Breakfast was at 7:30 AM in the Park House Hotel dining room and was the usual hearty breakfast. At 8:50 AM sharp, we started our short walk to the bus stop where we caught double-decker, city bus to the ferry landing; about a 40 minute ride. The first bus was packed and we took the second bus, which was packed before we left the stop. Everyone on these buses was heading to the Aran Islands ferry. Blustery weather with gray skies was going to be the weather for the day and we were dressed in layers. All the bikes were loaded onto the ferry and we climbed aboard and headed to the enclosed seating area for the 40 minute ride across Galway Bay to Kilronan, the ferry port on Inishmore Island. We were greeted with a strong wind and after the bikes were unloaded and overnight packs loaded onto a tiny flatbed truck, we began biking to our guest house. The lower road route took us along the shoreline with good views of the stone-fenced land and north shoreline.
After lunch at a small café, we got our hiking shoes and began the trek to Dün Aenghus, which is the site of an old Celtic fort (1100 BCE) on the towering cliffs of the upper south side of the island. In fact, we can see the fort from our room in the guest house. The stone fortress is on the cliff-edge 300 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Its consists of concentric walls that are 13 feet thick and 10 feet in height. Between the second and third “ring” are the strategically placed spiky stones that stick up like lances. From the cliff’s edge there are spectacular views along the coast to the east and to the west with the surf crashing into blow holes and making the sound of a beating base drum. The white sea foam is constantly “boiling” and falling from the rocks.
Back to the hotel, I changed into my biking shoes and took a circular ride starting on the “high” road and returning on the”low” road. Because the island is relatively small, the circular island ride was only 8.22 miles. Tonight we have a home-cooked meal of Irish stew with Guinness..
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