Road Trip #2...The highest cliff in Europe

see all photos »

After spending Thurs. night back at Chris' in Galway (with a load of laundry completed), we headed out together early Friday. This time there were four of us: Chris, Amandine, Maryl (friend from France), and me. Our plan was to drive all the way to Slieve League in Dongal Conunty and try to make it up to the hostel at Mt. Errigal for the night.

We had decent weather and stopped first in Sligo for a coffee and short walk in the town center. The drive there was mainly highway and as we came into Sligo County, the scenery changed dramatically. There were high, huge flatop mesas protruding from the inland and seasides creating a formidable skyline. One mesa resembles Tabletop Mountain in Capetown, SA. Sligo is situated on an inlet between the two mesas. The town was nice, though not as quaint as others, with a small river running thru the center. After coffee, we got back in the car to drive to Donegal, a small town at the entrance to the fantastic seaside cliffs of the northwest.

Sligo county
see all photos »

Dongeal was adorable. I would have liked to have stayed here for a night. It is very small and really quaint. We had lunch and then drove on toward the coastal pennisulas of the famous cliffs. We finallly arrived after many bends and turns to the parking area (though later realized we could have driven right up to the cliff viewpoint rather than walk the 2 miles uphill)! But walk we did and what a view! The entire walk up gave us vistas of ocean far below, rock, sheep, lakes, and glorious sunshine! It was spectacular. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died right about now so I relied on Amandine to take the photos of the Slieve League. When I get them from her I will post them here. It was amazing. We spent quite a bit of time at the viewpoint area which overlooked across a deep cove to the cliffs towering above us. We were very lucky to get some sun shining on the cliffs, though the wind was ferocuious. We climbed a green hillside on our side and came to a magnificent view. It was really spectacular. We rested here a bit before the long walk back to the car, which was, luckily, downhill.

see all photos »

Since it was getting late in the day and it would take us another 1.5 hours to get to Errigal, we opted for the closer hostel located on a country road not far from Donegal. First we stopped off in a small fishing village for dinner at the local hotel. I had the most scrumpcious seafood chowder and caprese salad along with a pint, of course. The area we were in is called Bluestack Mountains and is a beautiful hilly, green region of land adjacent to the ocean with many idyllic bays and small fishing villages. The hostel was small but comfortable and we were pretty tired from the car ride and the climbing.

see all photos »

The next day took us even further north in Northen Ireland. We made it to Derry around lunchtime and walked around the town. It is an interesting place. Quite large and separated by a river. The old city area is surrounded by the original stone wall which you can walk (around the loop). We stopped to visit the Cathedral which was getting ready to host a wedding, and then had a nice lunch in a small sandwich cafe. Next, we drove on to Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway, a spectacular coastal scenic area of geological significance and the town where the famous whisky is produced.