4th June - Heading for the Emerald Isle
A leisurely late flight to
Dublin from
Bournemouth on a warm evening and we were soon ensconced in the
Crown Plaza and ready for an early night. Quite a smart Hotel, could be anywhere of course.
5th June - Crossing the Island
Next morning a very good Birthday Breakfast made a great start to the day. We had to pick up our Hire Car so it was back to the Airport and a long queue at
Europcar. A large number of American tourists had just flown in. Eventually we were shuttled to the depot to pick up our lovely little car, a
Hybrid Yaris. TW likes to fully inspect the car and photograph its most intimate details but eventually we were on our way, heading West towards
Lahinch on the West Coast.
The roads are pretty good but we had to pass through two conventional 'pay at the booth' tolls and one camera operated electronic toll. It was a 'live now pay later' on a website, just hoping we got it right!
Our Accomodation in Lahinch was great. It was an annex next to a youngish couples home. It definitely suited us. We took a wander into town, about 15 minutes away. It was heaving as it was a Bank Holiday. Our hosts had given us some good tips on places to go and they recommended the
Lahinch Golf Club. We tried to book for Dinner later on but they said it was too busy. However we could eat early! We opted for an early Fish and Chip Dinner and, in my case, a Birthday
Guinness. Lovely!
This was the first of several Golf Course visits on our trip. Good friendly places with fair prices and great views.
6th June - Tour De Clare
Great weather and a super day to rent e-bikes. We arranged for them to be delivered to our digs by a friendly chap from
Doolin. TW had a decent bike with a
Bosch engine. Mine was a bit basic. The motor was built into the front wheel and it definitely struggled on the hills as we made our way to Doolin and back. Yours truly was somewhat in the dog-house at one point when my planned cycle route became a difficult cycle walk on a very rough farm track. TW claimed to have seen snake poo on the trail which I said was impossible as this was Ireland and
St. Patrick had seen them off. She remains unconvinced. We had a pleasant lunch of
Irish Stew in a Doolin Pub before heading back to Lahinch on a circular route.
We stayed on the roads for the return. They were inclined to be steep but scenic. We were chased by horses at one point but made it home safely. Dinner was set for us at the Lahinch Golf Club. We went by bike and had another pleasant evening. We hadn't realised previously how prestigious and historic the course is. It's one of the top Links courses in the world but, despite that, the Club House is friendly and the food is pretty good.
Our bike man picked up up our steeds at 9pm so we made good use of our day hire.
7th June - Dolphin Day
We jumped in the Yaris for a little tour down the Coast. Our favourite stop was at
Whitestrand. It has a lovely Bay and we walked North along the Coastal Path for some distance. We were so lucky with the weather. It was sunny with a cooling breeze. Everyone told us the weather was exceptional as it normally rains a lot! The scenery was great and we delighted in watching a dolphin that seemed to enjoy playing with the locals. In the bay it chased canoeists but, further round the coast, a paddle boarder in a bikini was its main attraction. We watched it for quite a while, the dolphin that is!
After 3 nights at Lahinch it was time time to pack up and head North to
Connemara.
A nice quiet road until we hit
Galway City where we crawled our way through. Galway looks modern and prosperous. Our destination was the small town of Oughterard about 25km North West. We decided to stop for Lunch at a Restaurant just short of our next home. Turns out the place we picked was the
Oughterard Golf Club. Looked a nice course, not a seaside links this time. Very green with lots of trees. The local golfers were chatty and friendly and we had a good lunch with a great view. We then pushed on to our new digs,
Gem in Connemara, down Pier Road. A very nice Lakeside property although we could not see
Lough Corrib from our Apartment. Quite a few bugs around! Our Apartment was nice and well equipped but expensive. Fun seeing the animals and it was a pleasant walk into town.
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| Puppy Siesta |
The owner bred dogs and a new litter of puppies was on hand. TW was allowed to hold one. A first for TW and both her, and the little doggie, found it a bit stressful. We had dinner at
Greenways in the village. Good food but a bit pricey.
We were proper tourists today and headed for the local attraction Kylemore Abbey. Definitely on the 'Circuit'! We had a good walk around and it was a very pleasant excursion. It is supposed to be the home of an Order of
Benedictine Nuns - but there were none to be seen! The food was nothing to shout about.
On the way there we had a pit-stop at the
Misunderstood Heron. Quite a famous food truck in these parts and well worth a stop. Coffee and Cake with a nice view of an Irish Fjord -
Killary Fjord. The scenic drive was probably the highlight of the day. We completed a long circuit of Connemara with a visit to
Clifton on the Coast.
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| The Misunderstood Heron |
June 10th
On our final full day in Ireland we headed South to the Northern side of
Galway Bay. We had a pleasant seaside stroll in the town of
Spiddal. It was bit of a dull day but we wandered a while with a friendly local married to a Yorkshire lass and then went for a coffee in the
Ronda Coffee Shop on the Main Street. We had a pleasant chat with the owner of this recently expanded enterprise. Quite a lot of Gaelic is spoken around the area, we spoke English.
We were recommended to have lunch further west at
Pota. It was packed on this rainy Saturday so we had to sit outside. The food was interesting, not really to our taste, but at least we did not get wet. After lunch we headed west along the rugged coastline. Lots of little islands and causeways. It would be a fine area to cycle around. Time to head back to Oughterard and Dinner at the local Pub,
Powers Thatch. Fish and Chips with a Guinness, lovely! Powers Thatch is a traditional well run pub and highly recommended.
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| Last Supper in Oughterard |
