Dunguaire Castle
We woke up and headed off to breakfast. The owner had baked some bread; however, it wasn't as good as the bread I'd had at the Morehampton Townhouse. But, it was filling enough to allow me to skip "the full fry" for yet another morning.
Our goal for the day was to get back across the country in order to catch the train to Belfast for our ferry ride to Scotland. Of course, we didn't have a reservation at any B&B on the east coast. But, we hadn't had any trouble getting accomodations up to that point, so we figured we could push our luck once again. We set Drogheda as our target destination for that evening.
Given that our goal was to get to the east coast, one would think we would head east. Instead, we headed south from Doolin. Why would we head south? Well, we decided to make a small detour and go to the famous Cliffs of Moher. Their sheer size (700 feet) make them very impressive. However, the contrast between their size and the pounding ocean at their base make them even more dramatic. I was glad I got to see them; but, I'm sure the experience would have been better if the weather had been more agreeable. The rain that had begun to fall the night before was still coming down. Only now, it was accompanied by a strong wind that almost blew me over a couple of times. Having that kind of wind while standing on the edge of 700 foot cliffs is not a pleasant feeling. The rain also obscured the view of some of the cliffs as well. Weather notwithstanding, the Cliffs of Moher are an impressive natural sight. There's no cost to enter the parking lot at the cliffs, but, there's a IŁ1 charge to exit it (go figure!). There's also a gift shop and restaurant in the parking lot.
After the cliffs, we began our trek to Drogheda. We went northwest toward Kinvara. Along the way, we stopped at the Aillwee Cave for a quick look at a sample of the many caves in the Burren. By the time we left Aillwee, it was just after noon. I was getting a little nervous about the accomodations for the evening. So, we agreed to start calling places in Drogheda once we got to Ballyvaughan.
As we began calling places in Drogheda, we kept getting told that all of the rooms were taken for the evening. I was beginning to get the same feeling that I got when trying to get a room in Cardiff. It turns out that, much like Cardiff, all the rooms in town were taken because of a function (in this case, a wedding). However, the "B&B Grapevine" existed here just as it did in Wales. We ended up being referred to a B&B in Bettystown, a small village just south of Drogheda. This place had a room, which we immediately booked.
With our accomodations in hand, we continued our trek. We found time to stop at Dunguaire Castle. There's no charge to enter the castle; but, there is a charge to go into the keep. As I mentioned before, I had seen just about all of the castle museums I wanted to see. But, the castle itself turned out to be worth visiting. It sits in a very picturesque location on the shores of Galway Bay. It also is one of a few places in Ireland that hosts medieval banquets. These are dinners where diners are served by "maidens" in medieval garb, and are entertained by jesters and knights. The diners also eat with their hands in order to give the meal a more authentic flavor. It's supposedly a lot of fun; but, we had somewhere to be, so we missed it. The cost of attending the meal is IŁ29 per person. So, if you're in the area, and feel like doing something "touristy", you might want to consider the medieval banquet at Dunguaire Castle.
We stopped in Clarinbridge and Athlone in order to do a little shopping. We also picked up some bread, cheese, and chips at a grocery store at the base of Athlone Castle. Eating as we drove, we passed through Mullingar and Kells before making our way into the Boyne Valley. I was hoping to get on the last tour of Newgrange. However, it was a little after 7 p.m when we got to the Visitor's Center, so, the site was closed. We continued on to Drogheda.
Drogheda is a very interesting town. Most of it sits on a cliff above the Boyne River. Several churches dot the skyline, complimented by a large railroad bridge framing the town's east side. The skyline isn't the town's only interesting feature. Inside the city are several points of interest. Near where the railroad bridge enters the town is St. Lawrence's Gate, a relic of the time when Drogheda had walls around it. Also, the chuches that give the town its skyline are interesting to visit. One of these churches, St. Peter's Church, contains relics of St. Oliver Plunkett. After visiting the church and seeing the relics, we went down the street to the Swan House. According to Lonely Planet, the Swan House has the best Chinese food in Drogheda. Nothing I tried would make me dispute that notion. The fried rice with vegetables, beef, chicken, and shrimp was superb. I did think the hot and sour soup was a little too oily, but it was tolerable. The food may be a little more expensive than a budget traveler would be willing to pay. The fried rice dish I tried cost IŁ7.49. But, it's still worth a visit. Two points about the Swan House. First, don't be put off by the strange security door in the front. It's just a way to distinguish between the take out facility next to the dine-in restaurant. Second, we pointed out to the waitress serving us that the restaurant was mentioned in Lonely Planet. She immediately took my copy back to the owners to show them. She said they had no idea they were noted in the book or even that anyone from Lonely Planet had been in their restaurant. I guess that's a pretty good indication that Lonely Planet's recommendations are done in a fairly independent manner.
We called our B&B's owner to ask for further instructions. She told us how to get to her place from Drogheda. Despite the instructions, we still got lost. We finally managed to find Bettystown. After asking several drunk Irishmen about the location of the B&B, and getting very slurred instructions, we headed off in the direction they indicated. It still took us about 20 more minutes to find it. But, we finally did. The name of the place is the Links View B&B at 32 St. Nicholas Village, Golf Links Rd. It's run by Mrs. Christine Dunne. She has four rooms available, none of which have a bathroom. However, they do have a television and a sink. The cost is IŁ15 per person per night. The phone number is 041- 27222. I thought the room was comfortable and the owner was very nice. However, it is a little out of the way.
We pulled into the Links View at about 10:30 p.m. So, we had just enough
energy to find out about breakfast times and the location of the bathroom
before we fell asleep.
The Cliffs of Moher
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