Day 28 - Caherconnell Stone Fort and Poulnabrone

 Day 28 - Caherconnell Stone Fort and Poulnabrone

About Caherconnell 

Today started off in the usual way. Fr Willie said Mass this morning - Fr Des has gone on holidays, as his health is not very good atm. Then I went for my usual walk and coffee at Val's.

Sun is out again!

I was wondering what to do with my day. I have only two days left in Lahinch and I know tomorrow will be mainly taken up with packing etc... The sun was out, so I thought it was too beautiful a day to waste, and I might as well expose myself to the beauty of County Clare for one last time.

I knew I had to go via Ennistymon to put my washing in to Kath's Clean. I was tossing up whether I should leave it till I got home, but I have just about run out of things and I always like to have a few choices! And for €12, it's a bargain!

So, wherever I was going had to be through Ennistymon. One place I had been to last time that was really amazing was Poulnabrone... 

Poulnabrone

Situated on the high Burren limestone plateau, Poulnabrone Dolmen is one of Ireland’s most iconic archaeological monuments and is the second most visited location in the Burren after the Cliffs of Moher. It is the oldest dated megalithic monument in Ireland.

So I thought I might re-visit that, as the drive through the Burren was delightful.

I stopped at Kilfenora again, mainly because I wanted to go to the loo (TMI!) But it must have been meant to be. because I spoke to the lady in the tourist centre and she suggested this Caherconnell Stone Fort, which was only 1 km this side of Poulnabrone.

Google couldn't provide a map how to get there! Lucky I had the lady at Kilfenora!

And it was fantastic. I love hearing all the history behind these places, and I just jagged the right time to go on the guided tour. Our guide was fabulous and put everything in context, with lots of little jokes mixed in. The tour went for about 40 minutes and was just perfect. 

I can't remember all the things he said, so I took pictures of the boards which give an overview of what each part of the fort was about.

It covered quite an extensive age.

I've just realised that those QR codes lead to an audio description... wish I had know that when I was there and would have taken more careful pictures!!! I've been able to salvage a few...

3000 BC First Artefacts

Stop 15 audio

600 AD - remains of a very important woman

The guide spoke about the average age of death in those days was early thirties. Apparently this lady buried here was very important as she had her own grave and two babies were buried with her.

Info about the fort

 If you would like to listen this is Station 7.

Stop 9

Stop 9 Audio

This one talks about their long hair and beard and that comb

Stop 10 audio

I realise most of you won't have time to listen to all that audio, but if you do it captures the essence of what I found out today.

So, after all that history I was thinking I might have lunch at the lovely little cafe that was there on site. However, I did not have much luck with food today! Just as I came back into the cafe, a bus had just arrived and the queue was out of the door!!!

Never mind, thinks I... I'll go to Poulnabrone for a quick visit then head for lunch at Ballyvaughan.

Poulnabrone was lovely, especially now that the sun was out. I found the terrain a little rough though and I struggled to keep my feet a few times...

But I took a few pics..

Poulnabrone

This is taken straight from their website :

Poulnabrone is classified as a portal tomb. Portal tombs have two large portal stones standing on either side of an entrance capped with a massive sloping capstone. A second stone which lies on the ground at the rear of the monument was likely a second capstone which would have fitted in under the main capstone and covered the back of the structure. This part collapsed at some unknown time in the past. The tomb was built on limestone pavement and surrounded by a low mound of rocks. This mound of rocks would have added support to the upright stones which are otherwise only supported by the weight of the capstone. The uprights are not wedged into the deep fissures which are common in the limestone. The limestone flagstones which were used to build the monument would have been extracted from the surrounding limestone pavement.

I also had a lovely chat to a couple from the UK at Poulnabrone. I had bumped into them at both Kilfenora and Caherconnell, so this time we stopped for a chat. Always interested to hear  other people's travel stories!!

Now it was really time for lunch and Ballyvaughan was just 15 minutes away. 

Ballyvaughan Harbour

My first attempt was to go to the Tea Rooms, where I have eaten a few times before and really enjoyed it. Sadly it was closed until Wednesday (Today is Monday)  . So there was a pub just a bit further down called Monks, so I went in there, but they only had big sit down lunches, which was not what I was looking for. Next attempt was Hylands Burren Pub which had a sign out the front  " Meals served all day"... so in I went! But no, they didn't do Monday's either and only were serving residents!

One last hope was to see if they had a corner shop, and sure enough they did!!! They had a shop called Centra, which had a little Deli down the back where I could order a toasted ham and cheese sandwich!!! Perfect! Exactly what I was after! Phew! Otherwise, my next stop would have been Doolin. 

Grabbed this pic from the Internet - that's not today!

It's amazing how many people don't do Monday when you're on the road. Obviously, the weekend is the big cash earner, when people come out of their houses and splash the cash, But bad luck if you need food on Monday!

So after my sustenance, I drove home along the coast road between Ballyvaughan and Doolin. I love that road, and today, for the most part, I didn't have any buses  bothering me until the other side of Doolin, so I could just take my time.

I'm trying to imprint lots of memories of County Clare into my heart and mind, as the journey draws to a close. This blog has sometimes been a bit of a pain to complete each day, but I know when I go home, I will regularly re-read my adventures and re-live them again. 

Tonight  I'm bringing pizzas up to Marie and Pat and Ellen and Patrick, to say thanks to them, for all the care and love they have given me while I have been here. They have been the essence of family to me and makes the search for my extended relatives all worth while. I'm very proud to be a Clare Curtin!