From
Diary 3 and the southern part, I now enters
the western Ireland. 10/8 2021. I cross over the country to get to the west. Part of the way on the big toll road, but also a line of minor roads. My first target it Kilmallock; the "best preserved medieval town". And it is actually quiet intact; only a few houses have been re-build within the last 500 years. I ask the parking-officer, if I can stay for two hours, where I'm parked. He say Yes; I will only return after lunch. That is what I call service!
Then
I do both streets and the field outside town, containing a huge
church-ruin. The far end the town have another, more intact
church. I
While I head towards the next site by the small back-roads, I pass a church ruin: The New Church. First mention as a replacement for another church on a map from 1590. Reminds me: The oldest pub in England is The New Pub.
That feeling only intensify, as I reach my
next target; Lough Gur. Besides from the mirror-like lake,
here are a line of more or less old stone buildings, some dating
back 6000 years. Then green hill of Knockadoon
I follow several narrow trails, leading from one site to the next. The remains of the Pigions House and the artificial island dating back 1000s of years; Bolin Island Crannóg. The remains of the Bourchier's Castle and other, less visible sights. The larger area is scatted with sights too,
and I drive around to see the Ring Forts; Carraig Áille 1 & 2.
They are found way up on a grassy hill, and
The Giants Grave is a megalithic grave from about 2,500 - 2,000 BC is real well preserved. It is made up by large, flat rocks and several constructions can be seen. Here are both inner- and outer chambers on the nine meter construction. I
My next site is road N69, and I head
into Limerick, to catch it. It is part of The Atlantic Way, and I had
expected more. Well, it follows the coast, and here I call it a day, and head back through Limerick to Ennis, where my next bed is reserved. It is a huge, old hostel, located in the middle of the town. I squeeze the car into the back-yard, and start cooking and working. Day 9.
11.
My next site is King John's Castle, build
in 1200-1212. I arrival just as they open at ten, but start with a
walk around. They call it "massive", but compared to English
castles, it
Some excavations are done underneath it. Around the courtyard, some work-shops with the blacksmith and stonemason are found, and a few people are fighting with swards in the yard. I climb the towers, and are only thrown out of one, as they intend to do some repelling here. The
From a large
city, to a cosy town; Adare: "Ireland's prettiest village".
And I might actually be! Not only is the sun really on, it is a
double line of so adorable huts and houses. I park in front of a
long line of thatched roofs small
In the other end of town, some large thatched houses are found on large lawns. I return the the open church, and that is a treat: Arches of raw granite, magnificent windows and so quiet, compared with the town. It is divided in the middle by some arched, and have kind of two alters. It is only just passed noon, and I head for
one of tomorrow's sights. Way down on yet another peninsular, on the
other side of Limerick, I find Vandelour
I passed through Kilrush, and it looked
nice. I stop on the way back, and a walk around the old centre,
reveals quite some good motives. And the perfect summer-sky do add.
Only
the
cars spoils it.
It is yet another great looking town, with a
river, ancient granite buildings, colourful shops and a real great
granite sculpture on the square: Trading a
12. I start the day in the little town of Ennistimon. It have a rather large cascades within the town, and I park right next to the big opening in a building, leading to it. It is truly a wide river, leading through the little town, but the falls are not that high. I follow the river for quite a while, trying to get both the cascades, the arch-bridge and the colourful buildings within one frame. Further downstream are additional falls, but not as impressive.
The sun joins in, but kind of too low to really
help in the narrow street. Realising I have at least ten photos of
each building, and neither is real good, I head on. The sun is a
rare guest, where the rain is more frequent, along
I am driving on R481 to get to R480, and they both are real nice countryside roads. I drive east, and make a loop back, just to have the light right. Here are endless stonewalls, mainly keeping the cattle in. The grass is so green, the clouds so dark. Here start to be fields with a lot scattered rocks on, and it look like ancient limestone. This is the beginning of the Burren.
I
The
scenic road leads straight to Poulnabrone Dolmen, a 5000 year
old burial site with a charismatic limestone plate construction. The
entire area look like it have been sealed with limestone tiles, the
vegetation is special, and quite some species are still in full
flower. The small area around the megalithic grave is closed by a
rope, but I'm the only one
The structure is smaller than I had expected, but
it is nice to finally see it. I guess it have been covered in soil,
way back, just like the burial sites we have in Denmark, made by
huge boulders.
Caheconnell Stonefort, on the other hand,
have embraced the guests. Well, after 10;30 that is. Well, the rain
is pouring down, and I sit in the car and do correction on the
previous
diaries.
Besides from the round fort, they
The rain returns, just as I head back to the
comfort of the car. I have finished the planned sights of the day
early, and as the weather is not that great, I just fool around in
the Burren, slowly making my way to Galway and my hotel. Here
are some brown sighs, showing off to sights, but I fail to find most
interesting. I stop several times, but the again; the sun is faster to retreat, than I am to get out of the car. Here are not much grass, except in-between the limestone. Some areas look so manmade, with long, straight ditches, but they are natural. I do a longer walk out on a gravel road, but then the rain caches up. I do manage to find a few orchids and a bunch of other flowers.
Despite the lack of grass, the fields are crossed
by stonewalls, and here are
As I head on, the limestone start to be rather barren on the top of the hills. I drive around some of the larger hills, and get to the fjord. Like so many other beaches, it is granite boulders, overgrown with bladder wrack, and not really that appealing on a windy day.
I spot the ruin of a huge church, but fail to
find any access to it. I turn over in An Bóthar, but
not fast enough to get sun on the little harbour. Here are some fine
wooden boats and ships, and a line of cafes and restaurants. Then
the landscape changes into the lush green grass fields, and I head
to the large city of Galway.
As I have a room in the dead centre of town, parking is tricky. I end up paying €5, which might allow me to stay till the morning. I make a cup of tea and add a mixed salad from the supermarket. I relax for a few minutes, before I hit town. Here are a large grit of more or less pedestrian streets. Musicians everywhere, and a lot of people in the streets.
Especially around the harbour, there are old
buildings. I make a lot of photos of the buildings and people,
knowing most will fail due to the light and general crowds. A warm
and sunny day, with the right company, I guess this could be a nice
town. Day 11. |