Cliffs of Moher Ireland

Day 78/Ireland 12

Travelled:106km along the WAW from Galway to Cliffs of Moher

Visited: Galway, Kinvara, Burren, Cliffs of Moher

Stay: near Hags Head, Cliffs of Moher - laybuy on country road N52.9452 W9.4493

We donned our rain coats and packed the umbrellas as we made our way back into Galway this morning. We managed a bit of retail therapy and another look around.

Oscar Wilde

The old gateway of Galway in  Eyre Square

A writer

Eyre Square

Lynch Castle once owned by the most powerful Galway family. 

Irish souvenirs...too many to choose from.

Pubs we went to yesterday...not open yet!

 Then it was back to Bluey and off on the Wild Atlantic Way (S). Our first stop was at the pleasant fishing village of Kinvara. 

Beautiful petunias.

Just love the thatched roofs

Close by was the Dunguaire Castle sitting on a small promontory. 

We then popped in to see Traught Beach (not motorhome friendly with height barrier).

From here we drove through the Burren area which is one of the most peculiar and unique landscapes along the WAW. There were lush green pastures between the sea and the strange, grey rocky hills.

Shanmuckinish Castle.

The Martello Tower on Finavarra Point.

 We stopped and ate lunch at Ballyvaughnan Pier. 

Further on past Black Head Lighthouse, the rock goes all the way to the sea edge. 75% of Ireland plant species can be found in this area, some of them Artic or alpine. We wondered why there were stone walls on top of the rocky surface, but apparently the farmers would bring their cows here in late autumn as the grasses would still be growing due to the warmth of the rock. 

We continued on to Doolin, thinking we could park there to walk the Cliffs of Moher, but it proved too busy at 2:30pm on a relatively sunny day. We checked on line to see if we could get tickets to the cliffs for today but had no luck. So we drove towards and past the busy paid parking/entry area and turned off along a country lane that offered a few more parking options. We ended up near a P4N spot and walked up a lane, through a quarry and over a fence ladder onto the Cliffs of Moher path. 

We ventured southwards to Hags Head Tower. We admired the beautiful views of the 200m+ black shale and sandstone cliffs from different angles for a couple of hours. 

Wedding on the cliffs.

On our way back to Bluey we asked a local farmer who was on his daily walk having a look at his 150 head of cattle, if it was ok to stay the night. We were given his approval so here we stayed looking out at a lovely view of the bay.