Route: I hit the road early in hopes of doing the solo loop to Ballyconneely and Roundstone and being back before lunch. I was disappointed: i wasted a bunch of time wandering through fields looking for the Alcock and Brown landing site, and Ballyconneely didn't look auspicious for breakfast, but i was hungry and had to climb a bunch of hills. Things turned around when i reached the southernmost point on the map, when i finished climbing a hill and went around a bend to see a gorgeous coast view (i was too busy enjoying the ride down to take a picture). In Roundstone, i had an Irish breakfast sandwich — every kind of sausage known to man on a baguette, a truly ridiculous object, then had a nice fast ride back along the bog road which we'd covered the day before. I did arrive in time for lunch, if only barely.
The Alcock and Brown landing site was on private property, but the sign just said to close the gate after going through, so i did. I expected a place- marker for the actual landing site, but never found one. Maybe it was under these sheep? |
Maybe the landing site was on this rock. |
On the road towards Ballyconneely |
We've left the rocky coastline of the Aran Islands. Now there's seaweed at the water line. |
More seaweedy coastline |
Seaweed and boats |
Obligatory covered hay bales |
We saw a number of roofs with this corrugated tile pattern |
"4 ACRES WITH RUINS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL FOR SALE" |
Green hillside west of Roundstone |
Coastline, and a truck |
Fuschia! (We think.) |
Baby swing at a playground in Roundstone |
Inlet east of Roundstone, behind a playground |
Super-touristy bodhran museum is full of bodhrans |
More stone walls, in Roundstone |
Route: After lunch, Samira and i rode this brief, steep, and gorgeous route out and back along Clifden's Sky Road. When we got back to town, we did some shopping, had dinner, and went out to hear some live music (a trad ballad session at once place, followed by a trad drinking songs session at a second pub).
Castle visible from the Sky Road |
Sky Road view across the channel to the south |
Sky Road view southwest towards the ocean |
Green coastline by the Sky Road |
Sky Road southwest view |
North view from the Sky Road across Streamstown Bay |
East view from the Sky Road towards the Bens |
Streamstown Bay |
East from the Sky Road |
Seaweed near the Sky Road |
Samira on the fence |
Look, a sheep! (Honestly, we saw a million sheep on this trip. I just kept failing to photograph them.) |
We're not on the Aran Islands any more, but there's still lots of stone around. |