MacsTravel Blog

We left Spanish Point early to see “moher cliffs”, the Cliffs of Moher to be precise. As the second most visited site in Ireland (more on the first most visited in a future post), the cliffs can be overrun with visitors on mega bus tours from Galway and Dublin, so Stevie wanted to take advantage of our proximity and get their early.

Stevie made a great call. It was a beautiful calm and sunny morning and there were only a few hundred people spread out over the coastal paths when we arrived.

The Cliffs of Moher tourist infrastructure is much more polished and “North American” in style compared to what we had experienced the previous day in Kilkee, where the only barrier to tragedy was common sense. Strategically disguised coastal barriers, smoothly paved and accessible pathways, an expansive visitors’ center all point to a well oiled money maker. While it was great to see the Cliffs of Moher and while they are certainly impressive, the combination of wind, waves and a sense of raw nature made the Cliffs of Kilkee our favorite of the two. This feeling was certainly confirmed as we pushed our way through the first waves of coach bus tourists that were arriving from Galway.

Our next stop was The Burren, a vast area of limestone formations in County Clare. The Burren is barren: the karst landscape is characterized by a limestone studded surface with crevices and caves below leading to underground lakes. Some of these lakes are turloughs: lakes which fill up and surface in the winter months and then retreat below the surface during the (relatively) drier summer.

Even more fascinating are the dozens and dozens of Neolithic tombs that are scattered across this region dating from before the pyramids. We visited the Poulnabrone dolmen portal tomb, a site where the bones of over 30 humans have been found. Two of the many odd facts about these remains is that they are all partial skeletons, suggesting they were moved here, and they were added over hundreds of years. It is a very spooky landscape.

We had a brief stopover in Galway where Robin and I enjoyed soup and a toastie at our favourite pub lunch spot, Tigh Neachtain (thanks again Tim!). Galway was buzzing with Saturday markets and a wedding party that passed us as we exited the pub.

We did a little shopping, and then caught the same wedding party enjoying a beer on a patio, the definition of what the Irish would term a “cheeky pint.” To be fair it was a beautiful sunny afternoon. Other responsibilities, such as the wedding reception, could wait.

We left Galway and drove north into Connemara for our final stop and final night of this mini tour of The Wild Atlantic Way.