Sept 10th: Finishing the Ireland Trip

We moved on to the Ring of Beara. It was a beautiful trip overlooking the ocean for much of the drive. The terrain was very rugged. As you can see in this picture, many of the hills are mostly rock.

Cable Car

We headed to a spot where a cable car carried us across an ocean pass to an island where we hiked. 

Ocean pass we crossed in the cable car

 

Although a lot of the land here is barren, there were still sheep and some farming in the lower elevations.

Sheep grazing

There were sheep literally anyplace we drove. They are roaming relatively free. A colored spot is sprayed on the sheep's backs to identify the owners.

 

Our last stop in southern Ireland, before returning to Dublin, was Doolin. It is a quaint seaside town with castle ruins, some restaurants and hiking opportunities nearby. 

Doolin

Our Doolin accommodations

The place we stayed in was reminiscent of old Ireland stone architecture, The Lodge Doolin. We were able to walk to town for restaurants, pubs and shopping.

Castle ruins in Doolin

Across the street from our lodging was the ruin of a very old castle. As we drove around Ireland we passed many ruins of castles and other old buildings. We were told there is a legend that anyone who takes the stones from one of these old buildings will make the fairies, or maybe spirits of the former occupants very angry. Perhaps this superstition has something to do with the fact that so many ruins have not been removed.

We had some rain so we put on our rain gear and walked around the town. We found a very fun pub with excellent food. I enjoyed some of their signs.

 

Doolin is very close to the cliffs of Moher, one of the top highlights of Ireland. We were fortunate to have wonderful sunny weather. We took a very long hike, 16 miles round trip, along the top of the cliffs out to the point, Hags Head. The walk was very well worth it. We weren't sure we wanted to go all the way but we just couldn't stop. I include pictures along the way so you can get a perspective of the different views and distances from where we started and ended.

Cliffs of Moher

Our hike started where the trees are , went along one cliff wall and then out the cliffs on the left. We hiked to the end AND BACK.

About three miles into the hike, this was the view looking backward. The starting point is not in view because it is blocked by the cliffs.

The view from about 6 miles into the hike. Note the very small tower at the top left is now visible because the trail curved.

The first 3 or 4 miles the trail was fairly smooth. After that, there was a sign that said the trail wasn't well maintained, hike at your own risk. Here is what some lot of the trail looked like. Unlike in this picture, most of it was very close to the edge with no guard rails. If you look at the right side of pictures you can see Hags Head, a small tower castle ruin.at the end, our destination.

Someone started building little stone rock sculptures at this site. It was amazing how many there were, and some were ridiculously close to a sheer cliff drop off.

As we progressed, the tower, could just barely be seen at the top. It was going to be a long hike back!

We finally arrived at the end. The tower was unimpressive but the views were incredible.

 I think Kaitlyn was pondering the return hike. Note, we could no longer see the tower back at the beginning.

The sun was setting on the way back which changed the colors of the cliff. They were truly beautiful, especially contrasted with the blue water.

Here are a couple signs providing some information.

We had planned to take a ferry to some islands the next day but the weather did not cooperate. Plan B turned out great. Despite the rain, we toured the Caherconnel fort which dates back to the 10th century. The rain kept me from taking pictures but this link does a nice job.

Caherconnell Fort history

We learned a great deal about the stone fences that cover the hillsides in much of Ireland. I found this site that gives a lot of interesting insight into the fences and their construction.

The Stone Fences of Ireland

In addition to the fort, Caherconnel also is a working sheep farm. They train and use sheep dogs. We attended a demonstration which was fun. The dogs are amazing.

We left Doolin and headed back to Dublin. We had scheduled a time for us to see the Book Of Kells at Trinity College.

Trinity College

Trinity College is the oldest college in Ireland. This link provides some interesting history.

Trinity College

Here are some pictures from some of the oldest parts of the college.

I found it amazing that this harp survived over the centuries.

We were able to view the Book of  Kells exhibit. I was again amazed that something could be preserved so well for many centuries. This link provides the history.

Book of Kells

A final tour we squeezed in was to tour the Teeling Irish Whiskey distillery. It was very interesting. Here are some signs that explained the process.

Rebecca

The whiskey is distilled in these large devices. The owner of Teeling named the three of these devices after his three daughters. This one is named Rebecca. I told my daughter she has a whiskey distilling apparatus carrying her name!

The tour ended with a taste session. Will and I bought the option to taste three. A representative explained how they were made and the differences. I could definitely taste the difference. I liked one, the other two were too strongly favored for me. 

Teeling taste opportunity

We perused the gift store. None of us had room in our luggage to carry anything home so we passed. We in particular passed on the Teeling Whiskey Single Malt that was priced at $2,000 Euros, (over $2,000) 

Will enjoying the Teeling tour

 

Our final evening we had dinner at another pub that had fun music and good food. 

We drove to the airport the next morning and headed out. It was a wonderful trip.

Sept 8th: Continuing with Ireland

 

I was able to find some additional photos to add to the last blog. 

I like this one of JP kissing the Blarney Stone because it shows how we had to lean way back over the opening 90 feet above the ground. You can also notice the worker is hanging on to JP's arm to prevent him from falling through the hole.

This is a picture of our gang climbing the mountain overlooking Lough Hyne. We found this great tree that everyone loved, especially the kids. The kids are all excellent hikers. I believe the kids and Louise are part mountain goat. I decided I wasn't going to try to keep up. Instead I went at my own pace. Christi stayed with me saying she liked my pace, I was a good excuse for her!

The kids are very fun to be around. Jamie raises chickens and sells eggs. This picture captures how cute these kids are.

As we were driving through Southern Ireland there were many quaint, small towns. We often found a place for breakfast. They are nice, laid back and very friendly. This is an example of one.

Breakfast

When I talked with people who had been to Ireland they invariably said the Pubs were the best. I had a hard time understanding that until we went to some.  But I found the pubs are a place for people to get together, dance, listen to music, drink and eat. Here is just one example.

Ballyseede Castle

We were all looking forward to our next accommodations in a castle! Christi made reservations for us to stay at Ballyseede Castle. It was an amazing place. I took so many pictures it was ridiculous. I'll include the ones I think are the most fun.

Castle Main Entrance

West side of the Castle

The grounds were vast and very nice. Here are pictures of the grounds.

View from my bedroom window

Well manicured sitting and walking area

The back yard, with the Irish Wolfhound patrolling! He was very large, laid back and friendly

Patio available to everyone

Torack's room

My room

Our rooms reflected the old times when the castle was built. My room had a great big old fashioned tub which felt great after our long hike.

Christi arranged for us to experience afternoon tea. I'd never had the experience and it sounded fun. The setting was luxurious and the food was excellent. Clearly afternoon tea is all about the food as much as the tea.

Tea food tower

All of the items listed were served, one of each for all of us, plus assorted scones and baked goods.

We received two towers like this, one serving 3 people and the other for 2. I originally thought we'd get scones or cookies or something. This was a meal for sure. We each got one of everything. The wait staff was again very friendly, personable and had a great sense of humor. My experience is that Irish people enjoy life and people.

Forest Fairy

Following afternoon tea we all needed some exercise. There is a lovely hiking trail on the extensive grounds. There were positive sayings, and little statues of fairies, goblins, etc. along the first 1/2mile or so. 

The inside of the castle was open to everyone. The rooms are very ornate. 

We played cards in this room. Nice setting for playing games.

Kaitlyn asked the people at the desk is she could play the piano. The lady said, "I don't know, can you?" Like I said, good sense of humor! I love this picture of Kaitlyn at the piano in the castle.

Kaitlyn

The decor was a mixture of medieval and sort of old. There were fun things around like this knight armor and this King's chair.

Casual dining area

Not everything was formal. There was a casual eating area and of course bar where we had dinner. The food was usually quite heavy with large portions and always good. Irish fare almost always includes "Chips," (fried potato wedges).

In this dining room was a picture of Hilda and a story about the history of the Castle. There is a rumor that Hilda can still be seen roaming the halls at night. Note the red rose.

Large dining area

Our last morning we had breakfast in yet another room. This one had the feel of being in a castle. It was quite large, big beamed ceiling, stone walls and decorated with a mix of medieval portraits and hot air balloons.

Christi, Will and Kaitlyn

Fortunately, Christi is an excellent planner. She found out that we could ask our server for apple slices to feed the burros on the grounds. They were very friendly and clearly used to handouts.

JP petting the Irish Wolfhound
 and Kaitlyn carrying the apple slices

Behind the corral, an enormous tree had fallen and was being cut up while we were there. They used a large crane and numerous big chain saws. I don't know how they ever dealt with the large trunk in the picture. The tree had to be hundreds of years old.

It was time to move on to our next adventure, One of the highlights of the trip, the Cliffs of Moher.