Connemara Revisited

Ireland's new and almost empty motorway network soon had us over on the west coast where the simple pleasures of the Renvyle campsite met our every need. There were superb views from the sweeping beach across to our planned walks as the sun set and we had a relatively early night in anticipation of a hard day.
This encompassed a return for me to the classic 12 Bens ridge enjoyed this time in even better conditions and with good company. Strong winds required concentration on the rocky descents but the day remained largely dry and sunny and we all enjoyed the stunning views and sense of isolation. Leaving the bike at the finish avoided the need to walk back along the road and after an exhilerating day we were content to retire to the cosy pub in Tully Cross.
Monday dawned clear and sunny despite the forecast so we headed round to Leenan and Killary to climb Ben Gorm, this time continuing along the ridge to drop down at Loch Doo where again the bike was used to retrieve the van. Some of the finest views of the trip were enjoyed looking across to the Mweelrhea Horsehoe walk with Clare and Achill islands sitting in a deep blue sea and a fast steep descent over grassy slopes resulted in the demise of various shorts and trousers.
Tuesday saw a return to the unsettled conditions that had dogged the early part of this trip but we explored the coast around to Cliffden with a walk at low tide across to Omey Island which seemed a world apart from  normal civilisation. The Sky Road near Cliffden provided good views across the west coast in between heavy rain showers before we returned to Renvyle and a celebratory meal out after an excellent trip.
Torrential overnight rain cleared as we packed up and headed back to Galway stopping to enjoy the restored silver mine at Glengowla - a credit to the owner's enthusiasm and energy. Additional interest was provided by their seismology station which constantly recorded the surprisingly frequent earthquake activity around the world. The Galway Races traffic caused a slight delay en route to Dublin where a spacious camp site provide a final night's accommodation in easy reach of the airport.
It was lovely to have such good company and I would like to thank the team for making the effort to get over here and provide such happy memories - good on yer!
The van provided practical transport for all of us and our kit and continuing comfort for me and Pete's photos of Croatia have given me ideas and inspiration for early next Spring. I have also just signed up for another HU meeting, this time on the Mendips in early September which looks promising. The Beast follows a week later with a number of other activities through until mid December to keep me busy - as ever they will be digitally recorded and displayed here with my whereabouts similarly available here