Sunday, August 10, 2014 From Spiddle to Isle of Dough in Donegal
County, Ireland
After
Philomena, our B and B hostess, served us a full Irish Breakfast of ham, sausage, brown and white pudding, brown bread, and
one egg, we loaded the car and headed north to Connemara National Park.
So long to our cozy little B and B!
It had been raining off and on so after a little more coastline driving , we headed up R336 toward Westport.
The scenery here was spectacular with large mountains rising up out of the flatlands. Taking pictures just did not seem to capture the beauty of the area.
Many bicycle riders were cutting through the majestic sights of streams, waterfalls, and rolling hills. The rock covered lands simply disappeared leaving serene green pasturelands. The stone fences were no longer abundant with bobbed wire fencing taking their place.
It had been raining off and on so after a little more coastline driving , we headed up R336 toward Westport.
The scenery here was spectacular with large mountains rising up out of the flatlands. Taking pictures just did not seem to capture the beauty of the area.
Many bicycle riders were cutting through the majestic sights of streams, waterfalls, and rolling hills. The rock covered lands simply disappeared leaving serene green pasturelands. The stone fences were no longer abundant with bobbed wire fencing taking their place.
The day was
a mixed bag with lots of rain showers giving way to sunshine intermittently. We
enjoyed driving through Sligo and
Ballyshannon and Donegal.
Cute little passenger train in Sligo
The roads were much wider with a passing lane and we enjoyed being able to drive at a faster pace. Along the way we spotted several clubs or groups of travelers on the road heading south. First we spotted a group of antique cars mostly of British heritage; Citerons, MG’s, Jaguars and many others.
Next there were vintage tractors traveling in a line 2 miles long with a police escort. We felt for these drivers as they passed because many were driving out in the rain.
Then we came across a 1960’s era Honda 90 cc motorcycle group with over 100 little bikes zooming down the road toward us. Larry said this was the same style motorbike that he and his childhood friend, Gene Thompson, learned how to ride on at the farm in Leesburg, Va. It was fun to see the locals enjoying their Sunday drives.
After Donegal, the roads returned back to a
smaller curvy style and we meandered through lots of little towns before getting to the Inishowen Peninsula. Here we
drove to the little town of Ballyliffin where we met Gerry McGeehan. He was a
little wind whipped and rained on because he had been enjoying the annual
Clonmany Festival all week . Gerry gave
us a little tour of Ballyliffin and then showed us to his Isle of Dough home where we would be staying for the remainder
of this week. What stunning views of the inlet! The Irish scenery has been
marvelous. After a little dinner, we
turned out the lights and got some sound sleep! Our trip in Northern Ireland
was just beginning!
The roads were much wider with a passing lane and we enjoyed being able to drive at a faster pace. Along the way we spotted several clubs or groups of travelers on the road heading south. First we spotted a group of antique cars mostly of British heritage; Citerons, MG’s, Jaguars and many others.
Next there were vintage tractors traveling in a line 2 miles long with a police escort. We felt for these drivers as they passed because many were driving out in the rain.
Then we came across a 1960’s era Honda 90 cc motorcycle group with over 100 little bikes zooming down the road toward us. Larry said this was the same style motorbike that he and his childhood friend, Gene Thompson, learned how to ride on at the farm in Leesburg, Va. It was fun to see the locals enjoying their Sunday drives.
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