Achill Island

Another easy drive to Achill Island (the c in Gaelic is always hard BTW). About an hour after leaving Westport, I stopped here for the view.

I would have been unable to identify the spot but for the fact that my phone camera recorded the GPS location. It turns out to be Mulranny, and we are looking south at a coastal lagoon.

A panorama:

A half hour later, I arrived at Achill Sound, crossing the bridge that joins Achill Island to the main island.

There is not much in the village, just this hotel and a bunch of shops.

At the back of the shops is this view of the water.

Not the most attractive waters but it is what it is. The second panorama is of the bridge from the north.

I found the B&B and left my baggage, then went in search of lunch. The only decent selection was a roadside pub called Ted's Place. There was a fish and chips van operating outside. It was very windy so I asked if they could deliver it to my table inside, which they were pleased to do. Bland cod again though.

Then I did an anti-clockwise tour of the beaches. This one's called Golden Strand, near Dugort.

Despite the sunshine it was cold and windswept.

One had to be careful of the sheep droppings. Sheep were everywhere, even on house front yards.

The next beach along is Dugort Beach at the foot of Slievermore Mountain.

That would be the Strand Hotel in the zoom-in.

Looking back at the dwellings on the road.

Patterns in the sand.

A sparkling boulder.

Front and back panoramas. Sorry for the tilt.

Now I turned inland and drove south for a couple of km to reach Keel Beach on the south coast.

I guess the attractions here are the water and wind, not the sand.

Not sure what the board surfers were waiting for.

You could also just walk the dog.

You can make out a paraglider.

Slievermore Mountain in the background.

That night the wind was strong and I could feel it entering through cracks. Fortunately the bedding was warm.

Just before retiring I took this blurry shot of the front yard and the lights of Achill Sound through the window. I've presented it here because in the morning I noted that the wind had toppled the garden bench!

In the morning after bidding my hosts farewell, I drove down to Ashleam Bay.

This part of the coast was certainly fulfilling the promise of the Wild Atlantic Way which names the 2500 km driving route.

You should know that I risked frostbite to get these photos.

Fortunately I could duck back into the car.

From the other side of the bay you can see the famed white cliffs.

At this spot the wind was so strong that I feared it would tear my phone out of my hands. Maybe the wind tilted me for these shots too.

A bit further down the road, more white breakers.

Well that's was more than enough wild nature for one day. After that the drive to Galway was tame.