This post has already been read 320 times!
Random touring in Ireland
Not wanting to let the grass or weeds or as they are now known….hero plants…grow under our feet or the van, we are off travelling again.
We have been planning a trip to the Isle of Ireland however, it has been afflicted by the pandemic since 2019, but all blog things come to pass eventually!
You may have guessed its Wendy’s tome again, but I will be aided to no small degree by Lin!
To begin, we left the sunny climate of the South Coast and all was fine till we hit the M40….Rain.
Then we were entertained by a radio 4 programme featuring former Eurovision Song Contest winners and writers and the formula for success, apparently it’s all in the intro arrangement.
We were entertained by Dana, Sandie Shaw and Lulu all former winners for the U.K. and Ireland.
However the most disturbing feature were the dark deeds which robbed Cliff Richard of victory.
With virtually all voting done Cliff was leading by 4 votes from the Spanish entry…La , la ,la.
Then came the vote by Germany who gave 6 votes to Spain and none to Cliff.
It has been said that Cliff has never got over being pipped by the Spanish
entry , as there were rumours of threats /bribes by Generalissmo Franco to influence the juries! No Congratulations there! We too were outraged …but rain clearing again after joining the M 6 , cheered us and it continued in that vein till we hit Anglesey and suddenly we were enveloped in a blanket /duvet of fog.
Time to hunker down at a C.L (number 1984 Gorsgoch farm in handbook 2023/ 2024)and wait for a clearing, which came about 8 pm revealing lovely views.
May Day dawned and the sun shone .
We set off to South Stack convinced that we would see the Puffins . Well we saw Puffin Nuffin! Only puffing seen .. Lin and Lola climbing up the hundreds of steps from the light house where we had been assured of a siting.
However all not lost, we saw millions of guillimots and choughs.
Most unusually for a Bank holiday the weather was glorious and whilst I wandered around the coast with Phin Lin retired to the van with the little Precious Pets.
Holyhead mountain
Mind the gap!
Have you ever wondered what happened to them all…..Best place for an avocado bath?
And so after a grand day in Anglesey we made our way to the ferry where we were due to catch the 2am ferry, and so able to park at the port.
Loading time saw us drive straight onto the boat … no passport check for us or dogs and after an uneventful crossing drove straight off, with again no check on any passports.
We decided on a short day and as it turned out very short, arriving at an overnight stop at 7.00am.
Overnight stop Lowlands marina found (in Search for sites) County Kildare, home of the Irish National Horse Stud and known as the thoroughbred County. It is the home of the famous racecourse the Curragh, coming from the Gaelic word Cuirreach, meaning place of the running horse.
The Marina is located in a small village Robertstown.
The Grand Canal begins at the Grand Canal Dock at the River Liffey and continues through to the river Shannon and passes through Robertstown.
It is no longer used for commercial purposes , purely recreational.
Grand canal with hotel, no longer in use
Well this might “say utilised” but would say facilities are now sadly lacking!
Whilst it it said the canal is still used for recreational purposes I would say not by many in human form, but herons abound.
Seen in centre of village…. The original plan above AND the new one…..
The Irish Waterways system operates a scheme enabling camper vans to access water, grey waste and the thunder box emptying , all that is required is a waterways card of 10 or 20 units. To access the desired facility pop the card in the desired slot and there you go!
So leaving the delights of Killarney to the famous talking horse Mister Ed we travelled west to County Clare.
To be specific the cliffs of Kilkee.
Leaving the delights of the small town of Kilkee we headed on the “loop circle “of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Parking for the night at a small parking area overlooking wildness of sea and cliffs ( best appreciated photographically…to follow)
Day dawned….no rain…..and on to the lighthouse at Loop head and the sea thrift which abounded.
Continuing we came to Carrigaholt , a small village, but big enough to be the home of a naughty Jack Russell that proceeded to chase us , not out of town , but stopping us from leaving!
On the shore at Carrigaholt was a “Tower house”. See www.history Ireland.com
Heading down the coast we came upon Donny Trump’s golf resort. I had glanced at newspaper headlines when out shopping and had discovered the said Donny was in fact in situ.
Well, we had stopped for a drop of soup at Quilty a seaside hamlet when we were alerted to a heavy police presence.
Well I said to Linna it can’t be because I have brought a tin of Heinz Tomato soup into the E.U.that’s caused this.
With that 6 police outriders flashed by followed by a motor cavalcade……we thought it could only be Donny! ( off back to the USA to face the courts).
After the excitement of the soup….we then headed towards the Cliffs of Moher in foul weather….tipping it down . A bright spot in the grey and wet skies was a farmer offering 10 euro park for the night….snapped her hand off.
However my mood was further darkened when Lin, returning from a spin with the Precious Pets, informed me no dogs on the cliffs of Moher walk.
After an expletive outburst which ended in ‘well stuff their cliffs’ we decided to head towards the Burren.
A most wonderful place , allowing our precious ones on to the stunning vistas.
Photo montage illustrates better than my words…..
During our time on the Burren we used the free bus transfer from Corofin , where the Burren National park visiter centre is , to the trailhead.
Our driver was a delight and it is with regret we can’t remember his name so we will call him Francis as he seemed a great animal lover.
Recalling tales of the Burren he happened to mention ‘Braveheart’ was filmed there and went on to say he had spoken to Mel Gibson pointing out that the film was a “feckin” joke…. An Aussie , playing William Wallace, telling a story of Scotland, being filmed in Ireland.
Among our other conversations were the time he meet our late Queen / his grandad had driven the 2nd president of Ireland around in a carriage, and poteen , an illegal Irish sprit, was good for arthritis.
All said with great conviction .
So onwards back to the coast and a night stop with the most delightful view point over the Aran islands and Galway bay …. Just us .
Whilst in and around the Burren a constant companion was the song of cuckoos…our first of this year!
So onwards up the coast and a brisk walk on the beach at Fanore. Lin went one way with Gracie , I went another way with Lola and Phin.
Phin has a toy which he loves , basically a ball on a rope, called his whanger and he spent the next few hours chasing it
So with dogs exhausted
…we progressed to Ballyvaughan , a definite honey pot.
We spent the night at a Dolmen in the hills above Ballyvaughan just us in the car park.
This is a very popular spot with coach parties and before their arrival in the morning Lin grasped the moment to enjoy the Dolmen , unadulterated with humans.
Our onward journey northwardish… into Galway, bidding a fond farewell , Auf wiedersen etc to Clare.
Heading towards Galway city with great purpose to get
1. LPG ( not found in many places in Ireland, ) found at Texaco garage @ Oranmore
2. Replenish supplies Tesco/Lidl and attend to the necessaries.
A success !
So onward on the Wild Atlantic Way to a small village Spiddal .
An overnight stop at Spiddal in car park of Craft centre, parking is available at the pier but too hectic for us ….but we did avail ourselves of the water supply there. Craft centre well worth a visit! Purchases made!
Spiddal Harbour.
The sea trout and salmon river.
We continued on the wild Atlantic way ….we generally stop for a coffee break and in Phin’s case to keep an eye on the very large seagulls…
Lola wanting peace and quiet!
To say the weather we have experienced has been very up and down (quite a lot of down) is a bit of an understatement and today the weather excelled itself negatively!!!!!
We had found a night stop called Discovery Point, Derrigimlagh, the venue of the first transatlantic wireless transmission of Morse code, the brainchild of Irish / Italian Guglielmo Marconi.
There is a walk of a few K’s around the site detailing the history of the installation. Well worth a visit.
The walk passes several sites of active peat digging.
In 2011 the E.U. started dialogue with Ireland on the bog issue and extraction of peat.
The Irish government acted to stop cutting and have compensated peat cutters.
However extraction has continued and any action seems to have gone up in smoke with households using peat as an alternative to gas and electric to heat their homes.
See link www. amp.the guardian.com
Derrigimlagh was also the ‘landing site’ of the first non-stop transatlantic flight by John Alcock and Arthur Whitten- Brown. They departed from St Johns , Newfoundland taking 16 hours to reach Derrigimlagh.
I am glad to say that landing of aircraft has improved somewhat.
So our night stop at Kingstown small parking ….6 van conversions no facilities, however a view of small beach to Omey island and Inishturk and a sunset, a rare siting!
Tomorrow to Kylemore abbey
Arrived at the Abbey… us and many more in biblical proportions.
We have noticed there are a great many coaches of French school children visiting .
I seem to recall that visits to Britain have decreased due to the ˋword that should not be mentioned´.
We trundled around the grounds and the walled garden rewarded our effort to endure the rain.
We visited the Connemara national park visitor centre . There is a display , one of which showed the blanket bogs of the world. Ireland has the largest coverage in Europe, other areas being Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, Tasmania and Patagonia all fitting the conditions needed.
However one of the places indicated on the map was in Africa.
So a check on Mr Goggle revealed that in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 a previously unknown blanket bog was found….Who would have thought?!
One of the highlights of the west coast are the beaches and we enjoyed one at Lettergesh.
We didn’t overnight there but drove to the village of Leenaun, the only fiord in Ireland.
As previously mentioned the weather has been mixed and we wanted to have a walk in Letterfrack up Diamond hill .
The day dawned to sun and off and up we went.
To relax our muscles a few hours at the beach …..and a swim!
As we are now journeying north, we returned to Leenaun and after a pint (each) we settled down to watch the sunset.
