Tour buses suck. They just do. No human wants to be treated like cattle, yet that’s how most of those tours work. However, sometimes they’re necessary when you need to get to a destination and you’re not familiar with the area. If I ever make it back to Ireland and/or Scotland, I’m renting a car and road tripping through these beautiful landscapes, stopping at all the charming towns along the way. Because, freedom! Glorious, glorious freedom.
But until then, I will continue to bitch and groan about the dreaded bus tour (except The Hairy Coo folks, shout out to Graham!). What I dislike most about them is you never get enough time at the destination. And that’s my Cliffs of Moher trip to a tee. I signed up for a small tour hoping it would make for a faster, more enjoyable experience. Nope. Our tour guide was a miserable grump who arrived in his “Elegant bus” with the dirtiest windows ever. Ugh. And when we finally arrived at the cliffs, it was 3:00 p.m. and we had until 4:20 to explore. Double UGH!
Just look at those cliffs, do you think an hour is enough? Yeah, not even close. So you only have time to run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to take in as much beauty as you can before sadly trekking back. But enough with the hate, here’s what I ❤ about a day trip to County Clare…
I ❤ The Cliffs of Moher
The luck of the Irish was with me that day as we arrived to torrential rain and fog and within 25 minutes, the fog lifted, the rain stopped and a bit of sun started to peak through the clouds. We saw the best of both weather worlds that afternoon.
Can you see all those birds?! Thousands.
I ❤ windy days
My hair, not so much.
I ❤ kamikaze puffins
No clue how I captured these pics. Those puffins are spinning all over the place in the air. I think they chuck themselves off the cliff walls, spread the wings and let the wind take them anywhere and everywhere. One second you see one blasting by your face, the next, it’s hurtling away towards the sea. It was a hoot to watch.
Look at those little see-through webbed feet!
I ❤ moo-moos
I have this thing for cows, you probably know.
Look at this sweetie sniffing thistle. And those lashes!
I ❤ castle views
We hit up Limerick in the morning to see St. John’s Castle, an 800 year old Norman castle that sits upon King’s Island. Sitting beside the River Shannon, this spot was also occupied by the Vikings in the 900’s. Because, obviously. Vikings lived everywhere.
I ❤ colourful towns
Limerick, you cute. ?
I ❤ scenic pastures
Tempestuous skies and Kelly green grasslands? Yes, please.
I ❤ craggy terrain
Texture, people, texture! This is the rugged karst landscape of cliffs, caves, fossils and rock formations. It’s called The Burren (Boíreann), meaning a rocky place.
