Wild Atlantic Way Part II

I told you about my trip up the Atlantic coast of Ireland from Cork to Bantry Bay. Today I’ll share with you the second part of our trip.

The next day we drove from there through Kerry. First, we drove to Kilarney and then to the Dingle Penisula

Hey guys, I would like to take this time to apologize for the quality of the pictures I have. I will try to supplement them with tourist photos. When we went on our trip the weather was very active and we had beautiful weather for Cork but the next two days were very foggy and rainy. I like the arty look in the photos but they are not good scenery shots.

However, on that trip through Kerry and Clare, I saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever experienced.

If I remember correctly we went up from Bantry to Kenmare, along the peninsula, and then went up through the town of Killarney. The Ring of Kerry is a most rugged coast drive and requires a clear day to enjoy. It is a rugged coastline drive with a sprinkling of lakes throughout.

Hint of a lake as we drove up Kerry- see the center??

We visited a druid tourist spot near the town of Kenmare and around the coast through them Macgillycuddy Mountains up to Killarney. We did manage to miss a good many of the tourist buses which allowed us to make the over three hour trip in record time.

Next, we continued up along the coast to Dingle; another peninsula drive. The rugged coast here had a clustering of small towns. We stopped for a late lunch in one town. It was crowded. I found out there was a local surfing competition going on. We enjoyed the beautiful town of Ballybunion and stayed for a pleasant evening.

I never thought of Ireland as a surfing place. California, Hawaii, tropical islands all come to mind when I hear surfing. Apparently, counties Clare and Kerry have some of the best surfing beaches. Starting with Inchydowney in West Cork, Then the towns of Inch and Ballybunion in Kerry and on up to Dooley Point, Crab Island, and Mullaghmore- one of the most dangerous surf beaches in Ireland

The next day we started into County Clare on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. The wildness of Kerry settled as we drove further inland but again, tall rocked green hills with little houses built into sides of big hills, sheep dotting the hillsides. I found it to still be a picturesque drive.

We went to the cliffs of Moher on a wild, windy, and very wet day. The ridge path along the edge was closed to tourists but the climb up the pathway remained opened. I went onto the tourist center to review the information the building had to offer. The tourist center is cut into the side of the hill and is a neat building. After leaving the tourist center, we started the climb up to the cliffs. The wind batted me around and actually drove me along the path. It is a spectacular view. I’m ashamed to say, I got a bit scared { I ama afraid of height} and came back down, never finishing the complete tour. But it really is something. I still cannot imagine anyone walking those cliffs walks!!

After completing our tour, we drove up along the coast to the town of Galway’ a town is known for its art, festivals, and “Irishness”. Pubs, friendly people, traditional music, great food, artist wares all delight.

The downtown area was much smaller than I expected and shopping a big part of the attraction. However, if you get of out of the downtown area there are great seafood restaurants and fabulous medieval buildings to explore. We visited Kinvara, Doolin, great little towns outside Galway. We even drove out to the Burren Park.

An area of geological interest of mostly exposed limestone. It looked like a desert in the middle of all the greenness of Irland

Galway is a special town, I would recommend it as a high point of any trip on the west side.

Now I am going to share with you my favorite “art” photo I took on my trip. We had just gotten out into the countryside of Kerry up a mountain and the fog was at the height of the trip. Gorgeous but made driving a bit harrowing. The main pix for the post shows a roadway arched in trees again in the dense fog…it looked like a tunnel.