This is our next stop after our first castle stay in Abbey Glen. Our route here starts with a scenic drive on the upper sky road leaving the town of Clifden. It is another one lane road, but oh the views it gave us were fantastic and my favorites. I have decided I prefer a landscape with a gentle drop off into the sea versus the steep cliffs although that is what you hear about in write ups for Ireland. We are still following the "Wild Atlantic Way" road signs and we do stop at one of the scenic viewpoints. It was quite pretty, and we were there probably a half hour or more. We would have stayed longer but had to get to our next spot-sigh. I liked how you could see so many small islands. The tide was out so you also saw some beach areas. On our way to this spot we had seen a group of people windsurfing and a couple of small boats. At our spot is a local horse who is happy to have the people around him.
One of the best views of a trip with fantastic landscapes
Who knew Republic of Ireland had 83 offshore Islands Northern Ireland another 21
Jeff kept calling this horse Shadowfax
After we tore ourselves away from that view and continued driving, we did see some other pretty sites. I am thinking the Connemara coastline is more to my taste than the rugged coasts of Kerry and Dingle. Or have I overdosed on rugged coasts and am happy for a change? We find our "home" for the next week and work on settling in. We had been a little concerned since it was nicknamed "Granny's Cozy Corner" on Airbnb but are content with its size. It is connected to the owner's house, and we find them quite gracious. The husband even knew St Louis from a motorcycle cross country trip of the USA he had rode.
The next morning, we decide to head for Achill Island which is an hour or so away. We have both read blogs from travelers about the island and our eager to see it. We start off following a scenic route Jeff had saved. The first stop he had saved was a nice view; the second was special because of Spanish ships sinking in the area. Now-a-days there is nothing there to point out old shipwrecks so a bust of a stop in my mind. I pick the next spot to stop knowing Jeff is hungry. By pure chance I send us off to the main area - Beel Strand (beach). We find a spot for lunch and then we wander around the area some. We walk the beach which is nice and deep with the tide out. Check out the water temperature and find it warmer than I expected but still too cold to get in for me. However, there are a couple of groups in the water. I should add that swimming suits in these parts of the world may be covered by a wetsuit for warmth and they have these big cape-like things to wear while out of the water for warmth. Then I notice there is a surfing school. Yes, you read that right. Here in a rather protected cove people are leaning to surf. I first noticed a group only about 20 feet from shore trying to catch the occasional wave and staying up for a very short time. I figured it was a known surfing spot. But then I notice a group of a dozen or so people on the beach with boards by their sides watching as a person gets up on a board and demonstrates how to stand. As we start to wander some, I see across the way a familiar sight of people kite boarding and realize this island is an adventurers' playground. We wander the area a little bit more and check out the 9-hole golf course which would be a unique location to play and quite reasonable. We may come back in a couple of days since there is more island further out that we want to explore. For now, we decide to head up to the deserted village and then back to Westport
Dumhach Bheag is on the mainland before we reached Achill
The deserted Village is a mile long area on the side of a hill that while called a village is also considered to be 3 settlements. Now this is where it gets confusing. You see I had heard it was an area abandoned after the famine. There is a new fancy trail with spots that you can hear recordings on your phone which we heard some and that too sounded like it was related to the famine. When I get back to our place, I see a flyer for tours that claims that those stone buildings were much older. Now not too far away is a stone age monolithic which we could not visit. I think the famine story is correct since that is what the government is pushing. Until we came to Ireland the horrors of the famine never really set in. How many died here, how many died trying to leave, how England could have saved so many of the people, how others tried to help, how even today it has affected this country. Today I read that 25% of the population either died or left because of the famine. Just amazing.
Homes stretched across ~1 Mile
Most very small, though one might have been 10’x20’
After that we start to head back to the mainland on a slightly different route and come to the Silver Strand (beach). The tide is still out so we walk the beach a little. This one is less developed than the other. Jeff and I also check out a couple of ladies with their spaniel dogs. We are taking notice of how they have bundled up and are sitting in chairs watching the water drinking wine - plans for next winter. Then back to the car to drive back to our place.
Clouds flew across the peak at great speed
That night we plot out a couple of ideas of things we want to do while here. One of them is to ride the Great Western Greenway (former railway) which starts very close to our place and ends at the beginning of Achill Island. We are concerned about its length of 42 Km and wonder how scenic the part close to us is. Next morning while I sleep in Jeff starts plotting out a plan. He has noticed that one of the bike rental place's locations would enable a shorter ride of 31 Km and offers a drop off service. We decide we want to start at the island and ride into the mainland and end at a nearby town of Newport since we think that will be the more scenic ride.
Gusts from our left side were strong enough to push us to the side in this stretch
Trail offered a great variety of landscapes
We wish our beach at home was this expansive
We saw several art installations all of different styles but nothing to describe them The ruin suggested this may be part of the story of the famine
After crossing this bridge the trail climbed and gave us this great view
The next morning, we decide NOT to go to Achill Island but rather to go to Croagh Patrick or the Reek. Croagh Patrick is the 3rd highest and the holiest mountain in Ireland. It is also a pilgrimage site. At the top of this mountain St Patrick is said to have fasted for 40 days in 441 AD and built a church. Archeologists in the 1990s found proof of a building from that age being there. Currently there is a newer church there from the 1900s. At the bottom there are signs with how many times you are supposed to walk around certain buildings and how many prayers you should say (to my surprise these prayers are for the Pope and not St Patrick). In fact, on the last Sunday in July (shortly after we leave) there is an annual pilgrimage to the top when thousands of people climb the mountain. Now this is NOT an easy climb. It is steep and it is rocky which equates to slippery. There are signs from a mountain rescue group along the way requesting you turn back if you are tired or feeling unwell. I suspect this mountain keeps them busy. We were surprised at how many families with young children we see climbing. We had not planned on doing a strenuous hike the day after a long bike ride; thus we climb up for an hour or so, snack on the cookie we bought while getting change for the parking and sip on our water. Decide the view is quite nice, but we should be wise and turn around. Even though we stopped before the so called halfway point we hiked over 2 miles round trip on a what is supposed to be a 4.34 mile course.
3rd highest summit in Ireland behind us
Great views on our way down
St Patrick
We head for "home" and make lunch before we walk into town to explore it for awhile. This is a nice sized town with several streets with stores and restaurants. We would later learn that it was a planned Georgian Town when the local landowner decided he no longer wanted his tenant farmers' homes on his front yard. The combination of the planned layout and a strong economy make this a very attractive place to live.
We did not visit Achill Island yesterday - must go back today! But first we decide to play golf at a 9-hole course on the mainland close to the island and then finish exploring Achilll Island. The course is called Mulranney Golf Club. Mulranney was a spot on the old Achill Rail Line (the rail line is now the bike way we rode the other day). We get to the golf course which is quite reasonably priced for 2 to play and use a set of clubs. the "club house" looks almost like a manufactured building and is kind of just in the middle of sheep grazing land. Hint, hint. Seems there are sheep on the course and the greens are fenced in so they can't get there. We are on the coast too so it is windy. Oh, did I mention that this course is considered to be in the top 100 fun golf courses in Ireland and Great Britain. We are told to have fun and we are in for a memorable experience. That we were. We can also play as much as we want and even come back in the evening and play some more. We got lost on the course at one point even though each green's flag has its hole number on it. Happily, a foursome of locals was playing behind us; we had them play through so we could start following them on the course. Now you are probably asking if the green flags are numbered how did you get lost? Well a couple of things. 1.there is not a cart path so you have to trust the map of the course on the scorecard and 2. while it is 9 holes, it is considered an 18 hole course BECAUSE there are 2 set of tee boxes for each hole for both men and women. In other words, hole 1 is also hole 10. You walk up to a tee box and if you are going to a shorter set like we were there may not be clear directions as to what hole you are starting to play. Guess that is part of the fun!
We did not hit any sheep. We did lose a golf ball (went in the stream). There are undulations on the course so you could hit a ball reasonably well and then have it take a really weird bounce and end up in the rough or maybe in the middle of the fairway much further down. Oh, the rough is different in that yes there is tall grass and a pain to hit out of, but at the same time the grass is short enough you can find your ball oh and the sheep dung too. It was fun and memorable, but we were getting hungry and chilled, so we were happy to play 9 (well 10) and be done.
Yes, that is a barb wire fence I have to chip over.
Sheep grazing next to the tee box
Great ocean view
From there we drove out to Achill Island. Stopped for lunch at the place we ate before since it was good. Then we went to the end of the island or as for as the road goes. There is a protected beach there, some hikes up the hills that are at the end and some scenic viewing along the way. We were happy we did it and Jeff got some nice photos. Then we drove home with plans on going out for the evening.
Beach is surrounded on 3 sides by >1,000-foot-tall hills
The other side of that large hill is a sheer cliff
We had a challenge finding dinner since we did not have reservations. We landed in a gastropub that was pretty good. Then we went in hunt of music - traditional Irish Music or a trad session was our goal. We headed to what we thought would be a good place only to notice it was empty - bad sign. Well the place across the street looked interesting when we walked by the other day and it looks busy let's try that. This place is Matt Malloy's Pub. You are forgiven if that means nothing to you - it did not to me. Lesson time. Matt Malloy is an Irish flutist (traditional Irish flute) of renown (7 Grammys) and is part of the Chieftains (that name rang a bell for me - it is a professional Traditional Irish Band). Well, we get to the center room where there is a group of people playing trad music. We squeeze in and notice lots of people videotaping it with their cellphones. I end up next to a lady who tells me quite excitedly that the man playing the flute is Matt Malloy and how she is a native comes here often and has never heard him play before. In fact, she had thought he was dead; he is in his 70s and very much alive. We stay there for a couple of hours listening to the music. Much of the time it was packed. I had grabbed a stool that was right by a walkway. One man told me that there are 32 counties in Ireland and before the night was over my feet would be steppped on by someone from every county. I kept my feet on the rung of the stool after that and even got to move up closer to the music towards the end.
Trad Sessions - Song begins with a soloist and other join in. Young girl was the soloist on one song. Good to see the traditions passed onto another generation
Instruments L to R: Spoons, Banjo, Flute, Violin, Flute, Violin, Flute, Bodhram (Drum)
We decide we have visited Achill Island enough and want to explore a local Georgian house we had seen while wandering around our first day here and our hoping to hit the local Saturday Farmer's Market. The house is Westport House which was the home of the Brown family for 300 years till earlier this century when the family had to sell it because of debts. We take a tour of it and learn of the family's history. We also learned that they were related to Grace O'Malley. Now Grace O'Malley is a beloved person/legend in this part of Ireland. She was a pirate in the late 1500s/early 1600s. She owned several castles in the area and was a very good sailor and businesswoman. In fact, the British thought if they could control her, they could control the unruly Irish. In the end, she met with the English queen, and they came to a kind of truce, so Grace kept all of her property that the local English sheriff had tried to take away. You will find statues of her all over this area. One in this house, ones in neighboring town squares.
Westport House
Grand Foyer Entry Steps and Angle are Italian Marble
Walls and ceiling are amazing craftsman work
Most beautiful dead tree ever
Our last full day in Westport is a Sunday and there is a Catholic church nearby so we head off to the only Sunday mass they have at 11am. Afterwards we eat leftovers and head out to a National Park to check out a hike or two. It is a pretty sunny day! It is over an hour drive to the park which we have seen 2 names for so not sure what we will see. We turn into the parking lot to find a nice new Visitor's Center and go in. The man behind the desk is very friendly and informative. We learn that this park is Ballycroy and it is heavily protected blanket bog lands. It is also a night sky park and a sister park to Yosemite as of May this year. The wooded hikes we were thinking about are in the Wild Nephins Ballycroy National Park which is back close to Newport which is close to Westport - sigh we drove all this way for nothing.
Um well no because as we are leaving he tells us about Ceide Fields (pronounced like Cajon Fields). It is an ancient field system so an archeological site. He thinks it might be too late to go there since it is another 45 minutes and it closes at 5. We are confused since it is 2:30ish and decide to go for it. Glad we did. We got there at 3:35 and a tour had just started so they sent us out to join. Our first guy's comments were because that would be the last tour of the day since it is an hour! It was a very interesting talk. Seems that the bog that is covering EVERYTHING around there grows a millimeter a year and it is now over a meter deep. Starting in the 1930s when local farmers were digging up bog/peat/turf (pick your name) they were finding stones underneath it all that suspected were stonewalls. One of them wrote to the National folks to let them know there might be something special here. It took 30 years before the experts finally came out. When they did they got excited because they realized the locals were correct. From logic (depth of the bog) to a variety of carbon dating techniques they have decided that they are 6,000-year-old Neolithic fields. That would make this older than the Shara Brae site in the Orkney Islands we visited in 2022. (Click here to read about Shara Brae.)
Through a lot of manual work, they have been able to find miles and miles of old stone fences and burial grounds for these people who were early farmers. I say manual work because the bog is so dense and so full of water that modern techniques like sonar or x-rays or whatever cannot "see" through the bog. So they have this huge sticklike device that you slide into the ground, and you can tell the difference between stone or soil by how it feels once you get through the bog. By the way, bog is very soft and spongy, so it is easy to push a stick through it. I think I saw a fact while there that there is more liquid in a liter of bog than there is in a liter of milk. It is also a story of a local boy done good. The son of the man who originally wrote the government became an archeologist and has done much of the work on the site and has received international recognition for his work.
Our guide shows us how easy it is to push the rod 2 meters into the ground. The rise and fall of the stakes indicates where they hit rock and where they didn’t
Red lines represent there they found rocks for fences and structures
While we were wandering around the site, Jeff and I also got introduced to midges. Midges are tiny, flying insects that like a mosquito want to bite you. They are common in Ireland and Scotland and we had managed to avoid them until halfway through the talk when they found our tour group. Our tour guide started moving us from spot to spot a little faster and talking faster and faster! Our guide also educated us some on the bog. It is call blanket bog here and holds a ton of carbon so they are trying to get people to stop digging it up and burning it for fuel. Also once the bog starts growing it changes the type of soil that plants have to grow in. Bog is very acidic so some plants resort to attracting and eating bugs to supplant the bog. Additionally, like much of the Irish coast, the nearby coastline is full of cliffs. Not the type of coast you would think ancient people would chose for a new home. He pointed out that these cliffs are newer than these stone walls. The cliffs used to go out further towards the sea and probably more gently. In fact, there are stone walls that end at the cliffs and no smart farmer would pen his animals such as cows up next to something they could fall off of so cliffs are the new kids on the block.
Remnants of a communal home structure
Visitor center blends into the topography
IPCC’s Blanket Bog Plant Photo Identification Guide Click here to go to their website where you can see this chart better.
Speaking of the new kids on the block. The visitor center also has a viewing area across the street so you can look at the cliffs. Off of one of the cliffs is the sea stack - a Wild Atlantic Way Signature Discovery Point. It was now 5pm and they were closing so we plotted our drive back to our spot. All the while we kept saying how glad we were that we had come to Ceide Fields rather than doing another hike.
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