Exploring the Wild Atlantic Way!

 This morning we awoke to brilliant sunshine, so, after our breakfast, we took a short stroll on the path across from ou B&B, and headed to the castle that stands on the edge of Ballymote.  

Just look at those blue skies!  Awesome!

We then checked out of our B&B, bid farewell, and headed to the northern section of the Wild Atlantic Way.   Many people choose the southern connections, but I set this trip up to try to stay away from as many tourists as possible.  So, we went north, of course!

Our first stop ws Mullaghmore Head.  

We spotted some unusual mountains with sheep scattered about.

Aren't the vistas amazing?

Moving on, we found ourselves at Bundoran, where the long stretch of beach was scattered with surfers, all dressed in wetsuits, of course. 

There was this unusual inlaid design in the sign, and I have no idea where that came from. 

There is a stately castle that stands on this peninsula.  It is private property and is not open for tours.  Which is just fine.  It's beauty is captured perfectly.

I was able to try out the new hiking poles that Marty had given to me for Christmas.

They worked great!

I have no idea who Lena is, but she offered the perfect opportunity for us to sit and just take in the beauty surrounding us.

Moving on, we drove to Bendoran which features  the fairy bridges.  Here you see a cute Irishman (kind of), standing on the bridge.

And here he is, sitting in the wishing chair, contemplating what he should wish for. 

We hiked a fair distance, and the views were amazing. 

By this time, refreshment was in order, so we headed to Belleek, where we enjoyed our afternoon cream tea treat.

Cherry scones with cream and jam.  Yum.

By this point, we decided to head into Donegal, where we will be staying for the next few days.  It was still rather early, so we decided to head out to Slieve League (which appears to be spelled a variety of ways, which just might explain our confusion.)   We followed the GPS instructions, which left us pretty much in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sheep, with a chirpy, "You've reached your destination!!"

Well, as it turns out, we were on the wrong side of the mountain!  So, we headed back down the road, working our way through the many sheep, in an attempt to find the actual site.

Finally, we found the right spot! 

Pretty spectacular, don't you think?

At this point, I was concerned that we would miss dinner, so we headed back to Donegal, to the Olde Castle Pub for dinner.  I had checked the website and the hours were "open from noon", with no mention of a closing time.  One could conceivably secure an online reservation until nearly midnight.  I know because I tried, only to be told that they weren't taking online reservations.

So, I called, and the answering machine said they were open "from noon" and were only taking walk ins.

Except, they didn't take us when we walked in.  They said that they would not feed anyone else.  It was 7:45 pm.  We were a bit disheartened, but headed to Dom's Pier restaurant, where we were not only made to feel welcome, we were given an awesome seat overlooking the bay.  

There was no problem ordering a meal, and to top it all off, they had an Irish female singer performing Irish ballads.  She had the voice of an angel.  And, the lull of her magical voice was really relaxing. 

So, I can honestly say that the day ended as brilliant as it had begun.  You just can't beat that!