SUNDAY 27TH - We have travelled around the Dingle Peninsular today which I think was more spectacular than Beara. There were some really nice coastal views, although can’t say the beach was as good as Shelly however certainly pretty with nice cliffs around them. There has been loads of ancient and medieval ruins to look at. It was really only a long mornings drive around and we were back to Dingle in time for a late lunch. We discovered Seafood Chowder today. Yummy. We then continued our drive north and finished up at Bunratty, probably more famous for the ‘Durty Nelly’s’ pub then anything else. It was packed when we went there late this evening. Top image is Ian climbing to the top of a hill for a bit of exercise.
MONDAY – Our first stop today was at Craggaunowen where there is a restored Castle and reconstruction of earlier forms of housing from pre-historic to 6th Century periods. I wanted to have a look at some Lake houses that were there. It was raining gently so didn’t spend a lot of time there. Continued on towards Doolin and had lunch along the way. We have been seeing Bacon and Cabbage on the menu everywhere however we actually saw the real thing and decided to try this national dish and it wasn’t bad. Ian saw a little train steaming up near Kilrush and stopped to take a photo to discover it was about to do a short trip. He loves steam trains so hopped on. It only puffed up about 2 miles but he enjoyed it. The spokesman for the train museum was a character. His accent was very strong but he told some interesting tales. When we arrived at Kilkee the cloud was so thick down on to the ground that we could barely see 50 metres however as we drove around the coast it cleared and by the time we arrived at Doolin it was a lovely clear evening.
TUESDAY – The main reason to stay at Doolin was for me to go across to the Aran Islands by ferry. Ian has no sea legs at all so he stayed and did some walking around the Cliffs of Moher. I had a lovely day on the small Inishere Island which is pretty much the same as it was 100 years ago and the least commercial one of the three Aran Islands. On the way back we cruised around the bottom of the Cliffs of Moher which are really fantastic. Very rugged and high. The birdlife here is prolific. (Tried a Guiness today after my walk around the island. It wasn't bad.
WEDNESDAY - We spent a lovely day today amongst wild flowers growing amongst the limestone rocks on The Burren. We called into a Perfumery that use these wild flowers to concoct some lovely fragrances. The small wild orchids are just starting to flower. They are so fragile looking amongst the rock. We had nice weather this morning however this afternoon the clouds turned dark and by the time we arrived at Leenane where we planned to stay it was very wet. Each time we travel we alway manage to pick one lot of accommodation from hell and this is it. When we arrived a young girl showed us to our room - she was having trouble speaking English and we discovered she was a student from the Czec Republic on a working holiday running the place. It was old, very cramped and not really very clean but it was dry and warm. Ian went down to ask if the heaters could be turned down but she didn't know how and told him "man back tonight". Obviously the man came back because all of a sudden the room was cold - heaters off.
THURSDAY - The rain continued all night and the wind blew and rattled the old windows very well. Miss Manuel managed to make the B&B another Faulty Towers this morning.
We went down to breakfast and she was in a flap. She said we had to sit in sitting room and wait - she could only serve one table a a time. We did as we were told till told to go to dining room. Breakfast was another laugh - lots of raised eyebrows. When we were leaving she told us 'wind so bad tomorrow and did not sleep tonight'. Poor kid, bet she is being paid pittance. It was still very overcast but we decided to stick with our plans and do the Coonemara mountains today. This is a fantastic mountain range on the west and runs down to the Atlantic. Lots of great valleys, lakes and the only fjord in Ireland. Would have been great to have a sunny day however we are pleased we made the effort. After we came out of the Park we drove towards the centre of the country and tonight we are at Carrick on Shannon. It is raining lightly again but much more pleasant than last night.
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