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....

Kylemore Abbey

We had booked to go to Kylemore Abbey one day but the roads were flooded so we managed to change for two days later. Our humans told us that they had visited here years ago when their children were the same age as their grandchildren are now. They spent the whole time muttering things like "This has changed," and "I don't remember this."

Kylemore Abbey, which is set in fantastic surroundings, was built as a private house in the mid 1800s and was visited by many famous people who I'd never heard of. After a bit, an order of nuns, whose convent was destroyed in Ypres in WW1, moved in and they set up a Girls School there. Madonna's daughter went there. The school has now closed but the nuns are still there. There is a lovely garden and they make jam and chocolate.

 

Clare Island, county Mayo

Okay it was time for us to get off the mainland, so we drove up to Roonagh and took the Clew Bay Queen over to Clare Island, a large island in the mouth of Clew Bay. Theo didn't look too well on the ferry but it only took thirty-five minutes and it was a lovely sunny day when we landed.

When we got there, I wanted to do the Clew Bay Archaeological Trail to see if I could dig up some bones but Theo needed the toilet. So we did the toilet first and then walked along the coast to the Abbey where they say Grace O'Malley (who was also called Granuaille) is buried. It was very quiet over there, not many tourists, slightly off the tourist season, so we had the place to ourselves.

Killary Harbour

 

We stayed in a little cottage near Leenaun towards the end of Killary Harbour, which they say is Ireland's only fjord.. Naturally we had to do a socially-distanced boat trip to the mouth of the fjord and back. Great fun and neither Theo nor I got sea-sick. The boat was called The Connemara Lady.

Killary Harbour is really quite spectacular with big green mountains on either side, including Mweelrea, the highest mountain in Connemara. The boundary between Galway and Mayo goes right down the middle of the fjord, with Galway on the south side and Mayo on the north.

Omey Island, county Galway

Well!! My globetrotting was interrupted for nearly one whole year because of something called Coronavirus which doesn't actually affect spotted dogs at all but my humans insisted we stayed at home for most of the year. How boring is that?
Anyway, I finally persuaded them to come away to Connemara for a week just to get away for a bit. And, as compensation for cooping me up for so long, they let me bring along my friend, Theo, who belongs to a girl called Summer Fox.

Our first adventure was to a place called Omey Island, which was once inhabited but now is a desert island!It is normally an island but for a few hours every day, the tide goes out and you can walk (or even drive) over there across the sand. We walked and then walked around the island but we had to make sure we got back in time before the sea came in!!

An hour later and the sea came rushing in. Luckily we were up above in Sweeney's in Claghaduff.