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Home > Travels > Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland
MY TRIP TO IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND
 Day 5: It's Like Cliffs of Moher - Only Less Crowded
 Our day started out seeing the town of Donegal in the daylight. Since we had arrived after dark the previous day, we were afforded the chance to get a better look at the town. Daylight also afforded my father the oppurtunity to buy some additional film for his camera.
Our first stop of the day was Donegal Castle. It proved to be easy to find in the daylight, though the dark made things different.
Last night, after my parents and I had headed back to the B & B, Kayt, Emery and Jonathan looked around for it. They ended up in a place called the "The Olde Castle Bar". Now, they should have known something was up, but they asked the bartender where the castle actually was. He pointed out the back window and replied "right there." Sure enough, there it was, right across the street looming up behind the bar.
Here are some pictures:
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 Following our tour, we left Donegal behind and headed up the coast through the fishing port of Killybegs. We actally saw the entire town a few times trying to leave it. For some reason, the signage seemed to take you back down to the waterfront instead of out of town. We finally pulled up to a nice woman walking down the street and asked for directions. Being armed with the knowledge of where to go, we found the obscure turn we needed and managed to break free of the town. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last time we'd get trapped in a town with no visible means of getting out.
 Our destination was the cliffs at Sliabh Liag (or Slieve League) and the Carrigan Head watchtower. Along the way,  we found a scenic overlook with a very useful map of the area. While the scenery there was average, the map was the highlight of the stop. Since we'd be on some very tiny and obscure roads, the road maps we had in the van weren't quite detailed enough to be of much use. We took a few pictures, then piled back into the van with a better idea of our route.
 Once again, we found ourselves on winding narrow mountain roads as we made our way to the cliffs. The parking area was surprisingly large once we got there, though. We pretty much had the place to ourselves since the weather was quite threatening that day. In fact, it began to sprinkle a bit at one point. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. However, the wind was blowing so hard off the ocean the rain actually hurt as it travelled sideways at us. That only last a short time, so we were still able to enjoy our visit.
Among the items at this location were the cliffs, a mountain lake and the remains of a watch tower way out on the point. While the views from the cliffs were stunning, they would have been even better had the weather been better. On a clear day, though, I feel the view would rival that presented by the Cliffs of Moher. In addition, the lack of crowds of tourists make Sliabh Liag a much better bet for unspoiled scenics. Just check the weather forcast before you head out. Then while everyone else is at the Cliffs of Moher, you can shoot pictures in relative peace.
Here are some shots for you to enjoy:
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Following our exploration of the cliffs, we headed toward Brown's Country House Bed and Breakfast in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. We crossed the border near Derry, and completed our time in Ireland.
The Coleraine are was interesting in that the name "Bally" was used not only in several surrounding towns (such as Ballymoney and Ballycastle), but appeared in road names, as well. For instance, our B & B is located on Ballyboogey Road, which amused us a bit.
That evening, when we searched out dinner, a stop at a cash machine was also necessary. Northern Ireland uses pounds. However, they aren't too picky about what kind. It turns out you may end up with several types of currency since some banks actually have their own. As a result, the cash machine dispensed money from that particular bank. It would be of no use in Scotland or anywhere else outside of Northern Ireland.
It would be necessary to get notes from either the Bank of Scotland or Bank of England to replace the ones from the Bank of Ireland and other institutions. The best method seemed to be to use as large a bill as possible for each purchase and hope for the right kind of money in change. We made a note to watch what bank had issued each note we spent in order to get rid of the "fake" money.
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