Car Ferry to County Clare
After two days of driving around counties Tipperary and Limerick, we got up early anxious to jump back in our car and escape our soulless Adare hotel. We were excited about our Tarbert Ferry ride from County Kerry into County Clare, which we had decided to do rather than backtracking through Limerick City.
Following a gorgeous coastline, we easily found the ferry, which runs every half-hour, and lined up behind the other waiting cars. When the ferry arrived, we drove aboard and stayed with our car until the agent came by and collected our 18 euros.
The wind was whipping with rain as we set sail, but we were compelled to climb to the top of the narrow deck and take in the view of the vast grey bay – it felt precarious and thrilling.
Lunching along the Ocean in Kilkee
Twenty minutes later we were driving off the ferry and on our way to the County Clare beach town of Kilkee for lunch.
Our destination was the McKenna-recommended Strand Bistro. A casual restaurant, it sits right across the road from Kilkee’s broad sandy beach and has a swath of windows that commands a view of Kilkee’s bay. In mid-October, the restaurant was quiet and only had one server.
We ordered the fish & chips which were crispy-breaded, fresh, and tasty.
But the starter is what I still dream about: a potato roulade spiraled with St. Tola goat cheese sitting on red pepper jam and topped with arugula. It was colorful, creamy, and delicious.
After lunch we walked sea wall and stopped to get cash at the only bank machine in town. This region of County Clare is notorious for having few, if any, cash machines – so we loaded up for our next couple of days.
The Back Roads to Doolin
We set our GPS for our final County Clare lodging destination of Doolin, and it began to take us onto smaller and smaller roads until we were on tiny back roads that would barely fit one small car.
Mostly it was isolated and beautiful – barren rolling hills peppered with houses. Occasionally we would come upon an oncoming car and they or us would be able to pull over into a driveway or small dirt or tar carve-out on the side of the road.
As we got closer to Doolin a car was driving towards us very fast — amazingly, even on these little roads the speed limit averages 80 kph (approx. 50mph), which locals easily drive – and we quickly pulled to the left where there was only a muddy ditch and our wheels spun hopelessly. My friend slammed on the horn for the passing driver to stop, which he immediately did and began to back up to see if we were okay. We carefully rocked the car back and forth till we became unglued from the mud, which only took a minute. Whew. Okay, we could do this.
As we came over the hill and started our descent into Doolin, we could see there was a more main road below into the town that we could have used. But the harrowing ride had been worth the dramatic view of the Atlantic stretched out before us. Later when we described to locals that we had entered via the tiny road, they laughed and said yes, the GPS likes to take you the shortest route over the mountain. Live and learn.
The Charming Roadford House
I had chosen the Roadford House for our County Clare stay for its great reputation for lodging and food, Doolin location, and proximity to foodie town of Lisdoonvarna. Marian and Frank, the wife and husband team who run the Roadford House were welcoming and hospitable. The double room with two queen beds was cozy and beachy.
Dinner at the Roadford House
We had made a reservation for dinner at the Roadford the Sunday night of our arrival as the restaurant would be closed on Monday. The menu had an array of fresh fish options. Their candlelit dining room is cozy, romantic, and sophisticated, but the low-lit ambience does not provide for optimal dinner photos. (See their food gallery for good photos.)
Frank approaches his food with clean simplicity and artistry. I had a delicious caramelized onion to tart followed by a pan-seared salmon.
McDermott’s Pub
My friend had the fish platter that included an array of fresh fish, mussels, and scallops. Post-dinner, Marian recommended McDermott’s Pub for music about a block away on the main road.
Doolin has no streetlights and it was pitch black outside. Marian reassured that few cars traveled up their small road and a flashlight would be sufficient to guide us to and from the pub. So armed with an iPhone flashlight app and the luck of a sidewalk, we made our way easily enough to the lively pub with good music.
Breakfast at the Roadford House
The next morning we got up to a fantastic breakfast at in the cozy dining room that looked out over Doolin.
The Roadford serves a cold buffet as well as a choice of a hot menu item. Neither of us could resist the pancakes stuffed with stewed apples – they were creative and delicious. I still think about them.
Fortified with a hearty breakfast and a highlighted map from Marian on the counter-clockwise route we should take around County Clare, we first headed down the road to the Cliffs of Moher.
The Cliffs of Moher
You can see the Cliffs in the distance from the town of Doolin, and it’s only about a 15 minute drive. We paid for parking, and then walked across the road to the cliffs and visitor’s center.
By the time we arrived at the Cliffs, the sky was threatening to burst open with rain any second we headed straight for the cliffs.
We first walked on the path toward Hag’s Head, but with a 5km path that would be about a 2-hour round trip, we knew this would be brutal when we could barely walk against the massive winds blowing off the Atlantic. There is a barrier provided that allows you to walk safely away from the cliff’s 400 foot drop.
We actually saw people walking on the outside of the barrier. Death wish. I couldn’t watch.
Though not a sunny day, the extreme weather added to the drama of the cliffs and made us appreciate the violent erosion by wind and water that had created them.
The Cliffs of Moher were dramatic and stunning. Even as the wind and rain whipped, it was worth braving a short hike along the cliffs. If it had been a sunny day, we certainly would have done a couple hours of hiking down the numerous cliffs down to Hags Head.
Though we had a grey and stormy day, the cliffs were gorgeous. It was well-worth the stop and I would love to come back on a sunny day when you can look out over the Wild Atlantic Way and gaze upon the Aran Islands.
Lunch at Vaughan’s Anchor Inn
We continued on the road to Liscannor where Marian had highly recommended a gastro pub for lunch called Vaughan’s Anchor Inn in Liscannor.
Vaughan’s is in a charming tavern with a cozy front bar area with low banquettes in front of a roaring fire that makes you want to sit there all day and drink Irish coffee.
The food was as good as promised. I had an open-faced sandwich piled with unadorned local Liscannor crab atop brown bread. A Rose Marie sauce (mayo-catsup) came on the side to add to the sandwich as desired.
My friend had the fish chowder the piping hot, creamy fish chowder.
Reluctantly, we left our snug spot in front of the fire and got back on the road to see as much of County Clare as possible.
The Back Roads of The Burren
Back in the car we set our sights on The Burren with a drive-by through surf-town Lahinch and headed east through Ennistimon, turning north.
The deeper we got into The Burren, the roads became successively smaller and the scenery more austerely beautiful in tones of golden brown and burnt orange and littered with fields of grey rocks.
Yesterday’s initiation into County Clare’s back roads had served us well and we now knew what to expect.
The only new curve ball was that there were also plenty of big white buses loaded with tourists careening the tiny one lane roads – and they assumed they had the right of way.
We had to maneuver quickly off the road with no turnouts – luckily no muddy shoulders… and no head-on collisions.
The Hauntingly Beautiful Black Head
We emerged from the Burren as we headed for the northern end of County Clare through Ballyvaughan, a small town three-quarters of the way around our County Clare circle, putting us back at the coast.
Heading back south down the Atlantic coast we first encountered Black Head.
I knew what to expect from the dramatic Cliffs of Moher, but Black Head was a breathtaking surprise. A stark field of rocks spilling into the Atlantic Ocean.
The two lane road that runs along the coast was practically deserted adding to the remoteness of this beautiful place, which was probably my favorite sight of the day.
We continued down the coast on the inside lane of the cliff-side ocean road.
Dinner in Lisdoonvarna
We headed back to Doolin to relax at the Roadford before dinner. We had hoped that night to go to the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna for dinner. But given the off-season, restaurants were open fewer days, although not explained on their website – but Marian checked openings for us to ensure we headed off in the right direction.
Given that the storm was kicking up and that we wanted to try the Roadside Tavern’s craft beer, we decided to catch a taxi to Lisdoonvarna – renowned for its good food and annual Matchmaking Festival. The Roadside Tavern is recommended for both their craft beer and its Burren Smokehouse menu options.
We, however, were in the mood for fish & chips. The food was basic but good, in a nice pub atmosphere.
The taxi returned to pick us up for the 15 drive back to Doolin – a well-spent 20 euro round trip. The taxi driver explained that the bad weather we were experiencing that night is typically as bad as it gets in winter. He dropped us back at McDermott’s pub for more music where we saw a great group called Foolin’ Doolin.
Goodbye to the Wild Atlantic Way
The next morning was sunny, clear, and blustery. After another great Roadford breakfast, we decided to drive down to the Doolin pier before heading out of town. As we made our way there we could see the massive bone-white wild Atlantic smacking the cliffs so hard that the spray flew up above the cliffs. It was stunning.
We got down to the pier where there was extensive construction going on and not surprisingly no ferries appeared to be running.
We struggled to get out of the car, fighting the wind to get the doors open. If the weather had been better we would have loved to have taken a boat ride to the bottom of the Cliffs of Moher to view them from another perspective.
Drive-by Ennis
It was sadly time to leave this beautiful, pristine County Clare region and head back to Shannon Airport to drop the car. At first wary of how it would be driving on the other side of the road in Ireland, we were now seasoned left-side drivers and reluctant to be giving up our freedom to wander the countryside. We had all day to get to the airport so we decided to explore a different route back and stop for lunch in the small town of Ennis.
I had heard good things about the town and it is definitely a charming, workaday town, but it was larger than I had thought and jam-packed with tourists.
I was happy to see it, but also glad that I had decided to stay in the more country castle-town of Bunratty on the front end of my trip into County Clare, for its proximity to Shannon Airport.
The road from Ennis back to the airport was a quick trip on a major highway. With minutes to spare after dropping the car, we bought tickets from the Bus Eireann vending machine just as the bus was pulling up to the terminal curb for its quick hourly stop. We threw our bags on below the bus and climbed aboard for our 2 1/2 hour ride to Galway.
