What can you say about the Cliffs of Moher? They are awe inspiring and Ireland’s most visited natural site. Like the Grand Canyon in the US, people come from all over the world. They are spectacular and we got ourselves a double dose, by land and by sea, walking a mile or soon the trail and then going out on one of the many excursion boats departing from Doolin Pier.
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| The 19th century O'Brien Tower actually gives perspective among tower, people, and cliffs |
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| A different perspective, from the sea |
The previous couple of days we had stayed at a couple of disappointing B&Bs, so we were due for a change and we got it at Ballinalacken Castle Hotel. The hotel is not really in the 15thcentury castle, rather it is in the 1840 home that the O’Brien family built next to the castle. In 1938 the grandparents of Denis O’Callaghan bought it from the O’Briens and the family has run the hotel since. The O’Callaghans are the soul of this place, Denis giving tours of the old tower before dinner, and then serving you dinner afterward. The place is delightful and we had a fine stay and a noteworthy meal, though I do not think Denis or his wife cooked it. They do everything else. We cannot praise this place highly enough.
What is most notable about the castle is that it has been unmolested since the 19thcentury. You see it as it was, and the other thingis the degree to which Denis knows every stone and cranny and what he could tell us as we climbed up the tower.
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| The 19th century house and tower |
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| Just a few details |
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| Denis O'Callaghan, the owner of hotel and tower is to the right |
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Rosa, semper vigilantis
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