Balrothery lies just beyond even my willing walking distance, at 2.5km from the previous pub; but the frequently scheduled, and Leap accepting, Bus Éireann 101 service connects the two. With headways of as little as 20 minutes, this should have been an easy method to connect between the pubs.
It wasn't.
Multiple buses were no-shows; with Bus Éireanns Twitter claiming that the company was unable to mark buses as cancelled on RTPI (I used to work in CIÉ and can confirm this is a lie); directing me to their own website where apparently the service cancellations would be listed.
They weren't.
The buses in use - when one turned up - look great, but are also absolutely horrible to enter and exit for those of abnormal height; with a downstairs cabin that is significantly below 2m in height.
I eventually got to the pub, very pissed off with the entire experience. Thankfully, the pub is quite nice.
The pub was set up for floor service of food, but I was directed to sit where I wanted. On ordering a Beamish, the barman expressed his desire that more people would drink it as it might quell Diageo's desire for constant price increases, the latest at the time having been announced a few days earlier.
It was a relatively nice day, but the outdoor seats I noticed were those facing the carpark, not the best to sit in - there's photos online of a much nicer set that I assume are out the back somewhere. However, the traditionally looking lounge was a more than sufficient place to wait.
I timed my pints here to the scheduled time of another 101 bus; heading out when it was due... and it didn't show up. Of course. The next one, ~25mins later, did - I'd have much preferred another pint than standing in a bus shelter during that time!
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