From Galway we hit the road to link up with the Wild Atlantic Way, a coastal drive that covers a large part of the western coast of Ireland. We joined it about half way, and were quickly enjoying the tight windy roads as we headed towards our first stop, the Cliffs of Moher.
The landscape was beautiful and there were a number lookouts to take in the views.
After about 2 hours we reached the main event, stunning.
We followed the walkway that led us along the cliffs, with the thousands of other visitors, for about 20 minutes until we reach the end. Each stage gave a changing perspective.
We then made our way back to the visitors centre, which was very discretely hidden in the hillside, for lunch.
Our next stop was Loop Head, which was another roughly 2 hour drive away, on the southern most point of the peninsula. Lots more tight windy roads, with tractors, tourist bus’, and nervous American/Europeans thrown in, made for a very entertaining drive.
After passing through more beautiful countryside, some pretty seaside towns, and by some golf courses that made me wish I had my clubs, we reached Loops Head lighthouse.
We finished the day with a drive to Ennis for our overnight stay. It’s a medium sized town that reminded me a lot of Goulburn. The town centre was very pretty but was undergoing a lot of renovation so we weren’t able to fully appreciate it.
It was an early start the following morning as we had another long drive to Dingle, and Slea Head Drive (Dingle Loop).
It was about 3 hours before we reached Dingle and started the loop. Wow, so spectacular, even tighter roads hugging the cliff tops, thankfully most people took the clockwise route so there weren’t too many tense passing moments.
Along the route we stopped at an ancient Beehive Cashel, an old stone village. We weren’t convinced it was authentic but it was interesting all the same.
About half way around was our main stop, the Blasket centre, a museum tribute to the people that lived on the Blasket islands, just off the coast, up until 1954 when the last of them were evacuated.
It was a fascinating story of subsistence life and the progression of culture. The islands became famous through the authors that lived there and published stories about their way of life. They flourished until after the war, peaking at 186 residents, but were then plagued by young people migrating to the US for greater opportunity. Ultimately they became too small to continue.
We then completed our loop and soon were back in Dingle for a late lunch. The town was buzzing, and even with a huge carpark we had to do a couple of loops to find a spot.
We finished the day with a final drive to Killarney, our stop for the next 2 days
It was a great couple of days driving through spectacular countryside. It reminded us a lot of the Great Ocean Road drive in Australia, just a little narrower. Lots of fun.