My morning started with quite simply the best Irish Breakfast I've had in a long long time at my B&B Ceecliff House, in Culdaff. This was followed by a good half hour of banter with the proprietor over everything from Irish politics to how his grandkids now have to play with iPhones rather than farm machinery (like he used to when he was growing up) due to all the Health & Safety rules.....it was an amusing half hour !
As with most trips to Ireland the predictable is unpredictable, and the forecast full day of torrential rain failed to materialise, so rather than a day in the pub, it was back behind the wheel for James and a few more miles along the Wild Atlantic Way.
One of the wonderful things about not having a timescale for doing this trip is that if you want to spend some time to go back to a place you are not sacrificing one venue for another, it simply adds another hour or another day to the trip, so I decided I wanted to have another look at Malin Head. On my way there I noticed a sign for "The Wee House of Malin" it's not a discovery point on the Wild Atlantic Way so I drove past yesterday, but decided to drive down the steep narrow path towards the sea this morning, and I'm glad I did...
The derelict church dates back to 16th Century
As the sun was still shinning I decided to carry on to the next discovery point Pollan Bay just outside Ballyiffin. On my way I passed a huge number of cyclists, which I have since discovered were on a charity ride, members of Saddlerock Cycling Club. As I enter Ballyiffin I notice an incredibly attractive building on the right hand side, and decide to park up in the square and go back to take a picture.
Nancy's Barn - https://twitter.com/barnnancy?lang=en
As I take the photograph, one of the officials in a high viz jacket who is marshalling the cycling event approaches me and asks me which of the cyclists I am there to take a picture of, to his horror (from the look on his face) I tell him I have no interest in cycling and I am simply taking a photo of the building..... At this point 2 more cyclists come up the hill "Take a picture of these two in front of Nancy's" he says, given me initial dis-reagard for a sport he is clearly passionate about I followed his instruction, so this is Paddy & Glen.
I carry on to Pollan Bay, and WOW ! Once again a wonderful beach, just me and a dog walker, and the sea is as crystal clear as the Caribbean (although having dipped my toe, slightly cooler)
Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to live here ??
From Pollan Bay it's a short drive to Mamore Gap, for those of you adventure seekers, where the idea of driving up steep narrow roads, on the edge of cliffs with huge drops on the side, this is the road for you ! For the rest of us I can only tell you that those few miles were driven with a certain amount of trepidation. Sadly there are no photo's of this as my, now sweaty palms, were holding onto the steering wheel with a pincer grip.
Let me introduce you to Rosie...
Rosie runs the Mamore Cafe https://www.facebook.com/mamorecafe and makes the best hot chocolate in Ireland, but what's more incredible than that is where the Mamore Cafe is located, and I have to say I think it's the best location in the world....
To say it's isolated is a huge understatement
But there aren't many people who have this view from their office window !
Well that's it from me for today, time for a Guinness I think....