Carrigaholt is a picturesque little fishing village on the southern side of Loop Head about 10 kms from Kilkee. It is a thriving holiday spot with several pubs, an excellent restaurant - The Long Dock - which was crowded every day of our stay and the award-winning Dolphin Watch which provides excellent trips to see dolphins (largest group of resident bottle-nosed dolphins in Europe), birds and cliffs in the mouth of the Shannon.
Jim and I had a few days to ourselves before being joined by Brian and Mairead and our French friend Danielle and her granddaughter Jade. This gave us an opportunity to stock up and to suss out the area in order to be prepared for all the trips we were planning to make. We had no idea if the Dolphin watch would appeal to Danielle and Jade or to their pockets so, in order not to miss out, Jim and I took the trip on the day before the others arrived. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip which was greatly enhanced by the knowledgeable skipper. We saw lots of dolphins and could even distinguish between the adult dolphins and the younger ones which were a grey colour, lighter than the adults. It is extremely hard to capture them on film but we have a few photos to prove we were there and we saw dolphins.
Amidst all this dolphin activity there was a gannet swimming unperturbed.
The Dolphin Watch tours go out from the harbour at Carrigaholt Castle.
And this is the Draiocht, the boat on which we did the Dolphin Watch. On board is Minnie, the dog, providing lots of entertainment for the children, particularly when he lifted his leg as dogs do!
After our fill of dolphins the skipper took us to the north Kerry coast which was spectacular from the point of view of nesting birds and cliffs.
The tiny speck on the top left of the sea stack is a peregrine falcon renowned for its speed!
The other 4 were very keen to see dolphins so they took an excursion in Draioct a few days later. Seemingly they saw over 50 different dolphins (according to the skipper) while we kept seeing the same ones again and again. Their trip was different as they were at a different time of the day and tides were different. They didn't experience the coast of Kerry but were brought closer to Loop Head.
Jim managed to capture us at the Wild Atlantic Way sign in Carrigaholt.
We did the Loop Head Peninsula drive from Carrigaholt to Kilbaha to Loop Head Lighthouse. On the return trip we went to the Bridges Of Ross and then on to Cross and back to Carrigaholt.
Kilbaha is a tiny fishing village on the south west end of the Loop Head Peninsula. It has a very good and very busy restaurant, Keatings, with very friendly staff.
The day Jim took these pictures was one of the two most beautiful days of our holiday which, sadly for them, was before the other four arrived. Looking back, and in the light of the very mixed weather we had for the rest of our stay, I can't believe how blue the sky was. we had our evening meal outside at Keatings' overlooking the sea and the activities on it.
The Loop Head Lighthouse is one of the Great Lighthouses of Ireland open to the public recently.
You can take a guided tour up the lighthouse tower and onto the balcony. We sent our intrepid envoys, Brian and Jade, to investigate while we waited below.
And waited ...
And waited ....
And waited ...
And waited ...
And waited!
There are some great views at Loop Head and from the balcony of the lighthouse.
We really loved the Bridges of Ross which is located at the north side of the Loop Head Peninsula. At one stage there were three natural sea arches, two have since collapsed into the sea, but the one that remains cannot be seen from the road but can be accessed along a scenic cliff walk. While we were there we noticed that several people did not have the persistence to continue as far as the bridge and I felt like shouting after them that they were missing something special.
Will he, won't he??
On our first visit to the Bridges of Ross the sea was quite choppy which made this blow hole more spectacular, reminding Jim and me of the really spectacular one we had seen in Tasmania.
This shows you how calm it was on our second visit.
I'm the one in pink
Down near the castle in Carrigaholt is a fish shop where I bought the freshest fish I have ever bought. On one occasion pollock and on the next hake. It went down really well with our French guests.
Pink bike outside the fish shop.
Being in Co. Clare it was imperative that we saw the Cliffs of Moher. We had neglected to register that we were in high season and that the Cliffs would be mobbed and the weather was wet and windy with little visibility. Our first attempt was abandoned and we retreated indoors from the heavy mist in search of lunch - us and thousands of others! There was absolutely no chance of getting a seat in either of the two eateries in the Visitor Centre. But I did find Murphy's ice-cream whose day was considerably brightened by 6 avid customers who were not going to let the opportunity to have a Murphy's ice-cream each. I didn't see one other person enjoying an ice-cream in such unsummer-like weather. Murphy's ice-cream is wonderful. Another attempt to see the cliffs had also to be abandoned and, having discovered that our car park ticket would allow us to come and go as we pleased all day, we decided to head towards Doolin in search of lunch. Just before we reached Doolin we found The Stonecutter's Kitchen which had a few Georgina Campbell plaques so we stopped there and had a lovely lunch. Then back to the Cliffs of Moher for another attempt. This time the rain stayed away and we had plenty of time to take photos etc - except that Jim had forgotten his camera and I was limited to my mobile and my very poor skills in photography.
It was equally imperative to see the Burren. In a roundabout effort to see the Burren Perfumery and the Burren Chocolate makers we actually inadvertently went through the heart of the Burren with its karst landscape.
We stopped first at Dysert O' Dea's Castle - a quick detour.
Hazel Mountain Chocolate
Killimer is not very far from Carrigaholt so we decided to take the ferry to Tarbert and treat our French guests to a tour of the Dingle Peninsula. Our first stop was a beach at Castlegregory where Danielle got some sand to bring back to her friend Bea (she also got some in Kilkee0.
Danielle and I having a wander on the beach.
Dingle was absolutely packed so there was no point in trying to stop as there was no parking so we continued on around Slea Head with fantastic views all the way.
Skellig Michael. Jade was delighted that she had seen a location for the current Star Wars.
Unfortunately we were limited in our on foot explorations because Danielle has a hip problem and very limited mobility at the moment.
Our final stop was at Ashe's pub in Camp. This is a 300 year old pub which retains its traditional appearance.
Our last day in Clare was spent at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. Jim forgot his camera again so we have no photos. We had huge difficulty in getting a parking place and, when we got one, huge difficulty in getting parked as there is little space and the car park is very badly organised. I'm afraid Bunratty doesn't do much for me but it was mobbed so obviously it appeals to some people.
Before Brian, Mairead, Danielle and Jade joined us Jim and I went to the Vandeleur walled garden in Kilrush which is very pretty.
We also took a trip to Trump's International Golf Links and Hotel:
The Pantry in Kilkee is a great cafe and deli in Kilkee where we had great coffee and cake and a great breakfast. Danielle described the baguettes as excellent and Jade was thrilled with the hot chocolate topped with marshmallows. The Potter's Hand in Kilrush is also a great cafe where Jim and I enjoyed coffee and cake. The Long Dock in Carrigaholt has a little shop at the back where we were able to buy fresh brown bread, craft beers and various condiments and cakes. The food there was also great.
All in all a great holiday (though rather tiring for the cook!).
