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2007 and 2008 had seen long haul holidays to Australia and New
Zealand but this year we decided on something closer to home - the Emerald Isle.
Why is Ireland called The Emerald Isle? Well, because of all the rain, of
course, especially on the West coast. Where did we decide to go? The West coast,
of course. Looking for another long distance walk, The Dingle Way beckoned and
further exploration and investigation led us to the Ring of Kerry, The Beara
Peninsula, The Burren, Connemara and The Wicklow Mountains.
So, this was to be a holiday of two parts, firstly the long
distance walk, then sightseeing with some walking thrown in for good measure
(and to work off all the extra pounds added through 'Full Irish Breakfast' and
the heaped plates we were given each time we ate out). A good deal of planning
went into working out a route, booking all the B & Bs and finding the best
sights to see and walks to complete.
But what about all that rain I hear you ask? Well, the umbrellas
coped with a few short showers and the waterproofs were given an airing (or
watering) on a couple of occasions, but were soon relegated to the bottom of the
backpack. Our only disappointment was the presence of thick mist when visiting
the Cliffs of Moher - not a cliff to be seen. The mist also made our walk on The
Burren an exercise in navigating by compass over the pathless terrain of
limestone pavement for mile after mile after mile after mile (yes, about 4 of
the 9.5 miles we completed that day!)
For further information and photos click on the relevant area
of the map above or on the
links below:
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