14:00 09.09.23
The Green Holiday Cottages, 67 Aughnahoory Road, Kilkeel, Northern Ireland
https://greenholidaycottages.com
GPS: 54°04'29.2"N 5°59'32.8"W
what3words: ///newlyweds.monument.informer
We found each other.
And you have found us! Welcome to our website where we will share everything we can think of to help you as you prepare to join us on our wedding day.
🙏 RSVP if you plan to attend and your dietary preferences
here 🙏
If the form doesn't open or you have any other questions, please contact us either by email or by phone:
rutkaandtomas@gmail.com
Ruth: +447871273959
Tomáš: +447871341114
Our wedding ceremony, reception and evening party will take place at The Green, Kilkeel, Northern Ireland. We hope that you will join us for the full celebration, starting at 2pm. The ceremony will be followed by refreshments and dinner. The party will wrap up by 12pm. For guests staying off-site we ask that you plan ahead for a safe and quiet journey home (see below for tips).
We wish we could include all children but unfortunately are only able to invite the children of immediate family and those travelling from outside of Northern Ireland.
Colours & Comfort.
We are not planning to have a super formal wedding, wear something nice and comfortable.
Both the ceremony, reception and evening party will be in their own barns/buildings but for moving between them
it’s good to be ready for possible rain and windy weather.
Bring your dancing shoes because we'll be doing some céilí dancing at the party!
Your presence is the best gift of all.
We don't expect gifts, many of you will be travelling from far away and as times have been tough recently, your presence is gift enough.
If you would still like to share a small gift, we'd welcome contributions to furnish a house in a near future.
After the ceremony we will gather on the lawn to raise a glass and have a chat over some traybakes and a grazing table with nibbles and treats. If you are local and would like to contribute a small plate of traybakes we would gratefully accept. Give Ruth a call to confirm.
Around 6pm we will cross the river to the barn for a hog roast. Vegan and vegetarian alternatives are available, as will dairy free and gluten free options. For committed party-people in need of ‘a little something’, pizza will be available towards the end of the evening.
If you have any questions or concerns about food feel free to get in touch directly and don't forget to fill in the RSVP form. We will share a more detailed menu once we have finalised the menu with our caterer.
Drinks will be available from the on-site bar, including enticing options for those who prefer alcohol-free beverages.
We are pleased to be in a position to offer some free accommodation onsite in shared self-catering houses. Guests travelling from outside the UK will be prioritised. Secondary priority will be given to guests travelling from Great Britain.
If you are travelling from England, Scotland, Wales or outside of the UK, please RSVP and share your travel plans as soon as possible so that we can co-ordinate onsite accommodation.
If we are unable to offer you accommodation we will still do our best to help you find somewhere close, comfortable and within your budget. The nearest alternative accommodation is Hanna’s Close and other options can be found via booking.com and Airbnb.
There is no on-site shop at The Green. The nearest supermarket is Asda Kilkeel (about 20 minutes walk). Every house at The Green has a fridge and fully equipped kitchen.
There are a number of restaurants and cafes in Kilkeel: just walk towards the town centre and you will find most of them along the main road. Don’t worry if you can’t decide which one to go to, they are all good.
If you look for a good feed, we can recommend Cunningham Butchers, Food Hall, Bistro & Steak House (map).
Kilkeel is an important fishing port and indeed there are several fish and chips places. You won’t make a mistake with Pit Stop Fast Food (map).
Recently several restaurants and cafes closed and new opened and not all these changes made it to Google Maps. Therefore the best thing is to simply pop into the town and see what’s there.
The best way of travelling from outside of Ireland is to fly to Dublin airport and continue by bus to Kilkeel. Alternatively connections from Belfast City and Belfast International airports are possible too, but more prone to traffic and generally less straightforward. Below described are recommended ways of travel from these airports. For other journeys searching on Google Maps is the best starting point.
When taking local buses in Northern Ireland, in most cases (unless it’s from their starting point) you will have to wave at the driver to stop. All buses have an electronic information system that announces the next stop but in most cases you have to press a stop button for the bus to stop. Timetables mostly contain only the main stops but as long as you find the connection on Translink journey planner (https://www.translink.co.uk), the bus will go there.
The most straightforward connection:
We recommend buying tickets for X1 at least one week in advance (both for onward and return journeys) because the buses can get sold out (it happened to us when travelling from Kilkeel this year). If it happens it’s still possible to do the journey by public transport, but it’s more difficult, it takes much longer and it’s more expensive.
Even though Translink website claims that the online tickets can be only used for the bus selected during booking, the drivers will allow you to take any bus as long as there are free seats (personal experience, both for earlier and later buses).
The X1 bus stop in Dublin Airport is not well signposted. The bus goes from stand 11 which is confusingly in zone 13. When you enter the area of the bus station, cross two zebra crossings, turn right and walk around 50 meters.
The most straightforward connection:
Depending on your time of travel some of the ticket offices might be closed. In this case you can buy tickets on board from the driver (cash only).
If you fly to Belfast City and are in a hurry, it makes sense to take a taxi from Belfast City Airport (ValueCabs cars stand in front of the arrivals building). Ride to Europa Bus Centre should cost around £15.
When going from Belfast City Airport, Google Maps may suggest changing the buses at one of the stops in the city centre. It may save you some time but there are lots of bus stops in the area around City Hall so only do it if you are confident you can find the correct one.
There is plenty of free parking space on site. When you enter the driveway leading to the venue, follow the brown signs for The Green No’s 1-7.
The only accepted currency in Northern Ireland is the pound sterling (£) - euros are not accepted. The easiest way of paying for pretty much anything is by card (even if it was issued abroad). If you need cash (mainly for buses and taxis), you can withdraw it from an ATM.
When paying by card you might be given an option to pay in pound sterling or in the currency of your home country - choose pound sterling, in most cases that’s the cheaper option.
Banknotes in Northern Ireland are issued by several banks and have many different designs. Don’t worry if you see (for example) Bank of Ireland on the notes, they are valid pound sterling (and so are banknotes from England and Scotland).
Kilkeel town centre is easily reachable on foot (approx. 1 mile). Not all the streets going from the Green have pavements and if you walk after sunset we recommend wearing something reflective and use a torch. We do not suggest walking back to your accommodation in the dark after the wedding as local drivers can take bends on the winding roads at speed.
Inside Kilkeel there are three local bus lines but the service is infrequent and only runs during weekdays.
There are two bus lines going in and out Kilkeel: bus 37 to Newcastle and 39 to Newry. You can find their schedules on https://www.translink.co.uk (click Timetables and search Kilkeel). You can also search connections on the Translink website but the tickets can only be bought from the driver (cash only).
Bellow is the list of active taxi companies around Kilkeel. They are all cash only.
Getting around by car is the easiest option. If you intend to drive to the mountains to a start of a hike, make sure in advance there is a place to park, mountain roads are narrow and often don’t have too much space beside them.
A nice way of exploring the part of the Republic of Ireland just across the water is to sail there on a ferry. The boats go between Greencastle and Greenore and sail every hour. See website of Carlingford Lough Ferry for more information.
Mourne Mountains are walkable, offer excellent views and pretty much anywhere you go are beautiful. We have enough paper maps to lend. Alternatively you can download offline maps of Northern Ireland in the mobile app of mapy.cz. We know from experience they are very accurate and include almost all the paths, but be careful - if you run out of battery, you have no map.
For an easy walk we can recommend going to Blue Lough - from the nearest car park it’s just over 4 km one way with about 200 m elevation change.
If you fancy something longer, you may try to walk the entire length of Mourne Wall Challenge, about 30 km long circular walk around the inner part of the mountain range.
Just outside Kilkeel there is the Mourne Park - a beautiful ancient woodland suitable even for the littlest hikers.
Good source of information for planning hikes in the Mournes is walkni.com and visitmournemountains.co.uk.
Most of the coast around Kilkeel are beaches, some rocky, some with sand. We can particularly recommend going to Cranfield beach, it’s easily accessible and safe for swimming.
A little farther afield just outside Newcastle, Murlough beach provides a beautiful view of the mountains and it’s a nice place for a walk when visiting Newcastle.
The Green cooperates with Life Adventure, a company that among other things rent electric bicycles. They would be dropped off and picked up from The Green but pricing and other conditions are negotiated on individual basis.
😊 We are looking forward to welcoming you! 😊