On this road trip, I'm going to enjoy the scenery along Ireland's west coast, where white sandy beaches and towering cliffs welcome the breakers of the vast Atlantic Ocean. I'll be travelling along one section of the Wild Atlantic Way, a 2,600-kilometre-long coastal route that runs the length of Ireland's west coast. Officially launched in 2014, the route was designed to encourage visitors to explore Ireland beyond the attractions of the capital city, Dublin.
My journey begins in the ancient city of Limerick, where Ireland's longest river, the Shannon, joins the sea at the head of a long estuary. While the city itself was founded by the Vikings in AD 922, people have been living here for much longer. It's Ireland's third-largest city, and one of its most attractive, certainly in terms of the architecture preserved from the medieval era.
I drive out of Limerick on Ennis Road, heading north-west, and cross the border from County Limerick into neighbouring County Clare. With some of the finest scenery to be found on the west coast, Clare also has a lot of evidence of early human activity. Bones of a bear, found in a cave here in 2017, show linear cut-marks that were almost certainly made by humans in the Palaeolithic Period around 10,500 BC.
To the tip of a peninsula
My first stop is Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, a 15th-century castle and a living 19th-century village. A long-established, much-visited tourism centre (the number of coaches in the car park is a telltale sign), this well-run facility may be a little too "touristy" for some tastes, but is still worth a visit.
Original examples of local, traditional architecture have been rebuilt in the village, giving an insight into how people lived in centuries gone by - like an open-air museum. The Cashen fisherman's house, a simple, two-room home of a north Kerry salmon fisherman, is my favourite because of its simplicity. Much of the timber (wood) used in this house would have been salvaged from the sea, and the floor is of "rammed", or compressed, clay.
My next destination is the county town of Ennis. It lies on the River Fergus, which runs into the Shannon Estuary. This is the largest town in County Clare, and it's a stronghold of traditional Irish music - as are many other towns and villages in the county.
My route now takes me south-east, through farmland, towards the Loop Head Peninsula. Here, vistas open up, and as I drive south from the village of Kilkee, I begin to see the power of the Atlantic Ocean to my right, where huge cliffs stretch as far as the eye can see. Perched at the very tip of the peninsula stands the Loop Head Lighthouse.
There's been a lighthouse here since the year 1670. At first, it was just a coal-burning fire on the roof of the cottage where the lightkeeper lived, and the first tower lighthouse was built in 1802. One of west Clare's most impressive sights, and open to the public, this provides an ideal viewing point for a place so dramatic that it was chosen as one of the locations for the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The ocean on one side is wild
Back in the car and braced by the stiff ocean wind, I'm heading back north now and the breathtaking vastness of the Atlantic is becoming more familiar. After passing through Kilkee again, I head towards the neat little village of Doonbeg, where it's time for coffee and a scone in the aptly named Wild Atlantic Break cafe.
In addition to its two fine beaches, Doonbeg is well known as the location of a golf club owned by former US President Donald Trump. Many in Ireland have ambivalent feelings about this - but it's hard to argue with locals who point out the employment opportunities the club has created.
My next destination is Spanish Point, another small resort with a beautiful sandy beach. After violent storms disrupted the planned invasion of England in September 1588, the Spanish Armada was driven north around Scotland and then south along Ireland's west coast. Over a thousand men lost their lives when one of the many galleons was wrecked off the coast here at Spanish Point - hence the name.
Driving north-east, I soon come to Miltown Malbay. Traditionally a place where local farmers brought their grain to be milled, three of the town's corn mills can still be seen. But today, Miltown Malbay is best known for its singers, dancers and musicians. A week-long festival to celebrate the town's most famous son, the Irish piper, flute and whistle player Willie Clancy, is held here each year in July.
If you arrive here at any time between May and September, as I have, the West Clare Music Makers' Visitor Centre is an easy way to get a sense of what it's all about. The eight-minute film on the stories behind the music provides an appetizer for those who like the sound of the Irish uilleann pipes (the national bagpipe of Ireland).
At the very edge of Ireland
My next stop is the small but welcoming holiday resort of Lahinch, nestling at the head of Liscannor Bay with 1.5 kilometres of golden sandy beach. The shape of the beach forces Atlantic breakers to form some of the best surfing waves to be found in Ireland. Today, the sun has broken out and there are surfers, canoeists and even a couple of paddleboarders, all making it look far easier than it really is to ride the waves. Apart from the wetsuits they're wearing to keep out the cold, and the lack of palm trees, this could almost be Hawaii.
Back in the car, I drive west to Liscannor, famed since the 1800s for the textured grey stone quarried here. It's immediately recognizable by the natural fossils that run through it, and is used extensively in the walls, floors and paving of the more expensive homes and public buildings in Ireland. But I won't delay now, for I'm approaching one of the highlights of my trip.
The Cliffs of Moher are about 5.5 kilometres north-west of the village. At first, I drive uphill through farmland. The road seems endless, eventually opening out but still out of sight of the sea. Even my arrival at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience car park doesn't suggest what's about to be revealed. For an entry fee, I can go into the visitors' centre and take part in various guided tours - but, most importantly, I've gained access to the paved, walled pathways that now run along the top of these sheer, 215-metre-high cliffs, providing views on to the huge swells crashing into the rocks at their base. No other place on this trip better illustrates the name "Wild Atlantic Way".
As well as being visually stunning, these cliffs are a breeding site for more than 30,000 seabirds, including large numbers of guillemots and razorbills. Swooping overhead are puffins, peregrine falcons, kittiwakes and fulmars (which are related to albatrosses and petrels).
I walk over to O'Brien's Tower, which is included in the entry fee. It was built in 1835 by the local landlord, Sir Cornelius O'Brien as an observation point for English tourists. Sunset is said to be beautiful here, but the cliffs are proving to be very popular; it's time to move on.
In hollow halls beneath the fells
There's a spectacular walking route leading down from the cliffs to the nearby village of Doolin. But it takes an hour and a half, so that's not on my agenda today. Driving down instead, I pass through Doolin and follow the narrow road as it twists through fields and woodlands. The road soon joins the coast again and, quite suddenly, the landscape changes. I've come to another exceptional phenomenon of outstanding natural beauty: the Burren.
This magical karst limestone area of over 300 square kilometres resembles a moonscape. It used to be covered in a mixture of deciduous, pine and yew trees, until Mesolithic and then Neolithic settlers changed the landscape through deforestation, overgrazing and burning, and built stone walls across it. These people also constructed megalithic sites, such as the Poulnabrone Dolmen (portal tomb), which was made between five and six thousand years ago and is one of Ireland's most famous archaeological monuments. There are around 70 megalithic tombs in the Burren area.
The rocky upland rising to our right is also famous for its remarkable flora and fauna. More than 70 per cent of Ireland's species of flowers are found here, including many rare orchids. The permeable rock has created cave systems, too, such as the Aillwee Cave, Burren's oldest, which was formed in a prehistoric ice age. It was discovered by chance in 1944 by a farmer. A kilometre of passages go into the heart of the mountain; there's an underground river and a waterfall, and huge stalactites and stalagmites, as well as the remains of at least one bear. About a third of the cave is open to the public.
The Burren's landscape is indeed entrancing. Its stark beauty almost certainly inspired one visitor, J. R. R. Tolkien, when he was writing his Lord of the Rings trilogy. One of his best-known characters, Gollum, may well be named after the Poll na Gollum (Hole of Gollum) cave system. At 16 kilometres, it's the longest cave on the island of Ireland. And the local Gortaclare Mountain bears an uncanny resemblance to the misty mountains of Middle-earth!
My final destination on this leg of the Wild Atlantic Way is the small harbour of Ballyvaughan. From here, I head due south, back into the Burren, to end my long day with dinner and an overnight stay at the 18th-century manor house that is the luxurious Gregans Castle Hotel.
I've covered about 250 kilometres since I left Limerick nine hours ago, with a total driving time of about four hours. The frequent stop-offs and walks have made this a long but rewarding day. It's also inspired me to undertake another leg of this adventure - sooner rather than later.