18 October 2008 Before leaving we went to look at the pony and traps which give rides over the Gap and were then surrounded by about 50 school children who were on a 45 mile cycle expedition into the hills. The rest of the day was spent driving to Rosslare in the south east corner of Ireland from where we catch the ferry back home tomorrow. We were given a friendly welcome for the night at St Margarets Beach, a camp site near the ferry port. Although most of their facilities were closed they provided hard standing and an electric connection, [View Full Entry]

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17 October 2008 A brilliant last day in the West of Ireland. In continuing fine weather we woke to the glorious view over our bay and the Skelling Islands. After packing up we made a visit to Skellings Chocolate Co. to taste and buy some of their delicious sweets. Then it was a continuation of our trip around the peninsula up and down more passes and admiring the ever changing coastal and mountain views. We had lunch in the car park of Derrynane House, the home of Daniel O’Connell, an early Catholic emancipation campaigner. Afterwards we took a delightful walk through [View Full Entry]

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16 October 2008 Leaving Sandy Bay we headed back towards Anascaul in order to join the Ring of Kerry drive on the Iveragh Peninsula. The weather gradually improved and by the time we reached Valentia (of shipping forecast fame) Island it was warm and sunny. The Ring of Skelling took us round the island and passed the slate quarry and the point where the first successful transatlantic cable connection was made to Newfoundland in 1868. The scenery was some of the most impressive we have seen including views back to the Dingle Peninsula and over to the rocky Skelling Islands. Sadly, [View Full Entry]

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15 October 2008 The weather was still mixed, but we set out for our exploration of the Dingle Peninsula. We had intended to cross the Conor Pass, the highest road in Ireland, but the signs indicated the van was too wide and heavy so we retraced our steps and went to Dingle town on the main road. The weather cleared after lunch and we were able to really enjoy our drive around Slea Head, the western most part of Ireland, along narrow coastal roads sometimes cut into the side of the coastal hills. We had stupendous views of the Blasket Islands [View Full Entry]

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14 October 2008 We woke up to pouring rain and it continued for most of the day. As is usual on a wet day, we brought the blog up to date, then drove into the nearest town, Kilrush, and found an internet centre to publish the latest entries. We were now in the very south of Clare and caught a ferry across the River Shannon, which was surprisingly wide at this point, to Tarbet in County Kerry. Kerry is famous for its peninsulas, the most northern of which is the Dingle Peninsula. We drove there and after some difficulty found a [View Full Entry]

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13 October 2008 A long day which started with a visit to Kilfenora’s Cathederal and its twelfth century Dorty high cross. Then on to the 700 ft high Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s premier tourist spots. Although the cliffs are spectacular, we thought the area had been rather spoiled by the newly erected visitor centre and the attempt to restrict access to the areas with the best views. However with a lot of the other visitors we ignored the no access signs and had a pleasant cliff top walk away from most of the crowds. After lunch we continued southwards [View Full Entry]

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12 October 2008 The weather stayed fine and we continued south along the coast around Galway bay to the The Burren, a large area of hills with many square miles of limestone pavement dotted with ancient and medieval sites, several of which we visited. We spent the night in the car park of Vaughan’s pub in Kilfenora, a traditional music centre. In the evening went to a set dancing Ceili, but couldn’t join in as the dancers were all locals well versed in the fast steps and complicated moves. However the whole event was very enjoyable and the people very friendly [View Full Entry]

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11 October 2008 The morning dawned fine, we took the bikes off the van and they and us caught the ferry, which was surprisingly crowded, for the 45 minute trip to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. It’s very popular with cyclists, it being just about the right size to see a good proportion of the sights in a day. We started by taking the beautiful road that skirted the north coast and gave us a good view of all the stone walls which divide the whole of the island into very small fields. Our first stop was at the [View Full Entry]

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10 October 2008 The rain continued all night and the morning was dull and showery, so we went into Clifden which turned out to be a very attractive town. I updated the blog, we had had a very pleasant coffee stop in a pub and then moved on along the Connemara coat road which was supposed to give superb views, but because of the dull weather just appeared to be a very bleak landscape. We passed the memorial marking the spot where Alcock and Brown landed after their first transatlantic flight in 1919 and had a short stop at the pleasant [View Full Entry]

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9 October 2008 It was wet and windy all day. We headed towards Gleggan to try and find Mr Feeney’s field on the edge of the sea where had camped 30 years ago with the Halligans. The landlord of the local bar remembered him and gave us directions but we couln’t find the exact spot because of the wind and rain and new housing development. The owner of a closed campsite just outside Clifden took pity on us and allowed us to make an early stop when we assured her we didn’t need any services. [View Full Entry]

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