We were on the road at am in pouring rain. That was a good start for our day of mainly outdoor activities. But hey, it is Ireland. ?
Our first stop for the morning was in Kinvara, and Dunguaire Castle, a ring castle built in 1520 on the site of a stone circle. So it automatically had me in. ? Strictly speaking it wasn’t a castle, but rather a “Tower House”, a fortified home built as a fashionable residence for a gentleman, or strong farmer. It fell into disrepair until 1924 when a series of owners restored it to something like its original form. It is now used as a tourist, sight seeing attraction by day and a historically themed dinner and show venue at night. They have recreated the rooms on 2nd and 3rd floors as they may have been in the 1500-1600’s, which was interesting, and the views from the top of the tower over the surrounding districts were great. Luckily the rain stopped while we had this stop off and we got to walk around the “castle”, it also meant we could get a few pics of the “castle” from a distance.
Martin drove us into the village and showed us the locally designed boats that were unique to this area and Galway bay, they are called “Hookers”. They were/are used to transport heavy loads across the bay, like turf/bog.
Our drive took us past the factory/shop of Hazel Mountain Chocolate, of course we had to call in. We stood and watched a guy making chocolates for a while, it reminded us of Haigh’s Chocolates at home, handmade chocolates. ? There weren’t any samples to be had but somehow we left with a good supply!
Our next stop was Poulnabrone dolmen, a single chamber megalithic tomb, dating back to around 3300 years BC, and situated on one of the most desolate and highest points in the region. Today it comprises 3 standing stones that are holding up a single horizontal cap stone. There are numerous other stones lying around the standing structure that indicate it was a much more complex building when first constructed. It was an earth mounded structure but over the years the dirt washed off. Revealing the stone work. While the main chamber points north and the capping stone is aligned east/west there doesn’t appear that it was used for any other purpose than a burial chamber. Very interesting all the same. The rain held off until we were almost finished, when it decided to pour down! Luckily we didn’t get too wet. ?
There were some other caves to look at in the area, but after a short discussion we passed on them as they all would probably have been full of tourists from all the coaches we had seen. That meant we missed out on going to the Doolin Caves and seeing the largest stalactite in Europe. The “Great Stalactite”, a 7.2m free hanging monster.
We then went to Ballyvaughan for lunch at Monks. We both had a delicious bowl of seafood chowder. Deb has been enjoying seafood chowder all around Ireland.
Next we called into Fanore Beach, a popular surfing beach in this area. The swell was low and the winds onshore, leading to little and very choppy surf. But there were quite a few brave souls in the water and on the sand, most were taking part in a surf school. I was amused by the 3 lifeguards on duty all crowded together in a small observation hut trying to keep warm!
A bit further south we stopped at The Burren, the largest limestone area in Europe, stretching over 250km squared. The Irish for Burren is “Boirann” and means rocky area. That’s a bit of an understatement, this place was like something out of a scifi movie, a barren desolate plain of rocks almost as far as the eye could see with no trees and very little vegetation at all. On closer inspection there were plants growing in the narrow crevices between the rocks. There were quite a few small wild flowers and to Martin’s surprise a small but very healthy crop of Sloe Berries. All Deb wanted was a gin to put the berries in!
A bit further south and we left the limestone rocks for Hazelnut forests. There are so many hazelnut trees in this area. We hadn’t seen any until a day or two ago and now they are everywhere.
We then headed to the famous Cliffs of Moher, they run for about 14km along the coast of County Clare and rise to a very impressive 120m above the ocean, and they are steep, make that vertical in most places. Martin dropped us off near the visitors centre and we walked along the cliff top for about 1.5km. It rained for a few minutes as we walked towards the cliffs then stopped. The cliffs are simply awesome, their height and sheer faces are unbelievable. As you might expect at Ireland’s most visited tourist spot, there were hoards of people there, but mostly confined to the easier spots to get to, as soon as the paths narrowed and got muddy the numbers declined drastically and it was much more pleasant. The views changed every 50m or so, so dramatic. It was a really enjoyable experience and walk. As we got into the car the rain started again.
A little further south we stopped at the site of St Bridid’s Well and O’Brien’s Monument. St Bridid’s Well, steeped in pagan roots, is a popular pilgrimage place, it’s free flowing waters are said to have healing properties. I had a look inside the tunnel leading to the point where the spring flows, it reminded me of a religious version of an outback pub. There was a random collection of religious beads, statues, pictures, notes, etc plastered all over the inside of the cave. A strange / odd place. Right next to the Well was O’Brien’s Monument, a doric column topped with an urn, built and paid for by Cornelius O’Brien, a parliamentarian of the 1800’s and the mastermind behind the development and commercialisation of the Cliffs of Moher as a tourist attraction.
From there, a bit further south saw us at Lahinch Beach, another popular surfing spot, but also known for a time when the small village was pounded by huge oceans and waves in January 2014. It’s worth having a look on YouTube.
From there it was a short drive to our accommodation at Spanish Point. Spanish Point got it’s name from a disaster that hit an invading Spanish Armada along this coastline in 1588. There is just so much history here, it is literally everywhere you look, absolutely fascinating.
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