After our failed visit to the cliffs, the guide took us to a pub in Doolin for lunch. The food was good – basic pub fare – and seemed to lift everyone’s spirits a bit. We may have “missed” one of the most beautiful sights in Ireland, but at least we weren’t hungry anymore.
Our next stop was the nearby Burren, which is a rocky landscape along Galway Bay not far from the cliffs. Fortunately, the fog dissipated at lower elevations, so we had nice views of the surrounding landscape and were able to enjoy the scenery as we walked around.
Shortly after leaving the Burren, the traffic on the two-lane road heading north along Galway Bay came to a halt as a result of something you don’t come across everyday: a fox hunt. There was a huge group on horseback with countless dogs going nuts as they followed the fox’s scent. It was interesting to see, but I couldn’t help feeling bad for the fox.
Once the traffic cleared we made our way to the Corcomroe Abbey, a 13th century Cistercian monastery. The structure was definitely showing its age, but all things considered it was in pretty good shape after roughly 800 years. Supposedly there’s an annual concert performed in the abbey, which would definitely serve as a unique venue.
Before making the cross-country trek back to Dublin we stopped in Kinvara, a seaside village along Galway Bay. Unfortunately, the fog had returned at this point, so there wasn’t much of a view. In particular, we missed out on seeing Dunguaire Castle, which supposedly dates back to the 16th century.
We were able to walk around the town a bit, though, which was nice.
The ride to Dublin was fairly uneventful, and by the time we arrived, food and sleep were our major focus. We decided to eat at Davy Byrnes again, which conveniently happened to be located along the walk back to the hotel. And given our long day and early flight on Monday, we decided against a final pub stop after and proceeded to call it a night.
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