Day 3 – Galway to Killarney

It was hard to leave a comfy bed this morning…the only thing that had encouraged me to get up was the fact that I was sooo thirsty and the thought of a big glass of apple juice waiting for me at breakfast. The hostel served a complimentary continental breakfast, which was nice, but it was nicer knowing that we were the first to eat and no grubby man had touched the bread and fruit. After breakfast we checked out and headed to Poulnabronne dolben tomb, the first stop of our busy day. I can’t say it was fascinating. You know when you were younger and you used to play with the beer coasters in the pub, trying to get them to balance… it was basically like that only with slabs of rock. My bf described it as a “heaven for geologists”… well if that’s the case, geologists must be pretty boring people.

Ailwee cave was next on today’s agenda. We booked in for a tour of the cave which commenced at 10am. When we arrived it was only opening up and there weren’t many other tourists there. This was a good thing though as it meant we would be in a smaller tour group. Ailwee cave was discovered by a farmer, who’s dog chased a rabbit into it. It’s where the Irish mountain bears used to hibernate during the winter months as it’s always 10 degrees, no matter what the temperature is outside… that’s enough facts for a day. At Ailwee cave there is also a birds of prey attraction. We avoided that though cause I’m the only ‘bird’ my bf needs…obviously.

Back on the road, we headed to the famous house from the hit TV series, Father Ted. As it’s a private house, and we arrived after their short opening time every day, we had to settle for a quick photo from the road.

Next we went to the Burren National Park. Famously, well kind of famously, there was a scene of it in Harry Potter. However, when we arrived, it was bucketing so heavily that we decided to just run out to the closest part to the road for a picture. It may not be the exact place but it’s something similar.

The rain and wind continued to get worse. When we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, it was so strong we started to doubt camping out tonight. As we waited for the weather to calm down, we searched possible options…nothing came up. Bracing the weather, we wrapped ourselves up and went to see the cliffs. I had suggested in the car to miss them but I’m glad we went. The gail force winds were so fun, you could lie diagonally and the wind would keep you up. Other than the wind, the cliffs were pretty impressive too. I would highly recommend that you check them out.

Once we got back in the car we had lunch. I had been dreaming of a roast dinner beside a cosy fire all day, so the orange and banana didn’t quite hit the spot. Nevertheless, we took the coastal roads to Limerick, pulling over in Lisdoonvarna – well know for its match making festivals held annually in September. We also stopped at Brunratty Castle and Gardens. When we arrived, there was only 10 minutes left until it closed, so instead of paying a ridiculous price for a brief look around, we went back to the car and imagined it. I reckon it was greyish in colour, made from stone with a door, some windows and maybe a tower or courtyard in the middle.

We continued our journey to Limerick, stopping quickly to fill the car up with petrol. The rain hadn’t stopped all day and we joked about booking ourselves into Adare Manor hotel… sadly our pocket money or bank accounts didn’t stretch that far. Despite this, we thought we would go via the hotel for a look anyway, turns out they don’t let you into the ground unless you’re actually staying there. Adare village is very nice though – it was voted Tidiest Village 2016 – and we got some yummy freshly picked strawberries, so at least the journey was worth it.

When we arrived at our campsite we pitched up our tent in a much more sheltered spot than last time, hidden under a few trees. We had one big area of grass to ourselves and our own little picnic table. It was much nicer than our first campsite. Before the trangia broke, we had thankfully cooked up some chicken and rice. I may have burnt the bottom of the pan but with as much elbow grease as I could muster it was as good as new in no time. Oh, what I’d do for a famous Waterfortune Chinese right about now…

Before getting into our tent for the night, my bf felt a cold coming along so went to the local shop to get himself some Lemsip. He also brought back a bottle of wine as a nightcap to help us get to sleep… I’ve trained him well.