Galway to Tralee – 4 July 2010
We awoke to rain in Galway. It was in fact quite stormy. This soon gave way to fine weather but the wind remained strong. We travelled to Tralee by way of the Burren. The Burren is a rocky and windswept region and it is amazing to think that people actually lived here and eked out an existence. Apparently the hills were once wooded and covered in soil, but this was 6000 years ago and there are many archaeological sites to show this. Gradually the limestone won through and what you see now is a stark landscape which has been designated a special area of conservation. It is truly an amazing place and made even more eerie by the strong winds.
We journeyed through the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher. When you view the photos you will say, “Oh I’ve seen photos of them.” As surely you have. The cliffs rise to a height of 203m. They are entirely vertical and the sea crashes into them constantly. You need to park your car in the car park and walk up the trail to view the cliffs. There is a charge for the carparking and being shrewd the powers that be have made no parking zones for a kilometre or six either side of the car parks. The walk and the view were worth it, the wind making it more so. One of the many highlights of our trip so far.
We then journeyed around the coast a short way before cutting across country to the other coast on the peninsula to Kilmer where we boarded a car ferry that took us over the River Shannon and eventually we arrived at our B&B in Tralee through Listowel Moya’s ancestral home of which more in another Blog. This part of the country is quite flat and a good contrast to the craggy scenery earlier. The weather held and even the wind dropped. ”Ahh the Irish summer,” we thought!