Erin ~ Jerpoint Abbey, Ireland

 During our time in Ireland last year, my dear friend Erin and I set out from Kilkenny to Jerpoint Abbey for a bridal session- our only means of transport being the train. It was a cloudy morning to start, so we dressed in jeans and light jackets to keep warm. We finally reached the Thomastown train station, just outside of the quaint little Irish village. From the train station to the abbey was a 3.4km walk, and so we started our trek past fields of sheep, cows, and beautiful old architecture. Once we got to the town, the locals pointed us in the right direction towards the abbey and stated it was about 30 more minutes of walking. 

Hmm okay, that doesn't seem too bad- right? 

So we continued on, through the town and over the hills. We didn't even make it 5 minutes out of the town before the clouds in the sky had started to fade, and it all of a sudden became very hot. We had multiple bags slung over our shoulders, containing the dress, boquet, and of course our camera gear. We immediately regretted not bringing a lighter change of clothes!

After passing the first couple hills and houses outside of the town, we found the road became very narrow- just like in all those movies I watched growing up that had me wonder-struck with the uniqueness of this beautiful country. Often complimented with a small stone wall, the green shrubbery grew straight up beside the narrow winding roads, as if reaching for the sky's hand. This made walking beside the road next to impossible. So we minded ourselves as we walked briskly on the pavement- our excitement to explore our destination being the only thing keeping us going as sweat dripped down our backs. 

Once we arrived at Jerpoint Abbey, we immediately knew that our journey was well worth it. The 12th century ruins were magnificent. We quickly hopped from place to place, capturing the beauty of every archway, nook and cranny, and the results are stunning. We continued exploring until the lady from the information center came to inform us that it was closing time.

Now, remember how earlier I said that a 30 minute walk from the town wasn't that bad? Well- by the time we left the abbey it was 5 pm, and apparently rush hour is still a thing that happens on narrow country roads in Ireland. We stood outside of the ruins, trying to find the gaps in traffic and the courage to attempt the walk back.  After calling a taxi and being denied service that far away from Kilkenny, we started our return journey. We strategically ran zigzags across the road during traffic gaps to be able to get the best vantage points of oncoming traffic around the sharp corners, and when possible, we would slowly trudge our way through the thistles and brush on the sides of the road in attempts to not loose any time. Other times we would just wait for 5 minutes in the occasional pullout or driveway, watching traffic quickly pass by, giving us weird looks for carrying so many bags on our small beings. Only one guy on a bicycle slowed down and apologized for only having one seat on his bike- otherwise he would have helped us out. Thanks for the humor random cyclist, it helped make the journey much more tolerable! I got to admit though, I was quite thrilled with the dare-devilish moves that had to be done in order to make it back to Thomastown!

Finally, 2 hours later, after what was only supposed to be a 45 minute walk, we arrived back at the train station. We walked around looking for any sight of people or trains- nothing. Turns out we had missed the last train of the day by 5 minutes. So, we did what any other exhausted traveler would do- rested and ate granola bars. After we refueled on the snacks we had, we tried calling more taxi companies, only to be declined service again and again. Finally, an elderly cab driver answered the phone and was completely shocked to hear the other companies were refusing us service. After a short while later he arrived and drove us back the 20 minutes to Kilkenny, while telling us stories and informing us where live music would be playing that night, as it was also my birthday.  We spent the evening at a local pub eating, drinking and enjoying a local band called The Kilkenny's- they were amazing! To say the least, it was a great end to the adventurous day, and definitely set the bar high for the following two weeks of exploring Ireland!

Now if you're just as exhausted as me from reading all of that, or in my case reliving it- I hope you can kick back, relax, and enjoy some of my favourite images from Erin's stunning bridal shoot at Jerpoint Abbey! <3