Day 5 Aillwee Cave in The Burren

Entrance to Aillwee Cave is via the shop!

When planning where I might go today, there was one stand out and that was where i definitely would NOT go! And that was anywhere near Doonbeg, where Donald Trump is visiting his golf course at the moment.... I can only imagine the security and hoo-haa around that place. Hopefully he's gone soon so I can work out places to visit that might need to go through Doonbeg

The weather forecast for today was supposed to be cold and rainy, so I planned to go somewhere where hopefully I would miss the rain. I was discussing this with Declan at the Atlantic Hotel last night and he was suggesting Aillwee Cave, as at least it was out of the rain.

As it turned out it didn't rain at all. It was pretty overcast, but didn't actually rain. (Actually I'm hanging out for a bit of rain to wash the bugs off my windscreen!)

Did the usual trick of going to Mass this morning as I was praying for my brother Jim. (He texted me this arvo to say he was back in the ward, so thanks to all those who prayed/thought of him.)

Then I went for my walk along the beach - the tide was out and the sea was very peaceful

Lahinch Beach this morning.

Then I set my GPS for Aillwee cave. It gave me 3 options, but it has a mind of its own and once again it took me through every little back lane it could find between here and The Burren. 

Map of the journey

It was a nice peaceful drive, as there were hardly any cars around. But it wasn't a cruisy drive either as there were lots of bends and single lane roads. At least I got to see a lot of the country around Lahinch!

Corkscrew Hill

The pic above is of an area called Corkscrew Hill and the road certainly was a corkscrew in that part!

Eventually I arrived at Aillwee Cave and didn't have long to wait for the tour guides to call us in. There were only 4 of us on the tour, so it was nice and personal.

The cave was interesting enough, but I have to admit I didn't take in all the geological details.

If you would like to follow  some of the facts, try their website :

Aillwee Burren Experience

Here are a few pics of the cave itself

Aillwee Cave 

Aillwee Cave 

Aillwee Cave 

Aillwee Cave  Info

Aillwee Cave Info

The ticket also included admission to the Birds of Prey exhibition - no way was I going to that!!! I'm terrified of birds, but couldn't imagine having one land on my hand. And they were big buggers too.

So instead I just chose a sensible option ....

Coffee Time!

So now it was time to return to Lahinch, but I  didn't want to come back the same way I came, so I decided to come down the coast road. My GPS and I had a few arguments about this But I just kept going the way I wanted and she just kept "recalculating!!"

It was a lovely drive along the ocean road - it was part of the Wild Atlantic Way, which I have done a few times before. My heart just seemed to sing again as I followed the ocean road... so much better than the back roads and country lanes..

Stopped a few times for some pics... here's a few

Murrooghtoohy 

Murrooghtoohy

So it was a lovely drive home following the ocean.

Then when I came home I had some time to sort out my pics and start writing my blog, but after a while I could feel the need for my half pint of Smithwicks...  so I put on scarf and jacket and set off for possibly a different pub, but just as I got out my front door and was walking down the street, I heard someone calling out "Hello, Hello". It turns out it was the proper TV repair man who had returned from Dublin and was ready to look at my TV, which sadly hasn't worked all week.

So I came back inside  to let him do his thing (which unfortunately has not yet been solved, and he's coming back tomorrow!)

In the meantime I had an online video chat with my friend Fiona who lives near Manchester in the UK and is one of the few on the same timezone as me. Fiona was one of my much loved colleagues at St Clare's so it was lovely to catch up with her.

Then it was time to visit the Atlantic Hotel for my dinner... Roast Beef and real vegies!  Because I didn't have my Smithwicks today, I easily justified an Irish Coffee to replace this :) 

It's raining in Lahinch now - soft, gentle rain... but I still walked home along the beach..

Lahinch  Beach in the rain

So it's been a big day, but a good one.