Hiking and Castles in Cashel

After viewing the Cliffs of Moher from the ferry and hearing all about the path along their edge, we knew that we were going to have to check it out. You can drive up to and pay to park at the tourist vista and welcome center, or you can go a little bit further and follow a dirt road to a private parking lot and hike through some fields to the trail head. Either way, it is awesome, as long as you make sure to walk along the cliff line and enjoy the amazing views. Tread carefully though, the winds on the cliffs are extremely powerful (you can lean into them and not fall over) and suddenly reverse directions. This makes the edge extra treacherous because one minute you are fighting against the wind to see over the edge and the next you are fighting against it to not go over the edge.  So beautiful. Honestly, the entire island is just gorgeous.

Not kidding about the winds

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

After out nice wind-enhanced hike along the cliffs, we began our slow trek from Doolin to Cashel. We avoided the main roads for the most part, choosing the smaller roads to be able to maximize viewing the country greenery, castles, abbeys, and ruins along the way. They are E V E R Y W H E R E. We came across Clare Castle in Ennis and absolutely had to jump out o the car. There are no signs posted for it, no gates or regulations, just just pull of the road and walk around. Ireland really has not figured out how to take advantage of tourist dollars....which is fantastic for our travel frugality, but terrible for their economy.

Clare Castle

Clare Castle

Enjoying the beauty and fresh air, a moment to absorb all of this life's awesomeness

Clare Castle

Clare Castle

Clare Castle

We stopped in Newmarket on Fergus for a nice lunch of ham-baked cabbage and sliced of red cheddar. So Irish and so incredibly delicious! We then ventured out to our location for the next 2 nights, a 15th century castle in the countryside of Cashel. Unfortunately, we go there too late for pictures, but no worries, the next post will let you fall in love with all of its beauty.
We had dinner at the castle, cooked by Margaret, the wife of the owner, and it was A M A Z I N G. Seriously, I can see why John (the owner and husband) was complaining that she was the cause of his extra weight. If she was feeding me on a daily basis...well, I would be extraordinarily fat and extraordinarily happy. We had dinner in the great chamber, a traditional Irish meal of warmed salad with tomato and bacon, Cashel bleu cheese, potted beef and onions, buttered leeks, amazing roasted and whipped potatoes, followed by apple crumble with cranberries and almonds topped with the most delicious whipped vanilla ice cream with cinnamon. Afterwards, John and Margaret joined us in front of the fire to enjoy a bottle of wine and a few hours of wonderful conversation. I am going to talk more about this castle in the next post, but the take home message that I want to start here and reiterate, STAY HERE IF YOU EVER GO TO IRELAND! You simple cannot miss this place.

Ireland: Aran Island and the Cliffs of Moher

Coast of Doolin, departure point for the ferry

Coast of Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher

There are many ferry companies to purchase from to get out to the Aran islands. Everywhere we looked stated to NOT buy directly from the ferries at the departure dock because they would rip you off. Well, when we were just scouting it out the day before, we absolutely got the best deal from there then. First, there were 4 different companies right next to each other selling and it was the off season. Though conversations with others on the ferry, we got the best deal by far…paying for both of our tickets for the price that some paid for one. I just recommend that you price shop once you get there.

Ahhh, pretty

Aran Islands: Island of Inisheer. You can only visit one island per day, so you will have to pick which one you are most interested in. You also have options to spend the night on any of the islands, with planning ahead and making sure you time the ferries appropriately. The ferries have to come in and depart based on the tides, so make sure you keep this in mind….the time of arrival and departure are "approximate" dependent on the weather and tide.

Lighthouse of Inisheer

The village on Inisheer

Immediately off the ferry you are greeted with many different option with which to navigate the island. A horse drawn carriage, a tractor drawn buggy, personal tour in a van, or bike rentals. If you want to see the entire island and absolutely everything is have to offer in the time that you have, you will need to pick one of these options (I would recommend the bikes), but we did not want to accomplish all of this and LOVE to see things by walking. So we skipped all of those options and headed on our merry way. We were the rare ones of the group, but I definitely do not feel that we missed out on anything. We definitely were able to move along some of the narrower paths that the buggies/wagons would not fit, and I don't see the van really cruising over the fields like we did. It also allowed us the freedom to stop in the shops and not be pressed for time by a tour leader. Pick your own path, this is what worked best for us.

Domain on the hill

Saint Caomhan's Church

Saint Caomhan's church

Saint Caomhan's church

Traversing the island

No where to dispose of rocks, so they built with them

O'Brien Fort

11th century Saint Gobnait's Church

Prior to our departure we stopped in the only pub for a pint and bowl of potato and leek soup. Perfect sustenance to continue on for the day.

Wishing that we could dive in the crystal clear water

Farewell Inisheer

After leaving Inisheer, we bypass the direct to Doolin and the ferry cruises down and back along the Cliffs of Moher. Make sure to buy the combined package that takes you to one of the islands AND brings you by the Cliffs. They are breathtakingly huge and beautiful. None of the pictures below even begin to capture their mass and amazingness.

Tower on the cliff

Cliffs of Moher

Waterfall over the cliffs

Amazing Ireland: Full First Day

We are here. We could stay here. Forever. The troubles of yesterday forgiven and forgotten. After a wonderful homemade breakfast, we spent some time meandering around more of Galway that was missed in our hunger fueled trek the night previous. It really is a beautiful little town.

Good Morning Galway

After taking in the glorious sites of Galway, we made a VERY slow and prolonged journey to Doolin, the next stop on our journey. It would typically be a little over an hour to drive from one to the other...well, with SO many awesome sights along the way, it took us almost 4. Ireland is breathtakingly beautiful, there are castle and abbey ruins everywhere, and then just overwhelming views that you just have to stop and enjoy. There are MANY pictures below, but not many words to use. Just amazingness that is meant to be savored.

Merlin's castle

Trail to the castle

Merlin's Castle

Merlin's Castle

Merlin's Castle

Cranmore Castle

Cranmore Castle

Cranmore Castle

Cranmore Castle

Picturesque Irelane

Dunguaire Castle

Dunguaire Castle

Hole in the wall, gives a small peak inside

Dunguaire Castle

Loving this life

Thousands of miles of these walls

Just checking it all out

Such a beautiful drive along the western coast...

Mini ponies!!!!!

Baby mini pony playing about, it was awesomely cute

Welcome to Doolin

We finally rolled into Doolin mid-afternoon. This is a small town primarily known for their ferries out to the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Mohar. It is very small, a couple of hotels, some quaint shops, and 3 pubs. We went and scouted out the ferries for the next day, and in asking what was recommended to do around town for the evening, we were told to look for a musician named Blackie. As fortune would have it, the pub that we stopped at for a drink had him and his band Foolin in Doolin slated to play that evening. This pub was within easy walking distance of where we were staying, so it was perfect. Unfortunately I cannot get the videos to upload, but they were AMAZING. Classic Irish music that will blow your mind. Check out this YouTube link that I found of them, just so you can have a glimpse. This was our entire evening. We sat right in front of them and enjoyed bantering with them between sets, and I even ended up selling their CDs (all of them) for them during intermission. The band invited us to join them the next evening. It was a fantastic time listening to a fantastic group.