As James and I prepare for our next big trip (more on that to come), I have been reflecting on what was best about our trip to Ireland last fall. After eight months, I think we both agree that renting a car gave us the luxury to see so much of the island on our own schedule. I’ve been meaning to get back to recounting a few more of our stops before I get entirely immersed in our upcoming trip to Germany.
The only time we were without a car in Ireland was the one night we stayed on Inishmore, one of the Aran islands off the west coast of Ireland. After our relaxing spa stop in Westport, we drove to Rossaveal to catch a ferry to Inishmore. While some people opted for a day trip, we wanted to stay the night in hopes of hearing some traditional music.
I was nervous about leaving our rental car overnight, but I inquired with Aran Island Ferries about their recommendation for a place to park. They suggested a lot that is guarded by a staff member night and day. When we pulled into the ferry terminal, I directed James past several parking lots to the guarded lot at the end. We left most of our luggage in the trunk of our car and only took a few things for the night. We took a mid-morning ferry and arrived to plenty of offers of transport at the dock. There were mini buses, horse-drawn carriages and offers of renting a bicycle for the day.
James and I walked the half mile to our hotel to check in and drop off our luggage before we headed out for the day. The island has a few bed and breakfast options, but we booked at one of the only hotels for the least expensive room of our trip. When we first walked into the hotel, the front desk check-in area was empty. We found a note saying that the desk clerk would be back soon. As it turned out, the girl at the front happened to be a shuttle driver (and later, a waitress at the hotel restaurant). We were able to leave our luggage and reserve a table for dinner, but were told we wouldn’t be able to access our room until later in the day.
Kilronan, which can barely be called a town, is the main commercial area on the island with a few shops, bike hires and restaurants/pubs. From our online searches, we had learned that a popular way to see the island is to rent a bicycle and trek to Dun Aonghasa, the ruins of a ring fort on the edge of Inishmore. Most sites estimated it was about a 25-minute bike ride. I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in dozens of years, but they always say you never forget how to do it. I figured the island would be sparsely populated with few cars so I’d have no problem getting comfortable on a bike.
While we looked at bicycles, I had trouble finding one that was the right height for me. At 5’1″, the adult bikes were all a little too tall for me and the children’s bikes were too short. I picked one that seemed to be a good fit and James paid 20 euro per bike. I headed down, very wobbly, the main road to our destination. But as I pedaled, my heart started to race and I became increasingly anxious. By the time we reached the Spar market, less than two blocks from the rental shop, I realized I was close to an anxiety attack due to my extreme fear that my bike was about to topple over at any minute. James and I retraced our steps to return the bikes to the rental shop. I felt defeated and a little bit like I had let James down since I knew he had been looking forward to the bike tour. Fortunately, the guy at the bike shop refunded the full rental cost and we used the money to take a mini bus tour. We were the only people in the mini van that brought us to the Seven Churches Cemetery and Dun Aonghasa.
As James and I rode in the mini bus, we realized that there were an awful lot of the buses on narrow roads where the bicyclists were also riding. On a couple occasions, our driver nearly clipped a bike rider with his side mirror. It made me even more sure I would not have been able to navigate on a bicycle. I also realized that to get to the ring fort, we had to make a 30-minute trek uphill so I was also kind of glad I wasn’t worn out from a bike ride.
The view from the top of the hill, along the cliff edge, was beautiful. James was brave enough to stand along the edge, but I stayed far away, given my fear of falling/heights. After we finished our trek, we returned to our hotel to relax for a bit. James was still feeling under the weather from his cold so he napped and just before 5 p.m., I walked to the Spar market for water. As I arrived, the shop was already closing for the day, but the manager was nice enough to let me buy a few bottles of water before they locked up. The Aran Sweater Market and another shop in the town center were also closed by 5 p.m. (the last ferry back to the main island – and most of the tourists – had already departed).
We had dinner at the hotel, at “An Síbín” Bar & Restaurant. We were expecting the same meal offerings we had seen around many places – Guinness stew, fish and chips, Shepherd’s pie – but instead the menu was filled with local seafood and organic fare. We ordered a three-course meal, with James starting off with duck egg rolls and me with goat cheese crostini. I had a stuffed chicken breast with tarragon sauce and James had pork medallions in cream sauce. We were both pleasantly surprised with the good food and the good service. While there were only a few waitresses, including the desk clerk from the afternoon, the service was exceptional.
After dinner, we stayed at our table in hopes of having a good view for the night’s entertainment. When we realized the music wouldn’t start until 10 p.m., we moved to the bar for a round of drinks. The evening’s performance include a trio of three brothers, all who looked to be barely out of high school. They sang a mix of American country songs, Irish folk tunes, and on request sang one acoustic song in Gaelic. We watched for about an hour before we headed to bed.
We were up early the next morning to catch the ferry back to Rossaveal. I was quite irritated when I turn on the shower to discover there was only cold water. We didn’t have enough time to ask the staff to look into it so I just washed my face in the sink and pulled my hair back into a bun, with plans to shower when we arrived at our next hotel in Galway.
While we both enjoyed our stay in Inishmore, we would recommend a day trip to the island for other adventures since after 5 p.m., there is not much to do. Of course, we were there in late September, so in the summer months places may be open later.
Andersons+Ireland 