Blogs from County Clare, Ireland, Europe

After a good night's rest near Beagh Castle despite being right under the flight path of jets taking off from Shannon Airport just across the estuary, I set off towards Loop head. On the way I was hoping to visit the Flying Boat Museum in Foynes. After a couple of kilometres on lovely quiet back roads, I crossed the N69 to Askeaton for a look around. It's a very pretty little village with an old Abbey that got dissolved (a euphamism for destroyed) in the 16th century and the ruins of an old castle that was destroyed in the Cromwellian wars. After breakfast in Askeaton I had to go rejoin the N69 to do battle with the HGVs heading to the port at Foynes. Fortunately for me there was a hard shoulder of varying widths so ... read more

A relatively quiet day today. Our original plans had been to visit Galway City and the Connemara National Park, but we had a bit of a slow start and didn’t really fancy the 2 hour-ish drive over to the national park, so we had a look at the map and decided to head to the Cliffs of Moher. Susan took the first shift driving and off we went. The most exciting part of the trip was ascending Corkscrew Hill, a series of 4 big hairpin bends. The view at the top was pretty good, but would have been stunning if the weather had been sunny! The Cliffs of Moher were, well…cliffs. It’s fair to say that they are quite high (702 feet) and, as advertised, they’re vertical. They do have a bit of a story behind ... read more

Donderdag 5/9/2019 – Verplaatsing van Adare naar Doolin (125km) Doolin aan de Atlantische kust, vlakbij de 'Cliffs of Moher' die we vanop de camperplaats in de verte kunnen zien. Dus obligate stop aan de enorme parking van de Cliffs. 16€ voor 2 personen en je kan binnen en dan een heel stuk verder wandelen naar de diverse uitzichtspunten. Ruimte genoeg voor de massa toeristen die hier op en af lopen en massaal dezelfde foto's maken. Het lijkt niet direct zo, maar deze Cliffs zijn +200 meter hoog en 8 km's lang. Spectaculair zicht. Spijtig geen zon. Toch positief, want het regent niet. Onderweg hadden we eerder een afspraak voor een geleid bezoek aan het Bunratty Castle een prachtig Middeleeuws kasteel in zijn huidige vorm herbouwd rond 1425. Alle muren staan nog recht en de 4 torens ... read more

Day 08 Today was a travel day, moving from Galway Bay area, to Cobh. Galway Bay was our base for setting out and seeing some of the sights we wanted to see. Leaving Galway Bay, we went up to see the Cliffs of Moher, before turning and heading for Cobh. Today was mostly driving, which is why there are not as many pictures. We saw cows, sheep, horses and donkeys as well as stone walls, of various degrees of upkeep. In Cobh, we are going to begin searching for the Keating connection to Ireland, where we know some things, but want to fill in the gaps if we can. Using the Water’s Edge Hotel as our base while here. Dinner at the hotel, finish the blog entries and get caught up with today’s activities. It shall ... read more

Signs, Signs, everywhere are signs, Do this, don't do that! Why don't you read the signs! In Ireland, signs are key! whether you are driving, searching the street, or finding your way thru pub walls! Some of the Ireland countrysides, take a bit more courage than others. The Clifden to Doolin travel-day was our most challenging with a two hour-stop in Galway's Friday afternoon traffic. It was indeed a roadtrip day not to be forgotten anytime soon. Checkout some of the key signs on our journey.... read more