Blogs from Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland, Europe

Ireland the North 2. Day 5 Ballina Not much coastline today but a venture through cattle country with green grass. Starting off through the colourful town of Westport a climb was encountered before heading for Castlebar the country way and then an excellent cycle path into town alongside the main road. A bit early for us but we decided to have a coffee and a tiny piece of cake, just in case. As we got onto the Turlough Greenway we met Bill coming towards us on his borrowed e-bike with a big smile on his face. The Greenway has a sharp turn followed by a steep slope at the Turlough end. Despite my warnings this caught a few out and one lady toppled over resulting in a grazed leg and a bit of the red stuff ... read more

T-shirt weather greeted us so we delayed our departure from Donegal to 'go-have-another-look-round'. Beautiful place. Made our way through a few countryside tracks to the beach. Tide was out and no-one was around. Walked through the dunes to feel the windswept grasses. Back on the road we passed through beautiful (again) Ballyshannon and headed towards Enniskillen along the Lower Lough Erne which was so calm it was mirror like. We stopped numerous times to walk amongst the forest trees lining Erne. Enniskillen is perched amid a web of waterways and is a very appealing town with a 1.6km long main street that rides the roller-coaster spine of an island drumlin. Jane walked most of it "window shopping". I preferred the attractive waterside setting. However, together we did indulge ourselves at the BEST café called, "The Jolly ... read more