Lahinch and the Cliffs of Moher

After leaving the somewhat treacherous Conor Pass, we continued on the Wild Atlantic Way towards the ferry that would take us from County Kerry to County Clare, and to Lahinch where we would be spending the next two nights.

We really had not planned to take the Killimer-Tarbert Car Ferry, but a local in Dingle told us that driving all the way to Limerick was a waste of time.  So glad we followed his advice!  The ferry route was much shorter, and was so pretty.

When we arrived in Lahinch, we soon realized that the directions we had to our next accommodation, Callura Cottage, were assuming that we were coming from the opposite direction.   Our wonderful, wonderful, wonderful hostess (and cottage owner), Mary, had emailed us that if we got lost to just pull in at the Atlantic Hotel and ask for directions.  It turns out that her son worked there, and he was the very person we talked to!  He said, "Oh yeah.  That's me mam!  I'll call her."  Mary drove into town and met us, and we followed her back to the cottage.  She and her daughter were there preparing for our stay, so after making sure we knew how to find our way back and that we knew where to find the key, she directed us to the Cliffs of Moher, our next sight-seeing destination.


The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher and The Rock of Cashel are tied for the coldest two places I have ever been!  The wind was whipping and knocking us about as soon as we got out of the car, and I thought that it would surely blow us over the cliffs!  But what magnificent views!  The Cliffs are Ireland's most visited attraction, and we were thrilled to be among the 1 million people who visit each year.  On this particular day, it wasn't very crowded at all, in part I'm sure because of the weather, which included high winds, very cold temperatures, and HAIL!

That's O'Brien's Tower in the distance.  We didn't climb up.

We walked in both directions from the Visitor's Center, and I chose to stay on the designated paths and behind the guard rails.  Many people absolutely did not.   While I'm sure that it is very exciting to stand or sit on the cliffs edge for a photo op, it just wasn't worth it to me.

We left the cliffs and traveled on our way, hoping to explore The Burren.  We weren't entirely successful, but we did see a beautiful rainbow!

Double rainbow!

We did find the edges of The Burren, but knew that we were not exactly at the right place.  And as the sun started to set, we realized that we needed to return to our cottage while it was still light enough to find our way.


Callura Cottage

 
We LOVE our cottage!  Callura Cottage  sits on a hill, with views of the ocean on one side and beautiful pastures on the other.  We returned, maybe with a chocolate muffin or two, and settled in to relax for the evening.  When we walked in the cottage from our cold day out exploring, we found that Mary had left a roaring peat fire in the fireplace, towels warming on the heat vents, and homemade scones waiting in the kitchen.   We loved her Irish hospitality!

These are the views from our cottage!  It's so beautiful!  The inside is beautiful as well.  Mary came back and visited with us, at our invitation, and told us the history of the house. 

We are SO very happy to be here.