Route: we had breakfast at Waterfall Lodge, our B&B, and hit the road at 9:10. Our start was not without tension: we had to climb 250 meters over the course of our first 10 km of riding, and knew we were racing to make the 13:00 ferry. After we reached the top of the hill, it was smooth sailing down to the coast, where we made the ferry with 20 minutes to spare. The entire ride was gorgeous, through hills covered in sheep, with almost no car traffic.
On the road! |
Green hills |
The road ahead |
Samira riding up the hill |
One of many ponds we passed |
Looking back towards Lough Carrib |
Pond and mountains |
The road, and a sign encouraging hikers |
A stream |
Tony assured us that the treeline would be the top of our climb. It wasn't quite, but close enough for morale's sake. |
Fields containing peat |
Route: We took the ferry (not pictured) from Rossaveel to Lower Kilronan, on Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. Once we arrived, we checked into our B&B, and i did the recommended loop route to Dun Aengus and the Seven Churches, while Samira took a bus tour and learned some things about the history of the area. Not wanting to bike into town, we had a nice dinner at our B&B, Ard Einne, instead.
A donkey! |
Characteristic Inishmore view of stone fences |
Looking north toward the mainland |
Rocky coastline |
Stone ruins along the coast road on Inishmore |
The ocean is very blue |
Rocky coastline |
Large rock. Seek alt. route. |
Dun Aengus: ancient cliff fort, thought to have been built in stages from 2nd century BCE through 10th century CE or so. Very sunny, please excuse my low-quality camera. |
Outer wall of Dun Aengus |
Outer wall of Dun Aengus |
Close-up of wall: stones were laid by hand |
Outer wall of Dun Aengus |
A group of middle-school boys from Dublin on an end-of-term trip. We met them on the ferry, and they were pleased to see us again. |
Coast view east from the courtyard of Dun Aengus. You can see the Cliffs of Moher in the distance |
Ocean view south from Dun Aengus |
No safety railing - it's a long way down. |
Inishmore landscape |
Thatched roof |
The Seven Churches: in fact just two ruined churches, plus some support buildings and a graveyard. |
Seven Churches |
A window in the largest church |
Building with two chimneys, near Seven Churches |
The best of several attempts to capture the sunset from our B&B room window on Inishmore |