Exploring Western County Clare

With no particular destination in mind my wife and I escaped our large family group in Dublin for a road trip across Ireland to the west coast. It's always fun to fly by the seat of your pants when traveling and see what you stumble across in the process.

Quick Tips:

What on a map looks like a fairly quick shot - about 150 miles - straight across from Dublin to Limerick took us over 6 hours. The multi-lane highway basically disappears just outside of Dublin. Relax behind a slowpoke truck as the main highway winds through a multitude of tiny towns and enjoy the scenery. When night driving, beware of many pedestrians that tend to walk along the side of the roads.

Best Way To Get Around:

In order to access the remote areas along the coast, you have to have your own wheels.

During the off-season, most of the B&B''s in this town are closed. The Grove was the only place in town with rooms available. For $30 American we were given a large room with a bath en suite. The furniture and general ambience of The Grove is clean, comfortable and well worn. Don''t skip the gigantic Irish breakfast, which is included in the price of the room. The tiny dining room is close quarters, but the food was excellent. Fresh eggs fried in butter, hunks of ham (they call it bacon), crispy fried potatoes, fresh baked brown bread with homemade marmalade and pots of hot, strong tea is just what you need to start your day exploring the coast.

I wouldn't even call Kilbaha a town - it is a collection of about 5 buildings you bump into along the Loop Head Drive (see activity entry). We were the only customers at lunch in this lonely spot. The pub is a stone's throw from the seashore. Our waitress told us that some nights huge swells smash right up to the door, trapping the patrons inside the pub! (a good story for the wife anyway)

Back to the food- I had the special seafood chowder of the day. A big bowl brimming with a variety of clams, mussels prawns and fish. Just what the doctor ordered after spending the morning hiking along the cliffs on a January day. My wife had what's called a "cheese and pickle sandwich"- slabs of coarse, freshly baked bread, thick slices of local cheddar cheese, homemade chutney and crispy coleslaw. If my chowder had not been so delicious, I might have been jealous. Homemade quality food in a warm pub, very friendly service.

Our plan included driving north up the coast to see the famous Cliffs of Moher, until we were advised by our Kilrushian pub mates that the best cliffs were close by. We followed their excellent advice and saw the sights along the Loop Head Drive. This 17 mile route takes you along the coast and to Loop Head Lighthouse, which is the tip of a finger of land that juts out dramatically into the Atlantic.

I don't know if it happens everyday, or if I happened to be there when the conditions were just right. A beautiful phenomenon of the strong waves crashing into the solid sheer cliff faces is that a spray is kicked up into the air, causing multiple rainbows to appear and disappear all around. It is something to experience.

Remote, windswept, bleak and beautiful-

We were tired after a long drive and the brightly painted town of Kilrush seemed like a nice place to stop for the day. After finding a room, (see The Grove accommodation entry) we strolled along the streets. In a town of this size (approx 3,000) everyone knows everyone, and we Americans stick out like sore thumbs.

We wandered into a pub (unfortunately I can't remember the name of it, except that the owner is a woman named Carmel) where we made fast friends with a whole troop of local characters.

Funny thing I noticed about the Irish, they like to pretend to be blasé and uninterested, but really they can't help themselves and it takes about 30 seconds before they are introducing themselves, asking questions and in turn telling you everything they know. They are about the friendliest people on earth.

The law states all pubs must close at 11pm, so promptly at 11pm the shades are drawn and the door is locked - but no one actually leaves! "We're closed now ain't we!" Carmel says with a big wink of her eye and pulls perfect pints of Guinness for one and all.

Ahhh! The "perfect pint". I am a Guinness fan, and if you read about pubs in Ireland you will read comments like "The best pint of Guinness served in Dublin is pulled at the Brazen Head." or "At O'Rileys they know how to pull the perfect pint." I wondered, how can one pint differ from another, after all, it’s all the same Guinness, right? Well I was educated at Carmel's Pub.

First of all, where is the tank located? How far from the tap? Are the pipes copper or (egads!) plastic? What type of floor does the tank rest upon? Slate is best. What is the temperature of the room where the tank rests? And then there is a whole science on how to actually fill the glass with the liquid, how long to let it settle before topping it off, how are the glasses washed… and as luck would have it, everyone agreed that the perfect pint in all of Ireland is found at Carmel's!

They take their Guinness very seriously in Ireland.

We stumbled back to our room at 2am, after a wonderful evening of Irish wit, politics and history. What a blast!