Towns and villages worth a visit, Galway

One of the most common trips out for day from Galway is to visit the wilds of Connemara. The twelve Bens (mountains) dominate the landscape they rise up between the peat bogs in a majestic way (oh god, I’m no good at the purplely landscape writing stuff). They are just very beautiful. O.K ?

Many visitors make it all the way out to Clifden, which is going just about as far west as it is possible without having to enter Canada. It’s geographical position led Marconi to set up his station nearby for transatlantic messages, and Allcott and Brown found the area very useful for crash-landing their plane. They only had to walk about 500 meters to Marconi’s station to telegraph the news of their historic arrival. The ‘Sky road’ (see tip on Clifden) is a road that proffers up some implausibly beautiful views.

The location of two films also interest many visitors to Connemara. ‘The Quiet man’ starring John Wayne was filmed around the beautiful village of Cong and ‘the Field’ (I would say it is the most Irish film I’ve ever seen) was filmed around Leenane. Both films revolve around an American returning to his roots.

There is plenty more besides. Just hire a car or go on one of the many organised coach trips.

A truly extraordinary and exhilarating experience!! No gates to block your fall and extreme gusts of wind blowing through, Dun Aengus is a cliff drop of 350 feet straight to the roaring ocean!

Feeling so vulnerable at the hands of nature was overwhelming. I crawled on my stomach to the edge of the cliff and looked straight down, nothing on either side of me except a very big drop. Straight ahead stretched the vast ocean, next stop Boston.

Definite must do if you go to the Aran Islands.