(D) Our first morning in Ballyvaughan and I woke up pretty early again, I don’t know why it’s impossible to sleep in on holidays but it is what it is I guess. One of the lovely things about self catering though is that I could get up and come into the lounge area and make some plunger coffee and something to eat and generally potter about without disturbing Liane. Mind you she woke up not too long after me anyway and made herself some eggs & tomatoes with avocado on toast – I regretted that I’d had something earlier myself as it looked delicious!

The weather prediction was for a cloudy though clear morning with showers and possibly storms later on, so we decided to head out early and set out for to see the Poulnabrone dolmen. This is apparently a classic portal tomb and dates back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC and 2900 BC – hard to get your head around that!!! (Thanks again Wikepedia!)

On the way we planned to stop to see the ringed Fairy Fort but though it’s a natural enclosure just off the road that you can sort of see, the entrance had a sign saying it was closed off for repairs. We contemplated trying to access it via the woods on the side but it was so muddy and wet we decided that wasn’t wise…. Well OK that decision was made AFTER I sunk my booted foot down to my ankle!

So off to Poulnabrone where we oohed and aahed in concert….. amazing, stunning, totally awesome place! We had a chat with a ranger there who happened to be walking by and he told us that even this time of the year they get around 400 people a day visiting, in high season it’s well over 2000 a day!!! We were very lucky (once again) that we got the place to ourselves AND the sun shone for us too….. can’t ask much more than that.

The ranger was very Irish, ie very friendly, and asked us where we were from and where we were planning on going etc. He suggested we visit the Cliffs of Moher whilst it was sunny as rain was on it’s way so after chatting with him for a bit we decided to take his advice and headed straight there.

Now when I say straight there, of course there were a couple of tiny weeny little photo op stops but Liane got quite stern in the end as we were determined to get there before the rain began.

As it was the whole time we were there, indeed the entire time we were out today, it sprinkled very occasionally but then the sun would come shining out again – we were totally blessed!

The Cliffs of Moher are undoubtedly impressive – they’re huge and grand and it’s not at all surprising that they’ve dubbed the road that runs up the west coast of Ireland the Wild Atlantic Way….. the sea bashes, the wind howls and the Cliffs stand there copping the lot! Honestly the wind was so strong at times that you could feel yourself being buffeted by it and were constantly aware that your hat, or anything else, could blow off!
There are signs all over the place warning people not to climb the walls to venture closer to the edge but no doubt some are stupid enough to do that….. whilst I love a good photo it’s obvious that it could be a really dangerous so getting any closer to the edge than the pathways just in search of a better shot is going a bit too far I think!

As we left there we decided to take the “long way” back to Ballyvaughan and continue along the Wild Atlantic Way rather than the, slightly faster, inland route. We were both hungry and looking forward to leftover lentil soup but needless to say we stopped countless times because…. Well because it’s all so stunningly beautiful that you just have to keep stopping to ooh and ahh some more! No sooner would we get back in the car, after pulling into a layby to take photos, we’d go around a corner and go….oh my god look at that view….. and then we’d be stopping again. Each time of course putting coats, hats and scarves on and off as blinking heck it was windy!

We eventually made it home, enjoyed our well deserved soup for (late) lunch, had a quick stroll up the street to take some photos of the village, had a quick drink in the pub and then a short stop at the shop (OK to buy wine, I admit it freely!) before coming home again.

Liane made a lovely pasta and veggies for dinner and we enjoyed our evening blogging, looking at our photos, chatting and washing etc.

Tomorrow more exploring this gorgeous area…..can’t wait!

(L) I managed to sleep in until 7 which is unheard of for me but it's so dark out here in the country and there's certainly none of the noises you hear in a city... the comfy bed and thick warm doona helped somewhat too!

I had, months and months ago, looked at a day trip out of Ballyvaughan and had printed off a google maps route but as Deb said we got talking with the Ranger and made the decision to head straight to the Cliffs of Moher whilst the sun was still shining.... we never can stick to a plan!  "Straight to the Cliffs"? well ok there was copious amounts of stopping for "just one more photo" as Deb was continually saying "Oh look at that, its just sooooo beautiful" - I (of course) had my eyes on the road as much as possible as they are very windy and skinny and a lot of the time there's a stone wall either side. 

From Poulnabrone we went through Kilfenora (this looks like a nice little town worth a stop) as the Ranger had said but he just then said it's a 20 minute drive from there. That's well and good however there are no signs saying "Cliffs of Moher" so Deb had to whip out the trusty Jane and plot a course. Poor Jane - once again she's having conniptions (as Deb keeps saying) as we miss turn offs, mainly because there is no warning sign it's just there... right at the turn! We finally made it to the Cliffs and paid the €6 per person to enter the car park. There isn't really any other parking close by so unless you wanted to park a ways away and trek in there is no other choice but to pay the €6. The cliffs are definitely spectacular and we were, once again, charmed with the weather however all my photos are washed out because the camera was playing silly b*****s with me. 

On the way back we had decided to follow the Wild Atlantic Way but it wasn't long before we saw a gorgeous ruin so we ducked down the conveniently placed laneway which wound right past it and of course had to stop for photos. Deb consulted Jane who kindly rerouted us (no doubt with a shake of her head and roll of her eyes) and as it turns out this lane would take us into Doolin anyway. Once in Doolin we made a quick detour (sorry Jane) down to the Pier. As we turned the corner Deb spotted a scarf in the doorway of a little shop, called "The Sweater Shop", that she announced she just "had to have". Well as it turned out her scarf was a blanket so she walked away empty handed however I walked away €96 poorer but in possession of the most gorgeous Aran knit jacket and socks!! 

Right now home... straight home... NO PHOTO!! It was already nearly 3 and we hadn't had lunch so we hightailed it home ( ok there may have been one or two more photo stops!). 

We have no idea what tomorrow will bring but Deb suggests we get lost - as in - no Jane!!