Day 9 - Aran Islands

Today we caught a ferry from Doolin to Inisheer, the smallest of the three Aran Islands.  The total area of the three islands is 46 km^2, and the total population is ~1,300, with Inisheer home to only about 280 of those.

The ferry ride was only about 20 minutes.  The first thing we did was collect the bikes we had rented for the day.  Armed with a map detailing the points of interest, we headed for the MV Plassy shipwreck first.  The MV Plassy was a charge vessel that ran aground in March of 1960.  It has since been thrown above the high tide line where it remains rusting, and being reclaimed by Mother Nature.

MV Plassy Shipwreck 

Jojo And The Wreck

Mother Nature Doing Her Work

Our next stop was the lighthouse which is located on the southeast corner of the Island.  The lighthouse was constructed in 1857 and is still functional, but has been automated since 1978.

Inisheer Lighthouse

After the lighthouse we headed over to the west side of the island on a coastal loop.  We stopped and watched the Atlantic waves crashing up on the shore for a half hour.

Biking Action Shot

The thing that stuck out most to us was all of the stone walls.  The island seems to be divided up into hundreds of pens or fields by some amazing stone walls.  When we returned our bikes in favour of some walking the shop owner told us that when the island was first inhabited it was predominantly limestone rocks with no naturally occurring soil.  The early settlers augmented the soil with sand and seaweed, and built the walls to protect the new soil.  Although it is a small island it is hard to comprehend the amount of work that would have went into this.  I would say about 90% of the land is now covered in soil which makes it ideal for grazing, and farming.

Jojo And A Stone Wall

Landscape Of Stone Walls

More Stone Walls 🤣

After returning the bikes we walked up to O’Brien castle and the signal tower before heading back to settle in at a coffee shop for an hour.  After enjoying tea/coffee and a piece of cake we headed to the rocky shore where we waited for the return ferry.

O’Brien Castle

JM In The Dungeon

When we arrived back at the pier in Doolin and were starting our walk back to the B and B, somebody called out “Joël!!!”.  It turned out being an old colleague of Jojo’s who we knew was in Ireland on a motorbike trip.  What are the chances???  Wow!!!  After a quick chat, we continued our walk home, but we could not believe what had just happened!

After cleaning up we headed into the village.  We stopped at the pizza place for an “appetizer” - a bottle of that yummy cider from last night.  That went down very nicely, and then we headed further down the road to McDemott’s Pub And Restaurant where we both ordered the fish and chips.  It was one of our better meals so far, and the atmosphere in the pub was bright and lively.  It was a very nice way to end our time in Doolin, and our last day in the Republic Of Ireland.

Irish Fish And Chips - Yummy!!!

Tomorrow will be a travel day starting at 8:30, that will see us ending up in Belfast around 19:00.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Ireland, and will miss it as we move on to the next phase of our trip.  The scenery has been superb, the people have been friendly, and the experiences will be ones we remember forever!!