Part Three: Touring Ireland with some blarney!

I got straight off the ferry in Rosslare Port, and headed straight for Wexford, Campile and Kilkenny. For the next 12 days I drove around the south of Ireland, stopping in a different place each evening. I saw so many different sights driving around. I drove for as much as I could on the Wild Atlantic Way, and I don’t think I will ever be able to fully describe the views I saw and the experience of driving on those roads! I would at times be on the thinnest, narrowest lane I had ever driven on with old farm stone walls on either side, usually with a big truck or car driving towards me (I reversed down quite a few hills!), and then I would go around a curve and there would be the most amazing view of hills, cliffs, mountains, lakes or the sea. And they were just there around every corner, and they were mind-blowing! Before I left for this trip, I kind of thought that I would be driving on highways or uninteresting roads between the sights I wanted to see, but when I got there, I saw that it wasn’t just the main landmarks I would be seeing. Literally every road and view as I drove around was spectacular and overwhelming. My problem started to be knowing when to stop and take pictures/take in a view and when to keep driving!

Fit for a king

Everyday was very different, sometimes I got to see some amazing history like the Drombeg stone circle (I liked watching Outlander and they looked just like the stones from that show!). The Celtic fort from 500BC that was right on the edge of the cliffs was so beautiful. The day I went to Sligo, I stopped on the way to see Aughnane Castle, and then that night I went to stay overnight in Markree Castle which was beyond incredible! Having breakfast in the huge dining room watching the grounds and sitting reading my book while sat by the fire in the drawing room in the evening was so relaxing and it turns out I would be fine living in a castle 😂.

It's Christmas in Killarney 🎶

I absolutely love Bing Crosby and especially his Christmas album, I have it on every year. So I had to make sure I stayed in Killarney on my way, and of course listen to Christmas in Killarney while I actually drove around Killarney! Ladies View, at the top of Killarney National Park, where Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting enjoyed watching the view was an incredible sight even with the rain pouring.

Soul food & making new friends

Driving through Ireland was such a blessing for my soul, seeing such amazing sights and stopping where the road took me, while making sure to see some of the bucket list places. Everyone I met was so friendly, and I had some really great conversations with people everywhere; I even went hiking for a few hours in Dursey Island with a couple from Australia! Taking the cable car from Beara Peninsula to Dursey was awesome, it's the only cable car in Ireland and the only one crossing seawater in Europe, you can read more about it here. It was quite a stormy day, and being on the cable car while it blew around with the choppy waves below us was really unlike anything I have ever done, and it was so beautiful.

I loved just driving around the Wild Atlantic Way and going to the top of these amazing cliffs, then driving down to right next to the coast and seeing the lighthouses at the ends of the Peninsulas. The Sheepshead Peninsula and the views to the lighthouse were so spectacular.

Cliffs of Moher

It is hard to choose my favourite view or landmark that I saw...I got to see so much history and indescribable sights. But one that had been on my bucket list for years, was to see the famous Cliffs of Moher. And the only thing with going on sabbatical in March, is that the weather everyday would change a lot. It went from wind and rain to sunny and I found myself planning my driving and seeing things, in between the bad weather. It was also a bit of an adventure and fun to be out in the wind & rain on the cliffs with other travellers and laughing about it all! I was around Lahinch and Doolin near Moher for about 48 hours exploring everything there, and for almost all of that time it was raining. So I kept trying to bide my time and resist the temptation to just run up and see the Cliffs, as I was hoping for a window of good weather to open up. Finally I was sat in my car drinking a (nice & strong) double espresso and I saw the rain was easing up, I looked on my phone and it showed that the next 2 hours would be cloudy but not raining so I turned the car around and drove as fast as I could! For the next few hours I got to walk around the Cliffs of Moher and they were INCREDIBLE. The views from left to right were breathtaking! The cliffs on one side, with the castle fort on the right, I just didn't want to stop taking it in. There were a lot of other people up there visiting, and it was fun talking with them and all of us offering to take photos for each other.

What...a view!

Not everything went to plan with the weather though. A few people I spoke to when I was driving around the Dingle Peninsula suggested I drive up to the Conor Pass and go to An Chonair to see the amazing view. So I made the detour and the drive was beautiful...An Chonair/Conor Pass is one of the highest mountain ranges in Ireland that is reachable by asphalt road. It was a grey, rainy day and as I drove up, the mist got thicker and thicker. I finally made it to the top, and parked up where Google Maps told me I should be seeing the spectacular views...and the fog was so thick that I couldn't see more than a metre ahead of me! There was an info board there showing what I knew must be stretching out in front of me, and all I could do was laugh...and drive back down barely able to see anything! The photo on the right below is one I found online which shows what I should have been able to see 😂

Moments

It has been so awesome looking through all the photos and my journal from the trip, and thinking of all the different moments. The history I got to see, the spectacular sights, the friends I got to make along the way. The foods I got to try (sitting in a pub while drinking a pint of Guiness, eating bangers and mash and watching the fire roaring was an incredible & cosy evening!). Walking along cobbled streets with little colourful houses and then exploring old castles all in the same day. Listening to music (mostly a mixture of elevation worship, jazz & blues, and a bit of old school hiphop thrown in) while driving around cliffs and valleys with views that literally took my breath away at times. There were so many moments and I am thankful for every one of them.

Being in Dublin for St Patrick's Day

My time in Ireland ended in Dublin, on St Patricks Day which meant I got to see the annual parade which was amazing and SO many people there, the atmosphere was electric. I almost missed my ferry from Dublin to Holyhead in Wales (thanks again ADHD!) but on the evening of 17th March I had made it to England ready to start the next phase of my sabbatical.

Everyone I met was so friendly, and I had some really great conversations with people everywhere, even went hiking for a few hours in Dursey Island with a couple from Australia!

The end of my road trips or the start of my sabbatical?

I had driven 3000 miles, seen so much, experienced so much and felt so much. I was now in the UK and ready to start a period of rest, studying and preparing for going back to Romania and ministry with fresh vision, purpose and energy. I will be writing more at some point with thoughts about my time on sabbatical, and the things I have learned and experienced in the past few months.

I took a LOT of photos on my trip, and I tried to whittle them down to the photos in this post to try and show overall what the trip was like. If you would like to see more photos I have an album linked below.

Photo Album

Read More about my sabbatical road trips in March 2024:

You can read more about how I planned these trips and about my road trip from Romania to Cherbourg Port using the buttons below: