Wednesday 17 August: Doolin, Cliffs of Moher and the Burren

Doolin

Doolin is quite untypical of the Irish towns we have seen up to now - most of them are very compact, with all the houses, pubs and shops clustered around narrow main street. Doolin is more like an Australian coastal town - spread out over a large area, with houses dotted over the landscape. It is a very pretty location, and we had a long walk from our B&B through some local farms - with no traffic!

Our B&B is called Dubhlinn House, and is very good. The hosts Martin & Joan Reilly are very friendly and helpful, the rooms are large and comfortable, and the breakfast is excellent.

Doolin claims to be the centre of Irish traditional music, and there are a number of pubs with live music every night. We didn't go to a pub last night, but will definitely get there tonight.

The Cliffs of Moher

These cliffs are very high, sheer drops into the Atlantic. Maximum height is about 200 metres, which is impressive. As usual, the place was crowded, despite the indifferent weather. There's nothing wrong with Ireland that a few less tourists and some better roads wouldn't fix!

The Burren

This afternoon we had a drive through an area called the Burren. According to the guidebook, it's a limestone plain with a "moonscape" look, strange flora and lots of butterflies. We must have missed it. Nice enough area, but we didn't see any moonscape.

We have to go through the area again tomorrow on our way out of here, so we'll have another look.