Connemara to Waterford

View from the Sitting Room of our Suite

Galway Bay 

Part of the Burren

The Cliffs of Moher



Well as you can see we did not get to Cork. One thing we have done on this trip is underestimate the time needed to get anywhere. Today was such an example. We had originally planned a big day of sightseeing on the way to Cork, possibly Waterford.  This included the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry and the Lakes of Killarney before going onto Cork. After talking to a local at dinner last night we decided to rule out the Ring of Kerry.

Had a lovely birthday dinner with French champagne in our suite before dinner, a lovely 5 course dinner and even a birthday cake (Jill had kindly arranged). Naturally a big fuss was made of the cake – lights dimmed etc. and the whole restaurant sang happy birthday.

Drove back into Galway this morning and made our way to the seafront at Galway Bay. Had a stroll down the promenade and took the obligatory photos before hopping back in the car to head overland through the area called the Burren (barren hills) to the Cliffs of Moher . The cliffs are a big tourist destination on the coast about 50kms south of Galway. It took us 2 hours to get there from Connemara. The cliffs are a spectacular sight. When you stand on the cliffs and face south you are only 3000kms from New Foundland in Canada. No wonder the North Americans are frequent visitors to Ireland.

We then headed for Ennis with lunch on the way. By this time it was 2.30pm and we realised that we were just not going to be able to include Killarney or Cork on our journey. So we turned off at Limerick and headed for Waterford. This was only about 120kms but we did not get to Waterford until after 5.30pm and we had no stops. It was a really hard drive for the men today as it was mainly on Regional (to the Cliffs of Moher) and National roads. National roads are usually undivided roads with few if any passing lanes. Regional roads are narrower, take you through winding village main streets and sometimes involve stopping to let others coming the opposite way pass as the road is too narrow.

Waterford is home of the Waterford Crystal Factory. It is conveniently situated 700 metres from our hotel. A stop there in the morning is on the agenda.