We started out from Galway on a wet and grey Saturday afternoon and I drove all the way to Doolin (to practice my bendy road driving) through the Burren and along the coast via Kinvara, Ballyvaughan and Fanore. The rain gradually cleared as we ventured south, although it was still kind of spitting when we arrived in Doolin for dinner. We had a quick jaunt around Doolin pier (I finally got to see Doolin pier on my third attempt; I've been to Doolin twice before but never actually saw any of it apart from the inside of several pubs and my hotel room) and then headed inland to Lisdoonvarna where we were staying for the night. The sun made a welcome appearance the next day and we had a beautiful, low-stress, meandering drive all the way down to Kilkee on the N67, through Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay and Doonbeg. I particularly enjoyed the Kilkee to Loop Head leg of our journey; it's quite a remote part of Clare and definitely not touristy at this time of the year, but while we pretty much had the road to ourselves there was still plenty of agricultural-related activity and locals bopping around. We spent a couple of hours at Loop Head itself (there were tours of the lighthouse going on but in a remarkable feat of ill-preparedness we HAD NO CASH to pay the entry fee so we could only gaze up from outside at the cheerful tourists admiring the inner workings of the lighthouse. Saying that, I'm not sure I'd have been able for the twisty descent back down from the top so maybe it was all for the best); there were amazing clifftop walks and we went all over, making our way down to the impressive sea stack known as Diarmuid and Grainne's Rock (Diarmuid and Grainne being the ill-fated lovers from 'Toraiocht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne' or 'The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne', one of the stories comprising the Fenian Cycle within Irish mythology, and a feature of the Leaving Certificate Irish syllabus when I was in school; also, see the video below!) and the Loop Head EIRE sign. These signs were constructed along the Irish coast during the Second World War to identify the Republic of Ireland and to act as navigation aids.
Continuing on my quest to learn more about Ireland's lighthouses, I found myself at Loop Head lighthouse in Clare last weekend. This is one of the 12 Great Lighthouses of Ireland and is located right at the end of the Loop Head Peninsula. We had amazing weather (sunshine! blue skies!) and the views were just wonderful... we could see all the way to the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry to the south, and up to Galway in the north.
We started out from Galway on a wet and grey Saturday afternoon and I drove all the way to Doolin (to practice my bendy road driving) through the Burren and along the coast via Kinvara, Ballyvaughan and Fanore. The rain gradually cleared as we ventured south, although it was still kind of spitting when we arrived in Doolin for dinner. We had a quick jaunt around Doolin pier (I finally got to see Doolin pier on my third attempt; I've been to Doolin twice before but never actually saw any of it apart from the inside of several pubs and my hotel room) and then headed inland to Lisdoonvarna where we were staying for the night. The sun made a welcome appearance the next day and we had a beautiful, low-stress, meandering drive all the way down to Kilkee on the N67, through Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay and Doonbeg. I particularly enjoyed the Kilkee to Loop Head leg of our journey; it's quite a remote part of Clare and definitely not touristy at this time of the year, but while we pretty much had the road to ourselves there was still plenty of agricultural-related activity and locals bopping around. We spent a couple of hours at Loop Head itself (there were tours of the lighthouse going on but in a remarkable feat of ill-preparedness we HAD NO CASH to pay the entry fee so we could only gaze up from outside at the cheerful tourists admiring the inner workings of the lighthouse. Saying that, I'm not sure I'd have been able for the twisty descent back down from the top so maybe it was all for the best); there were amazing clifftop walks and we went all over, making our way down to the impressive sea stack known as Diarmuid and Grainne's Rock (Diarmuid and Grainne being the ill-fated lovers from 'Toraiocht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne' or 'The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne', one of the stories comprising the Fenian Cycle within Irish mythology, and a feature of the Leaving Certificate Irish syllabus when I was in school; also, see the video below!) and the Loop Head EIRE sign. These signs were constructed along the Irish coast during the Second World War to identify the Republic of Ireland and to act as navigation aids.
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It's been a busy, busy September here in Galway as Anthony returned to student life (exciting news alert: Anthony has gone back to college!), and the house slowly adjusts to unprecedented 7am wake-ups. I've been feeling kind of frazzled by the sudden lack of routine, and the weather definitely isn't helping. Our wonderful, giddy, non-Irish summer has packed its bags and left for pastures new, without so much as a backwards glance at the trail of broken hearts and pale faces left in its wake, and we're back to grey and grumpiness, interspersed with an increasing number of Christmas adverts (only 85 days to go!). Autumn always used to be my favourite season, but since we moved back to the west of Ireland I've slowly realised that we don't really get much of an autumn in Galway because as soon as the leaves begin to change colour we're hit by storms rolling in off the Atlantic and that's the end of the lovely leaves. Saying all of that, last Friday was uncharacteristically sunny and joyful and it's amazing the way the weather impacts the mood of the populace - everything feels lighter and brighter, and YAY for blue skies! Also, there is something supremely satisfying about crunching through the fallen leaves at the moment and I've just returned from a nice, robust, leafy walk that's caused me to look more benignly on the bare Galway branches - it's an ill wind, etc.
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About my blog
Really, it contains a little bit of everything, from a celebration of science and the English language to the joys of travel and the Shipping Forecast. The title ('Meanderings') is a fairly accurate description of its content: I write about different things as the mood takes me, but hopefully there's something in here for everyone... Categories
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