Sunday 6th June

Today was a funny old day! We spent a little time deciding what do to, wondering which places would be closed or too crowded, what with it being the Bank Holiday weekend. Honestly, I don’t think we needed to worry about it - as so many people kept telling us today, the roads were “very busy” or that’s what the Irish think is busy….to us, the roads were practically empty. Yes, there were a few people around but not what I would call “heaving”…!

We started out going to Craggaunowen, the Bronze Age Project. We must have been the first people there when we arrived at 11am, it took us the most part of 2 hours to get there. Mathew seemed to have miscalculated the distances between there and the Burren, where he found our holiday cottage. Well, he was the driver, its his fault…!! Anyway, I had been to Craggaunowen before, and I remember it as quite busy. The only thing I had wished different about the place was people dressed up and showing visitors things, talking about what people would have done and made etc. It was obvious the place was geared up for this, as we saw lathes which could have been demonstrated, and weaving looms in mid-weave. Nevertheless, it was fun, and despite there being practically nobody there as we went around, it did feel like someone was living there, thanks to there being a small fire smouldering away in the Castle and the Crannog. Mathew also went down the secret tunnel from the Iron Age fort and I took a photo of him coming out of the exit on the side. I would have done it too, but the ladder down was so rickety and the sign “Dangerous descent" made me think “with my ribs….I think not…!!” Plus, I was obviously in accident prone mode as I hit my head on the door getting out of the roundhouse to take the photo of Mathew on his way out!

There was also an Iron Age road which I have to say, was very badly maintained - we could only just about see it as it was so overgrown. We thought that perhaps the recession had hit this place particularly badly and they had not been able to afford the upkeep of certain things in Craggaunowen. We finished off looking in the shop, and I remember it being better than it is now - yet another “kiss me quick” shops where the only items sold are green or with shamrocks or Guinness on them, was what this shop had unfortunately turned into. There were a few locally made handcrafted items, but really not that much, and this is what I usually like to see when I go on holiday. Unique, handcrafted locally made souvenirs with a difference. Still, this little shop had postcards, and I decided - since I hadn’t been able to find any on this holiday - to buy 6 postcards while I was there. I bought 5 of the Cliffs of Moher which we were visiting later on today, and one of the Aran Islands which we will visit later in the week.

Leaving Craggaunowen, we were a little disappointed with the “tearoom” as it had been called a “restaurant” in the brochure and on the website. This to us meant the availability of soups and sandwiches, while it was actually just tea and cake. We decided to find out about the eatery in the next stop, which was Dysert O’Dea Archaeological Centre.

Now, I was thinking that Dysert was a little village, the Castle was O’Dea’s, and the Clare Archaeological Centre was also a different building. Not so! We arrived at the Castle which was also the Archaeological Centre. Fair enough. We didn’t see any evidence of an eatery until we got inside, and you guessed it - it was yet another tea and cake place. So why the brochure and advertising on the roadside said “shops!” I have NO idea. This Castle was along a narrow rarely used road (identified by the grass growing down the centre), and that was it - no shops in sight, no village. Which again, was fair enough, we didn’t mind. Inside, the castle was quite fun, and slightly odd because every room had some exhibits in which obviously belonged to “Dysert O’Dea Archaeological Unit” with their hand written cards telling you what items were in the cabinets. It was a little like an old fashioned Museum in a way, and it was just really quite quirky, odd and not exactly what we expected it to be!

We stopped off down the road which we had came up, to have a look at the High Cross and St. Tolla's Church which was quite nice, especially as this was the church with the really nice Norman arch! It was worth going there just for that!

Leaving Dysert O’Dea, we wondered what we would do for lunch. We had been lured by the “restaurants”, “eateries” and “shops” which didn’t really exist, and we had not brought a packed lunch. I had eaten a snack earlier so my appetite was doing just fine, and Mathew’s appetite had gotten hungry but it was over that and not really bothered any more. Still, we decided to look out of any interesting places which might have been worth eating at.

Along the road back to Fanore, we stopped in Quin which had a ruined Friary. When we got to the information board, it turned out that the building had originally been a Castle (identified by the round towers on each of the four corners, now ruined), and then had been turned into a Friary. And this was the first ruined Friary we had been to where there was someone inside who welcomed us and asked us to keep to the gravel and not walk on the gravestones, and if we had to step on the gravestones, try to avoid the inscriptions. All the ruins we had been to before had not had any sort of “keeper” person at the door.

After Quinn, we continued and decided that we would head on to the Cliffs of Moher, since we hadn’t planned anything else, and it was en route. When we passed the car park which was asking for an E8 fee, we rode on to try and fine somewhere to eat before going in there. Mathew was thinking that, even though there was a visitors centre and food was available, there was no telling of what that would be. So we found the “Stonecutters Cottage Kitchen” which was pleasant enough, and I had a warm chicken and bacon salad whilst Mathew had a Panini. Afterwards, we headed back to the Cliffs of Moher, and discovered that the E8 fee was for the “facillties”, meaning everything. Well, with the exception of the extra fee for the tower on top anyway. We walked around and had a look at the shops which looked really promising at first but turned out to be yet more “kiss me quick” tourist shops selling green things and black things, no local handmade crafts whatsoever. In the visitors center however, there was slightly more in that shop, but there was more “kiss me quick” stuff than anything else, save for some really really nice glass items which were E40 at LEAST, and some nice wooden items which were also equally as nice but equally expensive. I know that locally handcrafted things are sometimes expensive, but they don’t have to be. I had already bought locally made things for E4 to E10 which were just as nice. I was beginning to wish I’d bought a couple more things from the Hill of Tara - that really was a lucky find.

Anyway, I bought some Baileys truffles which I am sure I could have got anywhere but I just felt I needed the chocolate and then we went out for a walk to see the cliffs. They were very impressive, although I felt very restricted - there was a barrier of slate or stone preventing people from getting too close to the cliff which is fair enough but it was really very high and got in the way of taking a really nice photo at some points! There was a tower at the top which was asking for more money if you wanted to go to the top of it to get “the best views” of the cliffs, which we didn’t bother with. E8 was too much already thanks! We walked around both sides and took more photos. I know the safety thing is a priority here because people have died off these cliffs unfortunately, and perhaps this is part of the reason why the barrier was so high, mostly at shoulder height. But I really was hoping to have a nice long walk along the cliff top, a barrier of sorts would have been absolutely fine with me, but at the Cliffs of Moher, there is a beginning and an end - you have to stop at certain points.

I think I just found it irritating that there was no safe path to walk along the entire cliff top on (this sort of thing does exist in several English coastlines), and to be honest, the E8 was just extortionate, especially when there is a perimeter which people have to keep to, and are unable to walk along the cliff top safely either side of the perimeter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice place indeed, but I felt penned in and restricted, I didn’t feel free to roam, and I felt robbed because as far as I’m concerned, it’s an excuse for whatever authority which owns the Cliffs of Moher to get money off people. If you decide to go there, its best to try and park elsewhere and get there on foot.

Eventually, the end of the day came and we made it home to our cottage in Fanore where Timmy the dog greeted us in his elderly man sort of way and the lady living in the house next door introduced us to her two Grandchildren who couldn’t quite understand the concept of two people staying in the cottage for 1 week, and two different people staying in the cottage for another week. She also told us that Doolin was the place for traditional Irish music, if we were interested.

We got inside the cottage and met John (the lady’s husband) who briefly spoke to us and left us to it as he went on to do some gardening. He asked us if we’d been to Galway city which he hadn’t, and he told us it was a lovely place. It’s not on our itinerary but its not that far away….. We’ll see, I guess!