Photos from Southwest Ireland: Connemara National Park, Cliffs of Moher, Achill Island

Here are a few shots from three different locations along Ireland's west coast.

First are three from our hike in Connemara National Park.  It was cloudy and grey, as you can see.  We kept saying, "At least it's not raining."  On the right, you can see some hikers coming just behind us.  It was a pretty busy trail.

Amazing how smooth and green that valley was.

Nice view from the top.  

The next two photos are from the Cliffs of Moher, which are arguably the most famous natural attraction in Ireland.  Of course, that means they had a giant parking lot with fees, and a traffic jam.  The parking lot filled up before we could get in, but luckily, we found a little side road that led a few kilometers down to a farm with a tiny bit of overflow parking.  It was so far away, we thought we must be going the wrong way.

Before I got there, I didn't realize the cliffs are several kilometers long.  You can hike along the tops of the cliffs on a trail just on the other side of the fences of bordering farms.  It was a hazy day, so not many photos.

This last photo was on Achill Island, about an hour and a half northwest of Galway.   We found the place a bit unimpressive after having seen all the other stuff, but this scene appealed to me.

This is the fourth in a series of posts on our Irish vacation.

Part 1: an unexpected close-up visit with a dolphin. 

Part 2: the spectacular seaside cliffs of Mizen Head. 

Part 3: our hike around Lamb's Head, at the tip of the Beara Peninsula, in County Cork. 

Part 5: I saved the best for last, the seaside cliffs and islands along Slea Head Drive.