Inis Bó Finne, county Galway

After a few days second guessing the temperamental weather, we eventually bit the bullet, drove to Cleggan and sailed over to Inishbofin, Inis Bó Finne - the island of the white cow. When we got there, we had a choice of doing the westerly loop or the easterly one. We chose the former. The tarmac soon gave way to a track, which soon gave way to rough stones and open clifftop walks.

Although it was July, the number of people gradually dwindled and we were able to get some great social distancing in, making sure not to get too close to the cliff edges. The sun shone and there was a great feeling of serenity on the island.

Our departure point of Cleggan is well inside the Galway harbour though it came as a surprise to learn that the island is actually north of Killary Fjord which marks the Mayo / Galway border. In fact, Inishbofin was once a part of Mayo. The islanders must sometimes wish that was still the case as Mayo County Council are very good at whitewashing their  coastal beacons, whereas Galway Co. Co can't be arsed. Inishbofin has three very striking and ancient beacons marking the entrance to the harbour.

The Sean Bothar, Cornamona to Clonbur

Our place near Clonbur was on the shores of Lough Corrib about 2 kms outside Clonbur. Behind us loomed the impressive shape of Mount Gable, along the bottom of which runs the Sean Bothar, a ten kilometer old road between Corr na Mona and Clonbur. It is closed to vehicular traffic, except at the extremities and is a lovely peaceful walk with the lake glistening below.

The local history guys and gals have added interest to the walk by marking each ruined (or disappeared) homestead with the name of the family that lived there.

 

The Coral Strand, county Galway

 

Finally, after years and years, this thing called Coronavirus seems to be going away and my humans decide to come blinking out into the sunlight once more. To be honest, anywhere would make a change, so off we head to Clonbur on the shores of Lough Corrib, on the Galway / Mayo border.

One of the first places we visited was the Coral Strand near Carraroe on the shores of Galway Bay. 

Despite the name, it isn't really made of coral but coarse bits of tiny, ground mussels and other shellfish. Whatever ...

It is a beautiful peaceful place, though it is not large and therefore can seem quite full at times. On the day that we went, though, there was one other visitor, who had brought ten thousand relations to see this beautiful beach....