Day Twenty four – Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Doolin – Clifden

Accommodation – Kingston House B&B

Weather – wet and miserable with dryer patches in the afternoon

Temperature – maximum 16 degrees

When we looked out at the weather from our bedroom window we knew we wouldn’t be boating to the Aran Islands as it was very wet and windy.  We deliberated a while deciding whether to stay on and give tomorrow a chance but the rest of the week in Ireland is not looking good so we pressed on.

McDermott's pub where we had an authentic Irish experience with Blackie and the boys playing a bagpipe and banjos.  The place was packed and the music fantastic!

After some guidance from Maeve, our lovely B&B hostess, we cut a route through the Burren which is  a craggy limestone area backing the coastal area of Northern Clare.    There are acres and acres of limestone patches interspersed with hardy grasses and plants.  The fences are are sharp and plentiful and you have to marvel at the tenacity of the people who tried to eke out an existence here.  The Burren is dotted with many old churches, medieval ruins and interesting pieces of history including the ancient Poulnabrone Dolmen an old burial chamber which predates the Egyptian pyramids.  The capstone weighs about five tonnes and was constructed of giant slabs of limestone 5000 years ago.  Archaeologists found the remains of 33 men, women and children who died between 4200 and 2900 BC placing them in the New Stone Age.  The tomb contained polished stones, axes, stone beads and flint weapons as well as fragments of pottery.

This gives a good idea of the harshness of The Burren.

Poulnabrone Dolmen

An example of the stone fences separating sparse fields.

The derelict Carran Church....so many buildings like this dotted over The Burren.

The Burren Centre at Kilfenora was very busy but we were able to obtain directions to the village church which contains the some of the largest Celtic crosses in Ireland.  The little cathedral lost its roof only last century but it has been replaced with a glass one to prevent erosion of the crosses as well as to keep visitors dry I think!

The road then lead over the Corkscrew Pass which was very aptly named as on the northern side there are many hairpin bends.  It was first built during the Great Famine to provide employment and the life must have been tough for the workers on The Burren.

We had a late lunch at Kilvara and for the first time I tried deep fried brie with marmalade sauce and salad.  It appears on all the menus and I have resisted so far….but it was delicious!

The rain was still drizzling but it wasn’t cold thank goodness.  We had a long drive ahead of us as we were making our way across the Connemara to Clifden in County Galway.  The area is very beautiful and we followed a couple of large lakes along the way......if only it was sunny.  The area and small village of Cong was used for the film The Quiet Man in 1951 starring Maureen o’Hara and John Wayne.

The recommended accommodation was found easily and we parked the car on the street.  The weather had cleared and we walked the triangular section of the main centre before settling down to a great dinner of Cajun salmon and crab claws washed down with a Chilean sauvignon blanc. 

It was a long day driving but we did manage to see some beautiful parts of the Counties Clare and Galway.