Terry and Sooz's Travels: October 5, 2019

Last night we stayed at the Claddagh House B&B just outside Ballina. The room was nice especially since Sooz needed a rest with her cold, but the best part was meeting Bill and his wife Dawn who were helping the owner run the place while she was out of town. We really enjoyed their company and getting a feel for what it's like to live in the area. They had recently moved there from another part of Ireland after retiring. Bill like to fly fish and ties his own flies. Dawn has been helping her friend out at the B&B and other things in the community.

We then drove a short distance to the Dun Briste Sea Stack on Atlantic coast. It is a dramatic coastline with a piece of what used to be the main part of Ireland now located just offshore. We hiked to the peninsula to be able to see the stack better while the wind was howling, the rain pelting and the temperature dropping. It was cold. But I'm glad we went because the landscape and scenery were bold and raw and perfectly Ireland. I love that kind of weather and scenery.

Next on the agenda was a visit just down the road to Ceide Fields, "a bogland reserve teeming with flora and fauna marked by stone age dwellings and tombs" . There was also a nice, modern Visitor's Center. The story is that a local farmer was out clearing his fields and found a couple of strange looking rocks that he placed out by the road. It just so happened that an archaeologist drove by, saw the stones and determined them to be foreign leading him to locate a prehistoric dwelling area nearby under several meters of bog. "The site is the most extensive Neolithic site in Ireland and contains the oldest known field systems in the world."

We tried to reserve a room in Galway but everything under $250 a night was booked so we continued on to the Hydro Hotel in Rathbaun, County Clare that dates back to 1875 and got its name due to it being the first hotel in Ireland to offer guests hot and cold running water.

Video of Dun Briste Sea Stack: