May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. – An Irish Blessing
On the day after our visit to Wicklow Mountains, we woke up before dawn to go to our meeting spot with Irish Day Tours for our day trip out to Western Ireland. Let me tell you something – they don’t call it the Wild Atlantic Way for nothing!
Riding through central Ireland to the west, we were told tales of fairy forts, kings and saints like the story of St. Bridget of Kildare and how her cloak expanded across the land of County Kildare. And the story of the masons who’s lives were sacrificed in the end after building Corcomroe Abbey so that no other person would come along and build an incredible structure like they built.
Yes, Ireland is definitely an intriguing place, and has one of the most captivating landscapes I’ve ever seen in my entire life: the Cliffs of Moher.
Cliffs of Moher
I literally wanted to run from our bus to O’Brien’s Tower – the cliff’s highest point.
Have you ever imagined seeing a place and when you finally got there it was just as amazing as you thought it would be? That would be the Cliffs of Moher for me!
We were so glad we were visiting on a beautiful day. The sky was clear enough for us to view the Aran Islands across the water. We were so worried before our trip that we’d get there and see fog or buckets of rainfall because we weren’t visiting during the summer months.
I think we were lucky! In fact, the weather was perfect that entire day.
Cliffs of Moher Facts
Located on the southwestern edge of the Burren in Co. Clare, the cliffs have two points: Hag’s Head (390 feet) on the southern end and near O’Brien’s Tower (702 feet) on the northern.
We didn’t have time to walk to Hag’s Head (we were told it could take an hour to get there) but we were able to see it from the northern side.
O’Brien’s Tower was built in 1835 by Cornelius O’Brien who built it for believe it or not – tourists! Even almost 200 years ago the Cliffs of Moher drew a lot of visitors from around the world.
The cliffs are named after a fort called “Moher” (also called Mothar) that stood on Hag’s Head. Also, did you know the cliffs are featured in movies like The Princess Bride, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
The Burren
After spending about an hour and a half at the cliffs, we hopped on the bus and made a short stop at the “Mini Cliffs” in Burren National Park. The views were of course, also amazing!
Driving through the Burren reminded me of something out of a sci-fi movie. It’s vast, rocky land that will make you think you’ve landed on another planet. And if you walk out farther into it, it’s as if you could get lost in its abyss.
Galway
We did a little souvenir shopping for family and friends while in Galway.
Galway has a lot of great food spots and plenty of shopping. Unfortunately, we did not buy Aran wool clothes (I wish we did), but we didn’t have enough time to do that kind of shopping.
However, all Tristan wanted to see anyway were the boats in the harbor. He was particularly fascinated with a sea research boat and a boat called “Evolution”. He still talks about that boat to this day!
Wild Atlantic Way
Riding along the western coast of Ireland, I can see why it’s called the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s rugged, winding, narrow, untamed and with thrilling natural sights along the way.
Somewhere between the Burren and Doolin, I remember looking down below from our bus window as we drove on a cliff. The water looked like a beautifully clear blue. I could actually see large fish swimming in it!
I thought you could only see something like that in the Caribbean or somewhere tropical. But never expected to see that in Ireland. It was a nice surprise!
If you’re not familiar with the Wild Atlantic Way, it is a 1600 mile long coastline starting from Northern Ireland at Co. Donegal and ending in Co. Cork. We only saw a portion of it called the “Cliff Coast” but definitely want to go back for another trip exploring the full route.
And if you’re making a day trip of it from Dublin, you can arrive back in Dublin for dinner!
Bonus
Watch our new video from our Wild Atlantic Way road trip!
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