Ireland 2026 - Leaving the Wild Atlantic Way for a few days

Wednesday 27th May
 
I woke up to the pattering of tiny bird feet on the van roof.  They sounded like a robin or maybe a bit bigger, but I guess it was a seagull tiptoeing so as not to wake me up 🤣
 

We gave Rio a run on the beach then set off in search of fuel, it wasn’t desperate but Richard likes to be safe rather than sorry.  It cost us £1.72 a litre.

It was mainly a driving day with admiring the scenery from inside the van. 
 
We were fascinated by the thousands of rocks and boulders scattered everywhere, so, of course, I asked Jem who told me that around 20,000 years ago, Ireland was buried under a massive sheet of ice. As these slow-moving glaciers ground across the landscape, they acted like giant conveyor belts. They tore huge chunks of bedrock right out of the mountains and carried them along for the ride.  When the climate warmed up and the ice sheet melted away (around 12,000 to 15,000 years ago), it simply dropped whatever it was holding. The ice vanished, leaving these massive boulders stranded precisely where they sat when the melting stopped.

He also said that they look like they were dropped out of the sky by a giant, which is why local folklore often attributed them to mythical figures throwing rocks across the landscape.
 
We found a motorhome service point in a little village in the middle of nowhere!  We were able to dump grey water and toilet for free, and then we paid €5 for fresh water. We filled Kiwi and then gave her sides a wash as she was filthy. A well spent €5 and it was done on an honesty basis, cash or QR code.   We were still struggling to dump rubbish though. There are plenty of recycling bins but no rubbish bins. We knew that this is a problem in Ireland and wondered if there would be a littering problem but everywhere seems spotless. 

Our stop for the night was Coral Strand which is a unique and world renowned beach. The sand is made up of rare coraline algae known as maerl which gives it a distinct crunch and striking white appearance.   We took Rio onto the beach and it certainly did crunch!  There were people swimming (8.30pm) so I went in for a paddle and was surprised as to how warm it was. However, in bare feet, the sand was very sharp and painful.

We had tried to sit out during the afternoon but, with no shade, it was too hot. It was certainly our hottest day.

 
The What3words for Wednesday were.
https://w3w.co/raffle.simplicity.passes
 
 
Thursday 28th May
 

A few random photos today!

The weather had deteriorated overnight and was grey, chilly and drizzling. However, it did improve as the day went on.
 
We were going “off piste” for a couple of days hoping to catch up with some friends.
 

Our first stop was Tra na Ceann beach only we ended up somewhere completely different!  A rather grotty and stinky place which we left pretty quickly!
 
The City of Galway was next.  Approaching it from the west you drive along the 1.25 mile Salthill Promenade, a rather attractive place to take a stroll, only it was really busy and every lamp post had a “no motorhome” sign on it.

Rio's cousin!

Next stop was Tesco which, when we got there, didn’t have the parking it looked as if it had on Google Maps.  At this point we were in the middle of the city with no destination!  I managed to negotiate our way out, but ended up at the northwest end when we really wanted to be southeast end!  I couldn’t take my eyes off the map so couldn’t set a new destination until we managed to find somewhere to stop.

So, three things that went wrong - hopefully things would get better!
 
We wanted to get on the M6 out of Galway and I managed to find a Tesco which was close to the motorway, things were looking up!  Jem had told me that I couldn’t use my UK Tesco Clubcard in Ireland but he was wrong and I made in £20.19 on promotions 😃
 

We needed LPG and, believe it or not, there was a place 10 minutes away 🤩
 
We left Galway behind, a city that doesn’t like motorhomes and also doesn’t let dogs on its public transport, even in a pet carrier.

We drove to Portumna where there is a motorhome aire - it was rammed and all the vans were parked really close together.  Our luck had changed again.
 
We then drove in to Shannonbridge where there is a stop over right beside the River Shannon.  It was much nicer and free!  Had our luck changed again?

The What3words for Thursday were

https://w3w.co/misled.blackened.framing

Friday 29th May

It was a bit grey and windy when we woke up but it turned into a beautiful day.  We had decided not to move on today so had a quiet morning. 
 
After lunch we went for a walk through the town.  There was very little there except for a couple of bars and a small grocery shop.

Shannonbridge is dominated by its beautiful bridge, so we walked over it to a little cafe and partook of tea and cake.

Back at Kiwi we got the chairs out and sat on the quay in the lovely sunshine.  There was quite a bit of boat movement on the river, these were mostly hire boats.

 
A few metres from the motorhomes was Luker’s Bar so we took ourselves off for a meal and a very good meal it was too. Back at Kiwi it was a lovely evening so we sat out until it became too chilly.

The bridge is one of the oldest stone bridges still carrying live traffic over the River Shannon. It was completed around 1757 and predates many of the other major crossings on the Shannon.  It features sixteen stone arches and was built with heavy upstream and downstream triangular cutwaters - on road level, these double as pedestrian refuges as there is no pavement.  About 80 years after the main stone bridge was finished, a twin-leaf cast-iron swivel bridge was installed to let tall-masted steamers pass. In 1983 a new concrete span was added in its place to replace a couple of the original stone arches, allowing wider clearance for river navigation and larger cruisers.  The swivel bridge is now mounted on plinths which we can see from Kiwi.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the British feared that French forces would land on the wild west coast of Ireland, rally the local population, and march on Dublin. To secure the river line, they heavily fortified three key crossings: Athlone, Banagher, and Shannonbridge.   A massive, two-story bomb-proof stone barracks was built to house soldiers and heavy artillery. A defensive drawbridge kept the fort secure from landward attacks.  However, because Napoleon was ultimately defeated at Waterloo in 1815, the fort never saw a single day of active combat, leaving it perfectly preserved for over two centuries.  Today the fort has been converted into a cafe and a living museum dedicated to preserving local history.

Ireland 2026 - Lots of Sea and Sand

 
Sunday 24th May
 
We woke up to more wind and grey skies. We all said our goodbyes and set off in different directions. Quite a few were heading south down the WAW and a couple were heading to Dublin to catch ferries.
 
Our plan had been to drive up to Keem Beach and see a bit more of Achill Island but, to be honest, we just wanted to move off and try and find some better weather.
 
We headed east and I set Mrs Google to take us to Croagh Patrick View Discovery Point, but there was no room in the inn so to speak!  We took a turn round the car park and drove out.
 
By this stage the weather had improved - the sun was shining, the sky was blue, it was warm but it was still windy.
 
Next stop was Bertra Bay where we were met by a height barrier across the car park. Fortunately, there was room to park outside of car park. We took Rio for a walk which he really enjoyed.

Ireland's ultimate holy mountain is Croagh Patrick (nicknamed "the Reek") and looms behind Bertra Bay.  It rises 2,507 feet above the landscape, instantly recognizable by its striking, conical quartzite peak.  The mountain has been a sacred site for thousands of years, stretching back long before Christianity arrived. According to lore, Saint Patrick spent 40 days fasting and praying at the summit in the year 441 AD. It’s also where he supposedly gathered all the snakes in Ireland and chased them into the sea.  Long before St. Patrick, the mountain was called Cruachán Aigli and was a major gathering site for the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasadh.

My lunch consisted of a blueberry muffin and a berry blast smoothie from a coffee van while Richard had a sandwich back in Kiwi!
 
We set off for what, hopefully, was going to be our park up for the night.  It was a place called Silver Strand (beach). We arrived at quite a large car park with just two cars in it.   We could see Achill Island across Clew Bay - it was lovely.  A few more cars came and went until we were on our own, well surrounded by fields of sheep.
 

We took Rio onto the beach but sadly to get to the main beach we would have had to cross a fairly deep stream, if we had had shorts on then we could have done it but we were both wearing jeans.  Still there was a little beach which Rio had to make do with.

We had a rather nice sunset to watch 🌅
 

Monday 25th May
 
A great quiet night’s sleep - it’s just what I needed.

 
We were in no rush so it was about 11am when we set off.
 
Our plan for the rest of the trip is to follow the WAW as much as possible, but there are places that are really not accessible in a 7.5 metre motorhome, so they will be missed out. There are 188 Discovery points along the WAW and the plan is, before we leave one point, to set Mrs Google to the next one.  I don’t want to have my nose in my phone as we are driving along as some of the scenery is fantastic.

We drove along the edge of Lough Doo - the scenery was absolutely stunning. Jem says that the valley is one of the most hauntingly beautiful landscapes in County Mayo - it certainly is.  However, the valley is best known for a tragic event during the Great Famine. In March 1849, hundreds of starving people were forced to walk from Louisburgh to Delphi Lodge in freezing conditions to be inspected by local officials for famine relief. After being turned away empty-handed, many died of exhaustion, hunger, and cold on the return journey through the valley.  There is a simple stone cross on the roadside as a memorial to the Doolough Valley Famine Memorial. It bears a poignant quote from Mahatma Gandhi: "How can men feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings?"

We drove on and found a coffee van beside the Lough. These vans are not the typical burger types of vans that you find parked up in British lay-bys. These seem to have a wonderful array of homemade cakes - there isn’t a fried egg in sight!  Today’s lunch was a toffee muffin with a peanut butter topping which I had warm. This is not going to be good for me!!
 
After the Lough we dropped  back down to sea level to Killary Fjord - a 10 mile stretch of water which separates County Galway and County Mayo.  The fjord is well known for its aquaculture with a salmon farm and mussel rafts.

Our next stop, only we didn’t stop, was Aasleagh Falls. Sadly, we missed the car park but you can still see the Falls from the road (I have borrowed a photo from the internet as I just couldn’t miss it out).

We stopped in a very small town called Leenane. It had a pub, a cafe, a gift shop and a very small grocery shop which sold the water and milk we wanted, so win, win!
 
We continued along the WAW passing Lough Fee and heading towards Renvyle. However, I saw, in the distance, a small peninsula with caravans on it, so we turned into the campsite, paid our money and “moored” up with a lovely view.

I am a planner and this trip is not going to be “planned” as such and driving into a campsite on a whim was certainly not on any agenda. I felt rather elated that I had managed to do something on the spur of the moment!
 
We took Rio for a walk on the beach which, of course, he thoroughly enjoyed.
 
An expensive site (£36) CD but, I guess, you pay for the view.

 
 
Tuesday 26th May
 
Another beautiful day but, sadly, the forecast isn’t too good.
 
We turned right out of the site onto the Connemara Loop heading towards Cleggan Harbour.   It is a Discovery Point but appears nothing special other than the pier was built in 1822.  The other reason the place is known is for a freak storm which in 1927 claimed the lives of 25 local fishermen.

We then drove to Claddaghduff where there is a tidal causeway over to Omey Island.  The tide was quite low but we didn’t really fancy it!    No one lives on the island now but for generations, Omey was a bustling community (home to over 400 people in the 19th century). However, its permanent population slowly dwindled over the decades. The island's last full-time, year-round resident was a well-known local named Pascal Whelan, a former Hollywood stuntman who lived there alone until his passing in 2017. 

The next excitement was to do the Sky Road Loop, a 10 mile circular loop. I’m still a bit confused as to which of three roads actually form the loop, but the view from the Discovery Point at the top was stunning.

We then went off in search of Lidl in Clifden, the first big town since Sligo.  It was a decent sized store though in Ireland alcohol is behind automatic doors which just open as you get there. There must be a good reason for it!  Well, there is, of course!  It is all due to Section 22 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, which officially came into force in Ireland in November 2020.  The core philosophy behind the legislation is that alcohol is not an ordinary grocery item. By forcing shops to hide it behind barriers or doors, the law aims to reduce impulse buying. If you want to buy alcohol, you have to make a conscious, intentional decision to walk through those doors to get it. I still don’t understand it though 😣
 
We were heading to Bunowen Bay but stopped off at Derrigimlagh Bog a vast, hauntingly beautiful blanket bog that is a major milestone site for world history. This single bog was the site of Guglielmo Marconi’s first commercial transatlantic wireless station in 1907, and it is also where Alcock and Brown crash-landed their plane in 1919, after completing the world's first non-stop transatlantic flight in 16 hours.  After landing, the aviators used Marconi’s nearby station to transmit the news of their triumph to London, effectively linking the two historic achievements of the site.  It is a 3 mile walk to see Marconi’s site and it is no dogs.
 
When we got to Bunowen Bay our stop for the night was to park against the harbour wall, a pretty amazing spot with a view over the bay and beach. We walked to the end of the pier and chatted with a local fisherman whose accent was so broad we could hardly understand him!

Also, from the van we could see the ruins of Bunowen Castle. It was built in the 16th century and was once the home of the “Pirate Queen”, Grace O’Malley and her husband Donal O’Flaherty. Sadly, in fell into a ruin after the Great Famine.

I’m going to try an experiment!  I keep being asked where we actually are so have decided to share our stop over What3words location.  If you have the app, by clicking on this link you should find where we were!
https://w3w.co/operate.shaming.tractors