When I was a kid, reading in the car was a big reason I looked forward to vacations. I’d take as many books with me as my mom would allow, and chances were, I’d finish them all by the end of a week. I knew she was being helpful when she told me to look outside at the beautiful scenery, but really now… she didn’t understand how great my book was, and the peril my characters were in at that point!
While I still love to read, I must admit that I can now see the great advantages of looking out the window on a road trip instead of reading my book. This road trip was case in point. There were so many things to see as we drove around through Ireland – ancient stone forts, ruined tower houses, grazing lambs, the ever changing coastline. All of these would have been easily missed if my friends and I hadn’t been watching like hawks, trying to take in everything at once! Driving from Galway to Doolin beside and through the Burren was gorgeous. I don’t have much history or background for you today, but here’s a chance for you to take a car ride with us and witness the scenery.
The Burren, if you remember from the Aillwee Cave post, is characterized by the barrenness of it’s contour.
A ruined tower house as seen by the main road, with a storm in the distance. The shape of this kind of structure became so familiar by the end of our trip!
An incredibly lovely thatched cottage.
The harshness of The Burren seen a little closer.
You can see how the soil has washed away in many places, leaving the bare stone.
The rest of the pastureland heading out towards Galway Bay was quite lush. If you look closely, you can see a good bit of flooding in some of the fields. An incredibly heavy rain storm had traveled through here the night before, accompanied by harsh winds.
Here you can see what appears to be a Martello Tower off in the distance.
And another tower house. This one seems to be in better shape than the one we drove by earlier.
The view of Galway Bay and the edge of the Burren from the top of Corkscrew Hill, named after the switchbacks in the road.
Now, aren’t you glad you looked out the window? 🙂