Day 1 (23rd June) Leaving Dublin for Galway felt a bit like home with rural scenes that would not be out of place on the Southern motorway to Hamilton. Very green and pastoral. Then some very narrow country lanes – vegetation 1-2m high right alongside the road- wild roses, ivy and other stuff, to find Clonmacnoise – relics of monastery founded in 6th century by St. Ciaran on the banks of the Shannon River. Beautiful yet stark ruins which tell the story of a successful community plundered many times by invaders over the centuries. Fine stone High Crosses still survive. It was absolutely freezing cold here with biting wind blowing up from the river. A very yummy lunch in Ballinasloe before heading to Galway. The rural villages are characterised by narrowish streets with 2 story buildings either side of the road – each often painted a variety of bold and/or pastel colours and with bright window boxes – pink petunais are a favourite! Galway, originally a walled medieval city, was bustling and showing signs of lots of development and growth. Picturesque drive along the seafront and round Galway Bay. Lots of ruins along the way everywhere – old castles, monuments and stone buildings and pretty little fishing villages like Kinvarra. Weather had improved greatly by now as we headed over the Burren – stunning and expansive rock and hill country – to Doolin and a B&B for the night.
Day2 (24th June) Doolin is a little coastal town that looks out to the 3 Arran Islands between 30 mins and 1 hour away by ferry. Again interesting rock formations and these lead on to the Cliffs of Moher – impressive coastal cliffs (facing Atlantic Ocean) and seabird nesting colonies www.cliffsofmoher.ie Great sunny weather here!! Then to Bunratty Castle (circa 1425) and Folk Park. Interesting but somewhat disappointing for 14 euros each and the weather packed it in again. Got caught in a major traffic jam in Limerick- some BIG football game – but did see King John’s castle as we passed. The Dingle Peninsula is rugged and scenic, windswept and pretty, littered with celtic ruins and also the westernmost point in Europe. Dingle town, gaily painted has more pubs/person than the rest of Ireland they say, and it was hard to find a coffeeshop! Fortunately the weather was sunny all along this part of the trip until we got back to the top of the peninsula and then it poured again. The rain did dull the views around the top of Killarney National Park and restrict the photo calls however the scenery was still beautiful with glimpses of lake, waterfalls, dripping evergreens and moss covered rocks and undergrowth. Stopped at a great little B&B in Kenmare.
Day 3 (June 25th) The big outing around the Ring of Kerry (or the Ivergah Peninsula) – misty rain turned to fine weather so we could see the beautiful blue-grey rocky hills and vistas and seascapes with the Skellig Islands in the background. Roads were pretty good and we didn’t meet the tour buses until later in the morning! Waterview at the bottom of the peninsula was a surprise with several golfcourses and lots of US flags flying (specially noted for Jim!). Fairly long afternoon drive through more country lanes, pretty villages and towns, many with developments funded by the EU. I continue to enjoy seeing the old castle ruins like Macroom where the town has grown around the old castle. Kinsale, a fishing village with some flash looking motor launches, and again with lots of narrow streets, brightly painted buildings and plenty of pubs and eateries provided Kat and I with a couple of hours of window shopping pleasure and we all ate well at the “White House”. Our B&B for the night a farmhouse at Ballinskittle just outside Kinsale.
Day 4 (June 26th) Another big Irish breakfast for Matt, Kat and I – including black and white pudding which the young ones have yet to sample! I quite like it and have had it twice now. Mark has been very good and only ate continental! Today was a big drive back to Dublin but great fine weather. Spent the morning in Cork – visited the English market and wandered the streets which are wide and open. Cork is the second biggest city in Ireland. Next stop was Waterford and yes – we all went to the Crystal factory and showroom and enjoyed the sparkles – some stunning stuff and some not to our taste or our budgets! Had a super cafe lunch in New Ross at the Chestnut- great coffee and smoothies too. A long drive then almost to Dublin to try and visit Powerscourt House and Gardens – we were 5 minutes late for the last ticket sales of the day – enjoyed the scenic drive in though – a bit disappointing but meant we got home a bit earlier! Scenery as we got closer to Dublin again more like NZ – have seen great contrasts from the rugged windswept coastal area to lush green pastoral areas with lots of old celtic ruins along the way. Haven’t covered it all by any means and yet to go north – another trip??
Comments
Comment by Mike on 2007-06-26 13:42:49 -0700
Wow, sounds quite the tour! Good to hear you’re getting a little bit of the cold there too. Spent four days in dunedin instead of tramping in the weekend because all of central otago got closed down from snow pretty much! Winter festival got mostly cancelled and so on. Sounds like the very scenic place glad to hear you’re having a great time!
