul, after all the dust settled…or rather after we washed off all the dust from the day we chose to eat dinner at the South Pole Inn. There may have been other places to eat in town, honestly we didn’t even check. We just knew that this was the place we were going to eat.

Opened by Tom Crean and his wife Ellen around the 1920s. The pub is small and cozy, once again exactly what one would expect from an Irish Pub. Stone walls, big fire place, small wooden bar and a handful of tables. The interior is filled to the brim with information and memorbelia from Tom Crean’s life. While we were waiting for food I of course had to pick through the stack of books on the mantel.

The meal was exceptional as all of them were. We had a mix of food, curry, fish, pasta, chicken. It was all amazing. The service was quick, we lingered in the cozy atmosphere and never once felt like we were pressured to vacate even though people continued to stream in through the doors all night. Every one chatted merrily and enjoying their time. Including the baby on the floor by the fire and the toddler in the window box. It was clearly a neighbor hood place, and what a wonderful neighborhood to be in.

Hanafin’s Pub – Annascaul, Ireland

November 14, 2018

Our first stop in Annascaul was Hanafin’s Pub. And when I say first stop I mean, we didn’t even change. We dropped our packs at our inn, changed out shoes and popped next door for celebratory drinks.

I unfortunately did not get the name of the bar tender and owner while we were there. I wish I had so I could thank him personally for his hospitality and stories. But either way, if you find yourself in the area make sure to pop in for a drink and tell him hello. As with every one we found in the area, the people we warm, the pub was charming and the drinks were perfect.

We sat in the cozy little pub for a few hours, drinking and chatting with the owner. He gave our group suggestions for after our hike was over, driving directions, hours and various places to visit. He told us colorful stories of locals, like one fellow who brings in a crop of potatoes every year to trade for his drinking allowance.
He explained to us how peat farming worked and pointed out that was how he was heating the bar (yes it was chilly enough that night for heating). We had walked past a number of farms earlier that day and just didn’t realize what it was at the time.
He introduced us to the local sport of hurling. The Annascaul team was playing on the Irish language tv channel in some sort of playoff tournament. The sport was fascinating and so much fun to watch. If we had it on tv here I might be tempted to take up watching sports for the first time in my life.

The Old Anchor Inn B&B – Annascaul, Ireland

November 7, 2018

Our third night was spent at The Old Anchor Inn B&B in Annascaul. It was a very lovely little place, as it turns out all of our locations were quite nice. Once again when we showed up our bags were waiting for us and the owner was ready to hand off our keys and let us settle in.

I was so tired I forgot to take pictures, but I did manage to snap this shot while I was laying on my bed contemplating if my blistered feet could handle another day. None the less I promise that the place was lovely, very clean and simple. Offering up Wi-Fi service once again, tv’s, very cozy bedding and the typical tea and coffee service in each room.
The main floor of the b&b was a dining room which looked to serve up food to the public for lunch and a lounge. All the rooms were up a flight of stairs. Ours faced out onto the street we had just walked down and a house with a sweet little yard. Which turned out at 5am to be not a yard but a cow field as evidence by the very hungry and very noisy cows that woke me up trying to eat the leaves off the apple trees that were growing next to said house.
The evening we checked in we made our breakfast order, which had been fairly typical practice thus far. We hit the pub next door for a bit, then came back and cleaned up for dinner. I had to make the hard choice to not hike the next day and called our tour company to arrange a ride for me the next day. Then after dinner, which went rather late since we were having so much fun at the South Pole Inn, we all went to sleep.
The next moring after my cow alarm I got dressed, met everyone for breakfast, packed up and then hit the streets of Annascaul to explore. As cute and charming a town as it was and as much nightlife as it seemed to have it wasn’t large enough to keep me occupied for the few hours I had so I returned to the b&b where the owner let me sit in the lounge and wait for my ride.

Annascaul Ireland

October 31, 2018

Annascaul Ireland is a very small village, it appears somewhere in the range of 300 individuals make the town their home. It has a church, two grocery stores a number of inns and pubs as well as a coffee shop and art gallery which I sadly didn’t make it in due to the hours we were in the village.
Annascaul is however most known for its famous former resident Tom Crean. Tom Crean was a Antarctic explorer who was born near Annascaul in 1877. After his many expeditions around the world he returned to the small village to open The South Pole Inn with his wife in the 1920s.

Annascaul was also where the sculptor Jerome Connar was born, though he emigrated to the United States when he was quite young. Jerome Connar is known for a number of monuments in Washington DC, including Nuns of the Battlefield. He is also responsible for the memorial of Tom Crean in the Annascaul public park.

I was injured out for day three of hiking so I could to explore the whole of the village while I waited for my ride. Which didn’t take long. The main street is probably only a half a mile long and like most things in Europe the stores didn’t open until much later than I was there. But despite the size, it was one of my favorite stops. Small and quiet with of course the kindest people imaginable. While there isn’t a lot to do here, if you find yourself in the area it is worth a stop in.