Midlands and West Coast, Ireland
August 13-15, 2013
We had an opportunity to take a short roadtrip from our house sitting assignment so we rented a car and decided to explore the midlands and west coast route of Ireland. We had an amazing three days full of great fun and amazing historical sights!
Corlea Trackway and Carowkeel Cemetary
Corlea Trackway
Ireland contains large sections of land called "bogs" which are deposits of dead plant material. Bogs are very wet and soft and are undeveloped because of it. The Corlea Trackway is an ancient wooden bog road constructed 5000 years ago and has been preserved. Its a mystery as to why the people of the time built it so wide and why it appears to hardly have been used. It originally spanned 2 kms but only 18 meters has been dug up.
Carrowkeel Cemetary
The Carrowkeel Cemetary is a collection of 14 cairn tombs set up on a hill overlooking Lough (lake) Arrow.
They are 5500 years old (pre-dating the pyramids). Eerie but neat experience.
Coastal Village of Strandhill
Coastal Village of Strandhill
A cute litte village by the ocean, had a lovely walk along the promenade then watched the sunset.
The Beach Bar Campground
The Beach Bar Campground was our camping spot for the night...Awesome spot set on the grounds of a thatched roof Irish pub right at the ocean.
West Coast Drive and Connemara National Park
West Coast Drive
Absolutely beautiful! This section of Ireland blew our minds with its vistas and jaw dropping scenery.
We loved this drive but its so hard to capture on film.
Connemara National Park
The Connemara National Park was a beautiful area. We stopped here for a short 3.5 km hike up the mountain for views of the rolling hills and farmlands.
Village of Cong
The village of Cong was made famous and is thriving because of a movie that was filmed here in 1952 called The Quietman starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. We did a lovely 3km walk called the Pigeon Hole then settled down at the local pub called The Crowsnest and listened to some great live music while enjoying a guiness!
Video of the original movie trailer - The Quietman
Photo's of Cong
Video of the live music at the pub