June 17/12 To Doolin: stops at Killarney Golf Course, Ballybunion Course, Kilkee, Cliffs of Moher

 Today we were heading to our B and B at Doolin, a small town on the west coast.  As we left Killarney we stopped at the Golf Course which is also a fishing club.  Wow!  What a gorgeous morning as you can see from the views.  We weren't golfing, just looking and dreaming.  John and I may have to come back to Ireland just to hit the links!  

By the way, there are some pictures included in the blog that Ken and Ann took; I have to give credit where it's due.   You can click on a picture to enlarge it and click outside of it to return.  

The drive was scenic and more open than some roads we had been on.  You could see the endless stone fences, green fields and sometimes the rugged coastline along the way.  

Below is Ballybunion,  a famous golf course that John wanted to look at.  You can see John looking wistfully at the scenery! Golf is quite economical in Ireland as well so who knows, maybe we will come back some day. 

Wish I was playing!  

The main tourist routes of the West of Ireland's Shannon Region are linked via the Killimer-Tarbert car ferry. This was a pleasant, 20 minute journey across the Shannon Estuary.   The ferry terminal provides a staging point for the many attractions of Clare, Kerry and adjoining counties.  

 The town of Kilkee is one of those very attractive destinations and we decided to have lunch here.  

This quaint hotel caught our attention but isn't where we ate. 

We walked the main street which was beautiful. It was Sunday and many places were closed.  

This is the beach at Kilkee.  I was surprised at how many white sand beaches there are in the UK.  Gorgeous! 

 Now the landscape was becoming more open and rocky with fewer trees.  It reminded me a bit of the Orkney.  The Cliffs of Moher was our next stop; a spectacular coast with high and steep rocky cliffs and an excellent Discovery Centre.  

The impressive discovery centre at The Cliffs of Moher is worth a look.  Ancient geological time lines  are explained and a holographic type of movie display showcases the unique bird life of this area.  

You can't help but ask...who is more dangerous?

This is a memorial to those who have died by falling off the cliffs.  It serves as a warning of course but many don't heed it.    It is not recommended that you go beyond this wall but you can see that many people do.  We followed suit but stayed well back from the edge. 

O'Brien's Tower

"The cliffs are a designated UNESCO Geo Park. They are 214m high at the highest point and range for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. O'Brien's Tower stands on a headland of the majestic Cliffs. From the Cliffs you can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, as well as The Twelve Pins, the Maum Turk Mountains in Connemara and Loop Head to the South. The Cliffs are named after  a ruined  fort “Mothar” which was demolished during the Napoleonic wars to make room for a signal tower." 

That sounded like a brochure because I paraphrased from a brochure.  I couldn't have said it better myself!  We did not see all that is mentioned there at the time but in hindsight and after travelling more I know what they are talking about.  

No fear Wally

A carved rendition of the cliffs and O'Brien's Tower

Once we left this amazing site we drove on toward  Doolin, the small town housing our next B and B; Twin Peaks.  Each day it was with great anticipation that we looked for our accommodation.  These were all booked by "Exploring Ireland" so we had not researched them ourselves.  We were never disappointed!  

Twin Peaks, built with a B and B in mind by Sinead's father.  

A beautiful rendition of the Cliffs of Moher grace the large entrance hall of the B and B.  

This charming old fellow got up to sing a solo with no accompaniment.  

Sinead directed us to Gus O'Conner's Pub for dinner. We were treated to entertainment as well, a local band and then some brave souls who just got up to sing.   It was a very short walk from Twin Peaks to O'Conner's.  Sinead grew up there since it was run by her Grandfather at one time.  Sinead and her husband moved back to Doolin from Galway when her father passed to take over the running of Twin Peaks.  Doolin is a very small town and not ideal for such a young couple. But they feel compelled to stay. They go to Galway to get a "city fix" whenever they can.  

June 16/12 Killarney (Woodland's B and B), Ross Castle, Muckross House

Killarney is a town in County Kerry , southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, which is part of Killarney National Park. It is a beautiful area with many attractions including The famous Ring of Kerry, a very scenic and popular driving route.  We had driven the Ring of Beara instead, to avoid congestion and traffic.  But we did end up on part of the Ring of Kerry and enjoyed stunning views.  The town and area is home to many attractions and we didn't have time to see it all.  We did walk by St. Mary's Cathedral, toured Ross Castle, Muckross House and Torc Waterfall. Due to its natural heritage, history and location on the Ring of Kerry, Killarney is a popular tourist destination and very busy.

  Woodlands B and B was not as fancy as Maranatha House or some of the other B and B's we had stayed at.  We had no complaints however.  Patrick was helpful, breakfast was good and the location was excellent.  One thing about our Irish experience; using Explore Ireland to book our accommodations and to provide a basic itinerary,  gave us lots of variety.  

After breakfast we went to Ross Castle for yet another tour using our heritage pass.  We liked the guide here who described details of daily castle life in a very entertaining way. This castle is the typical home of an Irish Chieftain in the Middle Ages.  There is a rich history of fortification in Ireland meaning a rich history of fighting.  There are hundreds of tower ruins here. We were told that the roads are so windy because the Romans never arrived and paths between strongholds had no straight route.  Those eventually became the roads. 

We decided to go to Muckross House, a wonderful Victorian Mansion with beautiful grounds and gardens in the backdrop of Killarney National Park.  What fun to rent a jaunting cab (horse and buggy) and be dropped off at the various sites while our "ride" waited for us! 

 Approaching Muckross House; no pictures allowed inside

Once again the weather was wet and cool but I am starting to realize how could Ireland be anything but green with all this rain?  No matter...I was loving the ride and the clop of the hooves and the strange words and sounds the driver spoke to the horse.  

Torc  Falls 

Lush forest 

We look photo-shopped!  But it's real.  

Yew tree at the Abbey

Ancient and beautiful 

We got a bargain!  

After leaving our jaunting cab we were hungry and got lost on some very skinny roads but finally found Molly's right across from where we started!  Wonderful food and atmosphere.

Loved the basket of fries! 

We dropped off our laundry and wandered around town finally settling for yet another pub.  Needed to get out of the rain! 

New thatch

Having spent some time in Killarney Park here in Ontario I really enjoyed being at it's namesake.  

We ate at Laurel's,  a highly recommended pub with a crowd.  We had heard  there would be music but not tonight so we went to Danny Man's and listened for a while.  It's great to be within walking distance of dinner and entertainment!   Tomorrow we say goodbye to Killarney and move on toward Doolin.  

June 14/15 2012 Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castel, The Vee, Maranatha B and B, Blarney Castle, Beara Drive

Rock of Cashel

This morning we headed out from Killarney toward Cork although our ultimate destination was Maranatha B and B near Blarney.  On the way we stopped at the town of Cashel to tour an Irish Heritage site at Cashel Rock:   "A spectacular group of Medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century Castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral."  Once inside a group of students on a tour were singing in the Choral and the sound was quite amazing.      

As we have discovered on our travels here and in other parts of Europe the old buildings require a lot of maintenance!  Scaffolding is a common sight and I can't imagine the expense of this.  

Beautiful views despite the overcast skies.  These crosses are every where! 

A beautiful ruin.

Cahir:  Guess what?  Another Castle stop.

What a flame that must have been. 

Loved the canon balls in the walls! 

The Vee: We drove on the Vee, a highly recommended scenic route.  The forested part looked ancient with huge mossy trees.  "The Vee is predominantly famous because of the breathtaking panoramic views afforded to travellers and sight seers going through the pass. The journey rises to about 2,000 feet (610m) above sea level above Bay Lough, and as it does so it gives wonderful views of a portion of the ‘Golden Vale’  between the Knockmealdown and Galtee Mountain Ranges."

The pesky rhododendrons look lovely to me! 

Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating but the views were still stunning and the turns thrilling.  

Upside down V.  The GPS was a life saver for all our travels in Scotland and Ireland.  

Before heading to Maranatha Bed and Breakfast we went to Cobh, a seaside town on the south coast of County Cork.  Originally this town was called Cove but the gaelic-ization of that is Cobh which it was renamed in 1920.  In between it was called Queenstown after a visit by Queen Victoria in 1850.  This is a beautiful port town and one of its claims to fame was that it was the last port of call of the titanic before its fateful maiden voyage.  It looked like a neat town but a torrential downpour prevented us from doing much except driving around and peering out the windows.  Didn't even take pictures.  Okay, we give....on to Maranatha.

Lovely country home with an interesting history. 

Olwen and Douglas Venn own this gorgeous home.  When we arrived it was dark and stormy really and as we approached the house it seemed surreal...like something out of a movie.  Olwen met us at the door and apologized for the "lashing rain and November type of weather."  It was a warm welcome but my feeling of being in a movie remained.  Olwen loves ornate French style decor and has been renovating the house accordingly.  It's something to behold.  

Peasant's room. 

Olwen spent some time here as a child.  I think her parents owned the house and ran it as a B and B.  At one time, during the war, it was a spa owned by a doctor and had Turkish Baths.  It sounds like it was a health retreat.  Douglas Venn is Canadian and Olwen has also spent some time in Ontario.  

This was the name of the house originally but now is the name of the 2 king bedroom.  

Yes, 2 King beds in one room.  Very decadent. 

Queen Ann and Cardinal Kenly occupied this palatial room! 

With this colourful breakfast room and view you hardly noticed the rain. 

How abut this for a breakfast room?

What can I say?

This is Blair's Inn on a sunny day, obviously not my picture.  But it was lovely! 

Olwen recommended Blair's Inn, 5 minutes outside Blarney,  for dinner and we took a cab and headed there.  What a great spot with excellent food and atmosphere and an exciting soccer game on the telly!  Hard to beat.

Blarney Castle and the famous kissing stone was on our list of things to do....well some of us.  But we all ended up kissing it since there were no crowds at this time of the morning, maybe because of the rain?  Supposedly if you kiss it you will become more eloquent.  I always thought it was for luck and I think I'll stick to that since I haven't noticed eloquence.  This stone is supposedly half of the Stone of Scone but I think it's blarney!    

This looked about to overflow...not surprising when you consider the rain we're having! 

Approaching the castle...anticipating the kiss! 

I thought this was funny but John looks a little stressed?

Another narrow road with cows on the way to Killarney.

We stopped at Bantry town for the daily pub lunch.  Here is the Snug Pub where we ate. 

Bantry town, crowded but colourful. 

Ring of Beara:  This is a spectacular coastal drive on the Beara Penninsula,  with windy roads, sheep and cows and great scenery.  

I noticed more colourful buildings in Ireland, maybe because their Heritage laws are less stringent? As we drove through little towns my eye was caught by the bright and sometimes gaudy paint on stores and homes.  

I'm the King of the Castle! 

We passed through a few colourful towns before arriving at Woodlands B and B in Killarney.  Patrick met us and showed us around his modest but comfortable home conveniently located within walking distance of the town centre.  We walked into town on a trail and enjoyed a great meal at Murphy's pub.  This is a busy tourist town and it was also Friday night.  It was hard to get a seat for dinner actually but we persevered and were not disappointed.