Coumeenoole Beach, Slea Head Drive, Dingle
Photo’s are here or you can just click on the photograph above.
Our 2 weeks exploring the Republic of Ireland had its ups and downs! It’s clearly a country with beautiful scenery and landscapes – the big question, if you’re planning a trip, is – will you be able to enjoy them at their best or will you spend 2 weeks in the rain?! 
1. County Galway
County Galway photos are here.
OK it rains … a lot … even in mid-August.
We were in County Galway for 5 nights and only saw a total of 10 minutes of fleeting sunshine over 3 (very short) periods. A lot of the time it was just grey and cloudy and miserable – and that’s if it wasn’t actually hoofing down!. Then suddenly there’d be a brightening in the sky and a shift to a milder autumnal drizzle which was ultimately followed by another 23 hours and 50 minutes of rain … Clearly no one comes here for the weather even in the middle of summer! Much of the time we were driving the Wild Atlantic Way throughout our explorations of the west coast of the country which is absolutely spectacular in the sunshine but much less so in the drizzle.
a. Galway town and its immediate coast. I know I was supposed to love Galway town because Geoff loved it when he was 20-something and went there with his friends to drink Guinness and party. On the surface it’s a vibrant town, full of life with brightly painted buildings and the streets are lined with cafes and pubs – but I didn’t love it and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink booze and it’s all about bars and pints of Guinness … or maybe it’s because I really belong in the great outdoors … perhaps it was just too over-crowded …. or maybe the heavy grey skies and the on/off drizzle didn’t show it in its best light. Anyway … we wandered around the market area, stopped for coffee and decided to call it a day with a drive out along the coast. First stop An Spidéal, which is a seaside village on Galway Bay with a very brightly colored arts village called An Ceardlann with potters, weavers and painters. We drove on to Carraroe for a walk at Tra na Doilin (otherwise known as Coral Strand Beach) which was very pretty – rocky, with a course coral sand beach and crystal clear water. There were wild flowers on the beach trail and heather covered the headlands. We were staying for our first 2 nights at Seabreeze Lodge in Salthill, a few miles outside of Galway which was very pleasant and just around the corner from an interesting (albeit modern) pub called Tom Sheridan’s in Knocknacarra which was confusing in that the exterior was clearly only about 20 years old but the interior looked much older. This is because it features interiors bought from old, traditional Irish pubs. The food was better than expected and Geoff was very happy because he was having his first Guinness in Ireland in 30-odd years. For those Guinness connoisseurs amongst you, it is a given that it should only be consumed in Ireland because it has the shortest travel time from Dublin. There is a famous saying in Dublin that Guinness tastes better the closer you are to the River Liffey in Dublin because the St James’s Gate Brewery sits on the south bank of the Liffey. Despite the urban myth – Guinness is not made from the dark brown waters of the River Liffey. Whatever the reasoning behind the benefits of drinking it in Ireland, Geoff certainly made up for lost time!
… or maybe it’s because I really belong in the great outdoors … perhaps it was just too over-crowded …. or maybe the heavy grey skies and the on/off drizzle didn’t show it in its best light. Anyway … we wandered around the market area, stopped for coffee and decided to call it a day with a drive out along the coast. First stop An Spidéal, which is a seaside village on Galway Bay with a very brightly colored arts village called An Ceardlann with potters, weavers and painters. We drove on to Carraroe for a walk at Tra na Doilin (otherwise known as Coral Strand Beach) which was very pretty – rocky, with a course coral sand beach and crystal clear water. There were wild flowers on the beach trail and heather covered the headlands. We were staying for our first 2 nights at Seabreeze Lodge in Salthill, a few miles outside of Galway which was very pleasant and just around the corner from an interesting (albeit modern) pub called Tom Sheridan’s in Knocknacarra which was confusing in that the exterior was clearly only about 20 years old but the interior looked much older. This is because it features interiors bought from old, traditional Irish pubs. The food was better than expected and Geoff was very happy because he was having his first Guinness in Ireland in 30-odd years. For those Guinness connoisseurs amongst you, it is a given that it should only be consumed in Ireland because it has the shortest travel time from Dublin. There is a famous saying in Dublin that Guinness tastes better the closer you are to the River Liffey in Dublin because the St James’s Gate Brewery sits on the south bank of the Liffey. Despite the urban myth – Guinness is not made from the dark brown waters of the River Liffey. Whatever the reasoning behind the benefits of drinking it in Ireland, Geoff certainly made up for lost time! Dinner the following evening at O’Grady’s on The Pier in Bearna, a few miles from our B&B was much higher end than Tom Sheridan’s Pub! Presumably the quality of its fish was also connected to the (even shorter) travel time from the harbor to the O’Grady’s kitchen which can’t have been more than 20 feet/6 meters! We didn’t have a bad meal in Ireland at all, if I’m honest, but O’Grady’s was a stand out amongst the others. Everyone else in Galway obviously knew this already because we had to grovel and beg for a table at the last minute and we only just squeaked in with a 5pm booking – normally hours too early for us, but absolutely worth it!
I have to say the food in Ireland is amazing – it’s not always easy when we travel because we don’t eat meat but the seafood is super fresh (as you’d expect) and pretty much every meal we had was either farm-to-table or sea-to-table, so we highly recommend it as a country for foodies even though I’d struggle to recommend it for its amenable climate!
b. Ballynahinch Castle! Despite the ongoing gloomy skies and frequent downpours, this region is quite beautiful in a wild and wind-blown way but the absolute highlight of Galway County for us was our stay at Ballynahinch Castle (albeit the only pebble-dashed castle I’ve ever seen!). The castle lies on extensive grounds just outside the town of Clifden on a 700-acre private estate with woodlands you could wander through and the beautiful Owenmore River. All this was set against the backdrop of the Twelve Bens mountain range. The building is fabulous and full of cozy sitting rooms and log fires for you to chill out in and read a book; the grounds are spectacular with a beautiful walled garden and pretty perennial flower borders; the food is amazing – the breakfast was the best I’ve ever had in any hotel and both the Fisherman’s Pub and the posh Owenmore Restaurant with its tables strategically positioned for glorious views down the Owenmore River were both excellent; the staff are impeccable in a casual, friendly and relaxed Irish way (which we really enjoyed).
Our afternoon of falconry provided by their resident falconer was superlative. I can’t resist an owl at the best of times – I was totally mesmerized every time she landed on my arm and turned her beautiful round face towards me! Instant love! She was an African Whitefaced Owl and if we weren’t staying for another week or so I’d have sneaked her into my hand luggage 
. He also showed us a hefty Harris Hawk whose size belied his light weight. We also met a tiny, cute little Merlin and a Gyr Peregrine which I didn’t look in the eyes quite as often as the owl! She was a wee bit more intimidating and was so fast and agile it was awe-inspiring. She is the fastest animal on Earth reaching top speeds of over 242 mph/389 kmh during a high-altitude hunting dive. We can attest to that fact! When she was carrying out her maneuvers and dive-bombing all around us we could feel her speed in the displaced air as she whooshed above our heads – an absolutely awesome creature!
. He also showed us a hefty Harris Hawk whose size belied his light weight. We also met a tiny, cute little Merlin and a Gyr Peregrine which I didn’t look in the eyes quite as often as the owl! She was a wee bit more intimidating and was so fast and agile it was awe-inspiring. She is the fastest animal on Earth reaching top speeds of over 242 mph/389 kmh during a high-altitude hunting dive. We can attest to that fact! When she was carrying out her maneuvers and dive-bombing all around us we could feel her speed in the displaced air as she whooshed above our heads – an absolutely awesome creature!Sadly, given it is such a beautiful place, the sun shone only once and that was just as we were leaving for our next destination so I ran around like a headless chicken snapping 11th hour photos so I could remember it in its absolute sun-drenched beauty. We would return to Ballynahinch Castle in a heartbeat!
c. As far as the Connemara region itself is concerned – we could see that it would be spectacular with its mountains, rivers, ribbon waterfalls cascading over mountainsides and coastal harbors. We also appreciated its very wild and untouched nature. We took a drive one day out to the pretty town of Clifden and the well-known Sky Drive route with views from the roadside over the coast. We also drove the renowned Connemara loop which took us through wilderness, past small harbors (such as Rosroe) with colorful fishing boats, nets drying on the banks and lobster pots. It was truly gorgeous. Highlights included a wild and windy Glassilaun Beach with turquoise waters and expanses of wild-flowers growing in clumps in the sand. Renvyle Beach glowed silver in the muted, cloudy light – clearly another Galway beauty. Lough Inagh is very much on the tour bus trail (as opposed to these other places) and for good reason. The views north up the lake and across the water to the mountains was glorious. We passed it several times but only saw it once in the sunshine when it came into its own (very briefly) before the clouds descended again (which they tend to do really rather quickly!). Pine Island and its famous roadside viewpoint are also very much on the beaten track and the difference between a sunny day and a gloomy day was almost literally the difference between night and day . Kylemore Abbey is most definitely on the tour bus route. It was manically busy when we pulled in – so I took a quick photo and we pulled out again preferring the solitude of the more off-the-beaten track locations. Roundstone village is apparently one of the prettiest villages in the region but, in all honesty, the towns and villages of Ireland are not as beautiful nor impressive architecturally as those in much of the English countryside – there were some exceptions of course as i’ll mention later – but overall I’d no more recommend Ireland for its appealing architecture than I would its weather!
. Kylemore Abbey is most definitely on the tour bus route. It was manically busy when we pulled in – so I took a quick photo and we pulled out again preferring the solitude of the more off-the-beaten track locations. Roundstone village is apparently one of the prettiest villages in the region but, in all honesty, the towns and villages of Ireland are not as beautiful nor impressive architecturally as those in much of the English countryside – there were some exceptions of course as i’ll mention later – but overall I’d no more recommend Ireland for its appealing architecture than I would its weather!2. County Sligo
County Sligo photos are here.
a. The region of Sligo was slightly sunnier which was a bonus because, although I had booked us into the top-rated hotel in town (The Sligo Park Hotel), it was absolutely awful. The sound insulation could have been much better – we were woken to the sound of a drunken brawl outside of our room at 2am and Geoff opened the door to see a woman in her underwear having a blazing row with a man so drunk he couldn’t stand. Very classy!! 
. The atmosphere of the town’s allegedly top hotel was more cheaply refurbished Hampton Inn on the side of the interstate than any top hotel we’ve ever stayed in .
. The atmosphere of the town’s allegedly top hotel was more cheaply refurbished Hampton Inn on the side of the interstate than any top hotel we’ve ever stayed in .b. Aside from the dubious quality of the accommodation, the beaches close to Sligo are fabulous – wide open with expansive views, rolling waves, and barely anyone else in sight other than the occasional surfer and the odd person actually swimming in the near freezing Atlantic (the locals must be very, very hardy) 
. The coastline was certainly varied enough to be interesting. We particularly loved the huge dunes and orange sand at Trawalua Strand (our favourite beach at that point of the trip) with Classiebawn Castle on the headland. It was just us, 2 surfers in the breakers and a couple of kids in the far distance sand-surfing down the dunes – absolutely spectacular and utterly peaceful.
. The coastline was certainly varied enough to be interesting. We particularly loved the huge dunes and orange sand at Trawalua Strand (our favourite beach at that point of the trip) with Classiebawn Castle on the headland. It was just us, 2 surfers in the breakers and a couple of kids in the far distance sand-surfing down the dunes – absolutely spectacular and utterly peaceful.c. We took a short hike struggling to stay upright in the 40 mph/64 kph gusts on the windy headlands of Aughris Head with its deadly crashing 15 feet/5 meter high waves below us. We walked along the flat rock sandstone layers of Mullaghmore Head (famous for its world-class big-wave surfing and its 30 feet+/9 meter+ high waves).
d. And as local beaches go, we liked the popular Sligo beach of Rosses Point for its dramatic cloud formations and reflections in the sand – it’s famous for surfing and its impressive backdrop of the imposing limestone table mountain of Benbulbin which looms in the distance.
e. We drove the short but famous Glenhiff Horseshoe Drive which clearly needed a better day than we had to appreciate it. Glencar Lough (lake) was worth a detour for its watery views and views towards Benbulbin Mountain.
f. We ate dinner at Fish and Bean Restaurant at the Yacht Club, mere steps from Rosses Point which was good. We also ate dinner at The Venue Bar and Restaurant in Strandhill which was very good with long distance views towards the sea. We stopped for excellent coffee, cake and lunch at Anois Coffee House in Cliffoney en route to Trawalua Strand on our day trip around the region.
g. Sligo Town itself on the Lough Gil river was worth a brief stop but generally we weren’t blown away by the towns and villages, as I’ve mentioned.
3. County Donegal
County Donegal photos are here.
Easily our favorite county in Ireland! We had a rare spectacularly sunny day to explore the region which really helped – it was a long day but needs must when the sun shines in a country where it rains 80% of the time .
.a. Northern Donegal beaches. We started early from Donegal town and stopped for mandatory coffee at a bizarre coffee hut – OLD Quarry Coffee just outside Letterkenny – which was actually exactly what it purported to be – a very small hut in a car park in an old quarry (the coffee was at least great!). County Donegal has fabulous beaches at the northernmost reaches of the county … you might mistake them for tropical due to their misleading appearance until you dip your finger in the water and it freezes solid . The countryside in County Donegal looks almost like a cross between the English Cornish coast (my favorite coastline in England) and the Yorkshire Dales – we absolutely loved it! Our drive north through the countryside and then back south again (we probably circumnavigated the entire county) was absolutely breathtakingly pretty. We took a walk at Ballymastocker Beach which was beautiful, backed by a headland covered in purple heather but Murder Hole Beach was the absolute highlight – golden sand, beautiful rocky outcrops to climb and bright, turquoise water. In the late afternoon sunlight it was remarkably peaceful especially given it’s only a 15 minute walk from a caravan park!
. The countryside in County Donegal looks almost like a cross between the English Cornish coast (my favorite coastline in England) and the Yorkshire Dales – we absolutely loved it! Our drive north through the countryside and then back south again (we probably circumnavigated the entire county) was absolutely breathtakingly pretty. We took a walk at Ballymastocker Beach which was beautiful, backed by a headland covered in purple heather but Murder Hole Beach was the absolute highlight – golden sand, beautiful rocky outcrops to climb and bright, turquoise water. In the late afternoon sunlight it was remarkably peaceful especially given it’s only a 15 minute walk from a caravan park!b. On the way home to our Airbnb we detoured to the pretty village of Ardara with its bright orange and pink painted buildings, cute shops and cafes. We had a remarkably good meal in a traditional Irish pub (Nancy’s Bar in Ardara) which has been in the family for 7 generations and over 200 years. We ate dinner in grandma’s front parlor! It was awesome sea-to-table fresh fish and we would highly recommend it if you are lucky enough to get a walk-in (by 7pm people were being turned away with at least an hour’s wait).
c. Donegal itself is a very attractive town (I think almost all of the pretty towns and villages must be in County Donegal ). Slieve League Cliffs are not too far away from Donegal town and visiting them was one of the reasons I had included County Donegal in our explorations at all. We only had one shot at it because we were only staying for 2 nights in Donegal. So we drove out there, parked up in the paying car park (there was no way we were going to take the free parking lot at the bottom of the hill at the Visitor Centre and double our miles of uphill slog!) and started the long drag up a steep hill to the official viewpoint. You might look at the photos and think – another perfect, sunny evening in Ireland! You’d be wrong … it was cold, cloudy and very, very windy at the summit. The forecast, however, was for the clouds to break and for reasonable sunset conditions – we just didn’t know when – or how long the break in the otherwise miserable grey skies would last. Let it never be said that I don’t struggle for my art … we stood for an hour and half in a bitterly cold 50 mph/80 kph gale at the top of the cliff waiting for the clouds to part – which they did – very briefly … I’m not sure it was worth the near hypothermia for the resulting shots but we endured it all the same. To warm up again we headed to the only Indian restaurant in town – Chandpur – where some might say we were lucky to get a table as a walk-in but I was highly dubious – the food was very odd to me as an expert on English/Indian curries .
). Slieve League Cliffs are not too far away from Donegal town and visiting them was one of the reasons I had included County Donegal in our explorations at all. We only had one shot at it because we were only staying for 2 nights in Donegal. So we drove out there, parked up in the paying car park (there was no way we were going to take the free parking lot at the bottom of the hill at the Visitor Centre and double our miles of uphill slog!) and started the long drag up a steep hill to the official viewpoint. You might look at the photos and think – another perfect, sunny evening in Ireland! You’d be wrong … it was cold, cloudy and very, very windy at the summit. The forecast, however, was for the clouds to break and for reasonable sunset conditions – we just didn’t know when – or how long the break in the otherwise miserable grey skies would last. Let it never be said that I don’t struggle for my art … we stood for an hour and half in a bitterly cold 50 mph/80 kph gale at the top of the cliff waiting for the clouds to part – which they did – very briefly … I’m not sure it was worth the near hypothermia for the resulting shots but we endured it all the same. To warm up again we headed to the only Indian restaurant in town – Chandpur – where some might say we were lucky to get a table as a walk-in but I was highly dubious – the food was very odd to me as an expert on English/Indian curries .Anyway, we really enjoyed Donegal County – it’s beautiful and if we returned to Ireland we would revisit it! Onwards south to County Clare via County Mayo …
4. County Mayo
We passed through County Mayo a couple of times en route north and south and gained the impression that perhaps it wasn’t one of the wealthier counties in the country. We had no plans to stop until we dropped south from Donegal heading to County Clare and were in need of an emergency coffee stop. I did a quick Google search in the car and found Cáfé le Chéile in the Knock Museum. It was all very bizarre! Geoff was none too impressed when we pulled up outside but the coffee and the cakes were good so he quit whining. It was actually quite a fascinating place. It turns out that I’d inadvertently directed us towards one of the holiest sites in the Catholic Church. Knock Shrine and Pilgrimage Centre (otherwise known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock) is the location where 15 villagers claimed to have witnessed the apparition of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Saint John the Evangelist on a rainy night in August 1879. The locals ranged in age from 5 to 74 and they all claimed to have watched the silent figures on a wall for 2 hours during which time the ground and the wall remained totally dry around them as the torrential rain poured down upon them. The (then) Archbishop of Tuam initiated an ecclesiastical Commission of Inquiry which culminated in depositions and deemed the reports to be trustworthy. Subsequently, a later Archbishop of Tuam approved the apparition allowing the site to become a place of public devotion. Pope John Paul II visited the site as a pilgrim in 1979 for its centenary and Pope Francis visited the Shrine in August 2018. He officially designated the Knock Shrine as an International Marian and Eucharistic Shrine in March 2021. There are, of course, many skeptics (no surprise that we’re amongst them) with various explanations such as collective mass delusions, fraud and optical illusions, but the fact remains that millions of devotees visit the shrine in County Mayo for prayer and healing every year and whichever way you look at it, it’s undoubtedly a massive money-spinner for the Catholic Church! Who knew when I was searching on Google for “best coffee near me now” that it would be a coffee stop with such a dramatic accompanying story!
5. County Clare
County Clare photos are here.
a. The Cliffs of Moher. The primary reason we were heading to County Clare was to see the Cliffs of Moher which transpired to be so much more touristy than I thought would ever have been possible. This isn’t some peaceful, clifftop stroll to watch the sunset – it’s a battle with hundreds of tourists from dozens of tour buses. It is a well-oiled money-making machine with cafes, and “The Cliffs of Moher 4D Experience” featuring a video with some half-hearted puffs of wind blowing through your hair. There were inapproriately-located viewing platforms (far too far back from the cliff edge to actually see much at all) and a narrow one-person wide dirt track to the north of the Cliffs which required you to do battle with members of every nation on earth all walking on different sides of the track and causing utter confusion. This, however, did at least lead to the best long-distance view of the cliffs so long as you were prepared to clamber up over a jagged stone ledge and fight your way across a short section of dirt cliff so that you could actually see the water and the cliffs. No doubt this was highly illegal (it was certainly pretty treacherous) but when in Rome we joined the vast number of noisy Italians at the cliff’s edge . We had intended to be there for the start of sunset but that was too late in the evening given our dinner reservations so we visited around 5pm and honestly we lost interest pretty quickly given the unappealing ambience and the noisy, chaotic crowds. Probably the most touristy and unimpressive experience of our 2 weeks in Ireland.
. We had intended to be there for the start of sunset but that was too late in the evening given our dinner reservations so we visited around 5pm and honestly we lost interest pretty quickly given the unappealing ambience and the noisy, chaotic crowds. Probably the most touristy and unimpressive experience of our 2 weeks in Ireland.b. Doolin. The neighboring village of Doolin where we were staying at the Fiddle and Bow Hotel is tiny and ranks as one of Ireland’s prettiest – mainly because of the short strip of brightly painted storefronts in Fischer Street and the yellow-painted Gus O’Connor’s Pub known (apparently worldwide) for its live, traditional Irish music sessions. The most iconic building is the candy-floss pink thatched cottage housing The Sweater Shop. This is a very popular village and most of the time it is crammed with people and cars. I took one look at it swamped with people eating ice-cream and cars backing up over the bridge and thought I’d never get a decent photo. As usual all we needed was a bit of patience – suddenly the tour group had passed and there was a break in the constant stream of traffic and I got my 2 or 3 uncluttered photos in the space of one minute!
c. The Fiddle and Bow pub was good and bad. Russell’s Seafood Bar was really good for dinner with amazing food but decidedly average for breakfast which was confusing. The more expensive modern double king rooms were very nice but were located over the noisy kitchen and bar. This wasn’t a problem when we went to bed but some bright spark employee decided it would be a great idea to start dragging wooden tables and chairs around the stone floor directly beneath us at 1am in preparation for breakfast. This went on until 2am. As a result of this we negotiated a free dinner and drinks for our second night (you can imagine we went to town with this offer – drinks, appetizers, snacks, lobster main courses, desserts and Irish coffees all around!). This is not a cheap hotel, in fact, it’s very, very overpriced. For our second night they couldn’t guarantee we wouldn’t be disturbed again so we chose to move to a different wing with a Queen and a Single only to discover (once we’d returned from our day out and our bags had been moved) that we’d changed centuries. Our first smart modern room was “2026” and our second room was “1986”. Not happy – hence the lobster dinners . To make matters worse, some idiot in the kitchen set off the fire alarm at 6am so we had yet another sleep-deprived night … honestly … you can’t make this stuff up .
. To make matters worse, some idiot in the kitchen set off the fire alarm at 6am so we had yet another sleep-deprived night … honestly … you can’t make this stuff up .d. Coastal walking at Kilkee Cliffs. Out and about in County Clare we drove south through pretty Doonbeg village and along the coast past Lahinch Beach to Kilkee Cliffs on the Wild Atlantic Way. We parked up on the clifftop and walked north on a rough trail over springy emerald green grass (much like walking bare-foot on a very thick 1970’s shag-pile carpet). The route continued across flat stone clifftops towards Diamond Rocks Cafe (another throwback to 1986 with sandwiches and cakes to match the era). We did the full 5 mile/8 km walk along the coast past spectacular rock formations and sheer cliffs. THIS is a proper clifftop walk to rival the touristy version – one where you could accidentally slip and kill yourself – one where you can peer over the grassy edge straight down into the clear, turquoise sea way below you – certainly nothing like the boring, sanitized walk at The Cliffs of Moher! The trail ends at the Diamond Rocks Cafe before you retrace your steps back uphill but one of the highlights of the walk is just steps from the beach and the cafe itself – the Duggerna Reef. This is an absolutely stunning geological formation featuring the Pollock Holes (a series of deep, natural rock pools carved into the sandstone rocks). At low tide you can paddle through them or cross narrow paths of rock to get from one to the other. Pristine and teeming with life. Loved it!
6. County Limerick
County Limerick photos are here.
We passed through the village of Adare heading south which is considered to be Ireland’s prettiest village. It might well be! It has cute thatched cottages and a beautiful church. It is very well-kept and pristine. It was worth a brief stop since we were in the area and I almost wished we’d tried harder to schedule a stay at Desmond Castle Adare.
7. County Kerry
County Kerry photos are here.
a. Dingle – absolutely beautiful! The town is very cute with lots of colorful buildings, shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. Certainly one of the prettiest we saw. We stayed at Greenmount House B&B, a short 5 minute walk to town. This Bed and Breakfast outshone everywhere we stayed except for Ballynahinch Castle. Pretty rooms with a view, amazing breakfasts and great staff – it’s a family run affair and we really enjoyed staying there. It was also walkable to a great restaurant – Land to Sea – where we were lucky enough to get reservations for both nights running. The owner is French and the food was superb.
b. Slea Head Drive is pretty famous on the Dingle Peninsula and it took us all day (at least 6 to 8 hours of aimless meandering and pottering) even though it’s only a 24 mile circular. It starts at Dingle town and meanders past Ventry Beach and Ventry Pier before the scenery becomes next-tier beautiful. We walked almost every beach we came across and hiked to the top of Dunmoor Head with its jagged rocks and incredible views over the Blasket Islands dotted in the Atlantic. The scenery is so stunning, it was used to film scenes for the movie “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017). The beaches are pristine and very peaceful if you set off early in the morning and beat the crowds on the circular route. It’s a breathtakingly gorgeous peninsula which at least rivaled County Donegal! It helped, of course, that the sun shone brightly all day so we really got to see it in its full glory. Our stops included Beal Ban Strand and the breathtaking view from Ceann Sratha viewpoint across the peninsula and coastline. Our favorite beaches were undoubtedly the sweep of golden sand backed by flower-covered cliffs at Coumeenoole Beach from where you also take the higher clifftop trail across Dunmoor Head; and Clogher Strand with its golden sand, turquoise water and backdrop of soft green cliffs which was also pretty perfect. Dunquin Head Pier with its steep, winding steps down to the harbor is renowned for its spectacular location. The views from above are also amazing. We stopped for coffee and snacks at The Blasket Centre which was shockingly over-priced. As the afternoon progressed Geoff decided he wanted to stop for a Guinness so we drove to Tigh TP Bar in Murreagh which we could see as a bright yellow building glinting in the sunshine from across the peninsula at Wine Strand. This was probably our best day in Ireland, not only for the unexpected full-on sunshine but also for the spectacular scenery.
c. Unfortunately, this is where the rest of the trip went drastically awry. We were supposed to head south to Killarney to visit the Ring of Kerry but the weather forecast was depressing. I know I’ve been droning on about the weather but generally it is abysmal – you might look at the photos and think we had plenty of sunny days – the reality is that in 2 weeks of exploring Ireland we had 2 full sunny days, one half day with some sun and a couple of short bursts of maybe an hour or so when I ran around like a headless chicken photographing everything in sight. This is not an easy way to enjoy a country – it’s frustrating and unpredictable and most of the time the forecast was entirely inaccurate in that it continually offered false hope and then failed to deliver. Ironically, the day we drove the Slea Head Drive was forecast to be torrential rain so we planned a lazy morning and didn’t bother setting an alarm. It wasn’t until 8.30am when we threw back the curtains that we discovered the peninsula was bathed in glorious sunshine – so we showered, rushed down to breakfast and were out the door at 9am to beat the crowds … not very relaxing but absolutely worth it in the end. Other days it was forecast to be nice (albeit cloudy) only to be drenched. The long story short is that we were booked to be in Ireland for 18 days but we simply couldn’t take any more miserable grey days. Frequently, the forecast across various apps were entirely contradictory which didn’t help but our last 4 days were universally forecast to be torrential misery. Anyway, we arrived in Killarney to an Airbnb we instantly hated with 4 days of stormy rain ahead of us so we bailed on it, changed our flights back to Florida to the following morning and cut our losses. We changed our booking at Kilkea Castle (which should have been our last night anyway en route to Dublin airport) and drove straight there!
8. County Kildare
County Kildare photos are here.
Kilkea Castle is one of Ireland’s oldest castles and, as planned, we spent our last night there (albeit several days early). The castle is a very imposing sight as you emerge from a sweeping avenue of trees. It has a spa and various restaurants and is clearly a popular wedding venue and golf resort. It dates back to 1180 and was originally constructed as a motte-and-bailey fortress for a Norman knight. Kilkea Castle passed into the control and ownership of the Fitzgerald family (the Earls of Kildare) in the 14th-century and the most notorious of the Earls was the 11th who fell out with the Tudor Crown and fled to Europe. Returning some time later to reclaim his title he became known as the “Wizard Earl” for dabbling in alchemy and the dark arts. It was within the Fitzgerald family for 700 years until they sold it in the 1960’s and it became a luxury hotel and golf resort. Now if I’m brutally honest, it didn’t quite match up to expectations! The building is fabulous – with an impressive bar and sitting room with a huge open fireplace and the garden is quite pretty with its maze of hedges and rose garden but the beds were unbelievably uncomfortable and the rooms were tiny for the price point. Breakfast was not particularly impressive and neither was the food at Hermione’s Restaurant which was overpriced for the quality, by a long way. Whilst we loved Ballynahinch Castle in Galway, we weren’t quite as enthralled with Kilkea Castle. It wins hands down on the kerb appeal and the impressive facade but Ballynahinch Castle takes all the prizes for the gorgeous grounds, the excellent food, the numerous and various cozy sitting rooms to relax in, and the friendly ambience. Picky perhaps … but just being honest!
Overall, we saw some very beautiful landscapes and coastal areas in Ireland (we didn’t visit Northern Ireland so we can’t comment on that region) and we’ve both been to Dublin many years ago so we didn’t feel the need to revisit it, although I’m sure it’s changed immeasurably. We are also acutely aware that (in bailing early) we’ve missed a couple of very famous and iconic regions – the Ring of Kerry and the Wicklow Mountains but, in our defense, the odds of the weather not being a total washout were not in our favor and there’s only so much drizzle a couple of outdoorsy Floridians can take before it’s time to head home to the Sunshine State for a critical top-up of Vitamin D .
.Loved it in part … not so much in others … but very glad we visited and very grateful for the beautiful places we did see in their best possible light!
Categories: Adare, An Spidéal, Ardara, Bearna, Carraroe, Clifden, Connemara, County Clare, County Donegal, County Galway, County Kerry, County Kildare, County Limerick, County Mayo, Dingle, Donegal, Doolin, Europe, Galway, Hiking, Republic of Ireland, Rosroe, Sligo, Travel