9/15 – There’s an area north of the Cliffs and south of Galway called The Burren. It’s a bit hard to describe.  Much of it is barren and the landscape is hardened rock, and it is the home for some really ancient relics.  Ennistimon to Galway isn’t that far, but there were so many places to divert to, it took all day.

The first place we stopped was closed for refurbishment.  But the second place we stopped was the Poulnabrone Dolmen.  Basically, it’s an ancient tomb and you’ll see hundreds of photos on the internet of it.  Here’s mine. We were very lucky that we were early and between tour buses, otherwise it would have been a bit difficult to take a photo without tourists in it.

The Poulnabrone Dolmen is probably the most photographed antiquity of the Burren.  It is a portal tomb dating back to about 3500BC.  We were lucky to have arrived between tour buses to get this tourist-free shot. 

Just up the road is Caherconell Stone Fort.  This is a paid site to enter.  Sorry to say, we much preferred the stone forts on the Ring of Kerry and Ring of Beara that were free to explore.  Just because you pay for an attraction does not increase your appreciation for it.

We visited the gardens of the Burren Perfumery. It was a pretty enough garden, but highly doubtful they produced their flowers and herbs for perfumes there.

Then on to Kilmacduagh Monastic site.  This was an extensive Abbey with a tower and graveyard. The tower is leaning and the graveyard has some really old stones next to far newer ones.

The graveyard at Kilmacdaugh Monastic Site.  The moss-covered stone in the front is a headstone from centuries back.  The one in the rear stands very erect and probably is from the past century.  This yard obviously isn’t very well tended. 

Circling back to the ocean, we visited Hazel Mountain Chocolates and purchased some truffles.  Very close to HMC was Corcomroe Abbey.  This was probably one of the top 5 Abbeys we visited.  It was free, well preserved, had a geocache, and was not touristy.

 A view through one of the many archways in Corcomroe Abbey, an early 13th-century monastery.  It was very well maintained, even the graveyard had fresh flowers and tended shrubbery.  I found the oldest tombstone here dated 1790.  I’m sure we saw many others on our trip that were older, but they would be so disintegrated and weathered, you couldn’t read the inscriptions.

Kinvarra was a town said to be cute and quaint, so we stopped to take a look.  It did have multi-colored buildings and was cute.  We stopped to have a drink at a pub and it was more of a local’s bar – wish we had chosen a better place.  Oh well.

We then went to Dunguaire Castle.  There is an entrance fee for this, but I thought it worth it.  There were several levels and rooms with furnishings to give you an idea how that century lived.  The views at the top were beautiful.

This is the view from the top of the Dunguaire Castle.  You can see the town of Kinvarra.

We found our B&B in Galway, The Stop. It was walking distance from the main center.  The parking offered in the back was very difficult to navigate, being down really narrow alleyways with sharp turns.  Somehow, Fred got the car in there (why did we want the upgraded car?).

That evening we walked the short distance to the waterfront and had an excellent dinner at Ard Bia.  The seating was refurbished antique furniture.  Fred and I sat at a desk with a top drawer on each side. When we opened the drawer, they were filled with random humorous notes from former customers.

The Adventure Continues>>>