410 km today as we go from Dublin to the west coast of Ireland, stopping along the way at Kilkenny, Blarney Castle, Killarney National Park, and the first portion of the Ring of Kerry.

Great day! We woke up to an email from www.skelligrocks.com; one of the few companies that boats folks to Skellig Island. When we started planning our trip back on May and June, all of the landing boat trips to Skellig were booked. We booked a standby, crossed out fingers, and hoped for some Irish luck. It turns out that there were some cancellations for Friday! Perfect timing for our trip!! Now to get from Dublin to the pier in Portmagee...


Cloudy skies this morning.


Ever wonder what happened to Popeye the Sailor Man? He lives in a camper van in Ireland! Funny saying on the back of the van.

Side story: I had an extremely elated moment this morning. We were riding under grey clouds; the sun and blue skies were just ahead of us promising for a beautiful day. At that moment, one of my favorite songs started to play - U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name. The beginning of this song is incredible, especially if you’ve seen their Rattle and Hum concert. Anyhow, here I was, riding a motorcycle, on a beautiful day, with my best friend and wife, Chantil, in the same country where U2 came from!! It was a bit overwhelming. I hope everyone can experience pure joy like this someday.


Life is good!

About mid-morning, we stopped in Kilkenny. When I hear the name Kilkenny, I immediately think of South Park - “They killed Kenny!” Anyone else?


Interesting how the shade on this wall caused the vines to fade from green to red.


Close-up of the red leaves.


A Scottish Westie in Ireland !


Kilkenny Castle, Ireland was built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways.


Just an idea of the detail that went into something as simple as a balcony.


Most of the rooms were restored and decorated in the fashions of 19th century nobility. This room shows the original wallpaper design only is small sections. It needed to be restored but artists decided to show the difference by just using outline art.


Close-up of the original (middle) vs the outlined art.



This is how the rich or nobility ate meals. Which utensil am I supposed to use?! What one of the four glasses are for water??


The wallpaper and curtains are all custom made to match.


Fine wood and craftsmanship are shown throughout the home.


A tapestry room to display all your fine art.




Even children had high end toys like this doll and custom doll-sized chair.


Just an idea of some of the artwork and level of detail in the wall coverings.


Close-up of the graphic like quality of the wall-papering.


Carvings at the ceiling are even exquisitely done.

More of the stairwells showing the dramatic colors and level of details.


A tapestry showing the overly glorious death of Decius, the Roman Emperor from 249 to 251.


(drawing of castle with trees)


The kitchen area used for the workers was converted into a great coffee shop...


...with delicious baked goods.


The garden area was also impressive and well designed.


A pigeon relaxed in the garden area.


The castle stands central and above the city below.


The rose garden was as beautiful as you could imagine.


A farmers market in Kilkenny had delicious breads…


… and other foods.


Waiting at a cross-walk in Kilkenny.


The flag of Ireland. The orange stands for Irish Protestants, the green signifying Irish Catholics and the republican cause, and the white representing the hope for peace between them.

Back on the bikes. We’ve got to cover at least 400 km today…


Riding through Kilkenny.


Along the route we saw this cool globe in the middle of a round-about. Inside the middle looking out at North America.

Our next stop Blarney Castle…

You can’t go to Ireland without a visit to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. Can you?


Blarney Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Blarnan) is a medieval stronghold in Blarney that dates from 1446.


Beautiful designed grounds full of colorful flowers.


There is much more to the area than the castle and stone. There are gardens, miles of trails, and many modern sculptures that decorate the grounds.




There are three main structures that remain of Blarney Castle; the main castle keep, and two smaller towers.




A good reason for visiting in the off-season. This is easily how long the line can be in the summer. We only had to wait about 15 minutes. Worth the 15-minute wait – not worth an hour wait.




One of the grated windows was decorated in yarn doilies.


Close-up of some of the doilies.


People, unfortunately, carve their names into the walls, but all these carvings also have an artistic quality for some reason.


The castle walls and windows as we head up the tight and narrow stairs to the roof of the castle where the famous Blaney Stone resides. No picture of the stairs because your “nut to butt” in the narrow staircase.


Selfie at the Blarney Stone (shown just between us in the background).


While you’re waiting in line to kiss the stone there are some great views and plaques that have some stories about how Kissing the Blarney became so popular.

The process of kissing the stone is a bit silly. You lie on your back, on a stone parapet, hang onto a metal railing with your head lowered between a slot in the rock wall, bend over backward while reaching out your neck to plant your lips where millions of others have kissed before. A bit silly, but perhaps that’s the fun of it. Is herpes fun?

After the stone, we took some time to enjoy the surrounding gardens and walking trails.


A detail of the sculpture that goes into something as simple as iron fence.


The Blarney House is also on the property, but we did not tour it.




There is a small walk that takes you around some modern sculptures.


A fun little wooden mushroom with its tiny door and...


...wishes from people around the world. We quietly stole all their wishes after taking this picture. I kid, of course I wouldn't still wishes - even if they are two euros.




Butterflies were flapping around in the light breeze and this one even stopped long enough for me to take this close-up.


We found this rabbit running...


... from this fox.


A wonderful summer day with a slight breeze. Perfect!


Before leaving I made a wish before tossing this five-euro cent coin into the wishing stream. Not going to tell you my wish until it comes true.

Ireland has a lot to see. The poster shows all the things you can do...


…like Killarney National Park. Beautiful and FREE! National parks here don’t have a fee to enter like they do in the USA.


We discovered a narrow road that took us through some dense forest land.


Flying the drone to capture some video and this image of Chantil riding through the forest.


Great narrow and twisty roads perfect for motorcycles.


Enjoying the open road with minimal traffic.


We did notice a lot of small same-brand motorcycles traveling though the national park. All of the riders were smiling – just like us!


Left to Live. Your life is to short not to make your dreams memories.


We found a campsite, at Glenbeg Caravan and Camping Park. A great spot right on the beach to finish our first full day in Ireland.

Tomorrow we’ll see if the “luck of Irish” continues with favorable weather…

Only 150km of riding because today was mostly about getting to and exploring Skellig Island.

We woke up early so that we would make it to Portmagee with enough time to get some breakfast in town before we boarded the boat to Skellig Island.


Starting my morning off right with a walk along the beach. A bit cloudy but at least no rain!


The drive along the Atlantic Ocean did not disappoint with views like this...


…and this…


...and this.

On the way to Portmagee we did a quick stop in Waterville to take a picture with Charlie Chaplin.


Waterville was a favorite vacationing spot for Charlie Chaplain.


Chilling with Charlie!

Once we reached Portmagee, we found that the boat was delayed due to weather on the Island. The captain seemed confident that the trip would still happen; we just had to wait a bit longer. Instead of waiting at the nearby café we decided to explore town and then ride to see the Telegraph Field on Valentia Island and the Kerry Cliffs.


We found Portmagee to be a small but very charming tourist town.


This stray dog seemed to enjoy the attention of tourists like us.


Small fishing boats docked in Portmagee.


Decorated walls with a seaside nautical flare.


Apparently Barbie has a vacation home here. Who else would paint their house this color?

(
Actually, truth is, I find pink to be a pleasant color. I just wouldn’t paint my house that color…


…or my mule. Here he is, waiting patiently, while we explore Telegraph Field on Valentia Island.


The plaque marks the first successful transatlantic telegraph transmission. The laying of the cable under the ocean was completed on August 5, 1858.


This is the size of the cable used – about 6” diameter. Four ships—two from Britain and two from the United States, successfully installed the cable without it breaking halfway, allowing messages to be sent from Valentia Harbor in Ireland to Trinity Bay in Newfoundland.


Views from Valentia Island. It was clearing up enough that you could make out the Skellig Islands on the Horizon.




The narrow roads on Valentia Island are barely wide enough for two motorcycles.




Views from the nearby Kerry Cliffs was stunning - but really, really, windy. Based on the level of winds I knew the trip out to Skellig would be a bit rough.


Don’t fall off the cliff!




A last view of Kerry Cliffs before we return to the marina…

…for boarding the boat to Skellig Island! We are more than excited!! I just hope the weather is good enough to safely unload us at the island…

Skellig Michael Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So what! What makes it so special compared to the other 131 heritage sites in Western Europe? Star Wars!! That’s what! Skellig Michael was a filming location for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

It can be difficult to get a landing onto this island located 11.6 kilometres (7.2 mi) off the isolated coast of Ireland. The island is only assessable during the summer months, spots fill up quickly, and weather often forces boats to cancel landings. Getting here takes a bit of planning and a lot of luck. For us we had both!


During the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I was mesmerized by this coastal island where Luke Skywalker was believed to be in hiding. Once I realized it was a place that you could actually reach it became a bucket-list destination. *Picture from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.


We were all given foul-weather gear. Based on the high winds, I expected that we would need them in our open-top fishing boat.


About 5 to 7 other boats, similar sized, joined us on the ride out to the island.


Getting to the island took a little longer than an hour. Some of the folks on our boat couldn’t wait to be on solid ground.


It was rather foggy, so we could not see the upper part of the island.


A helicopter pad for emergencies. Somehow I doubt the Millennium Falcon could land there!


A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.


Does this rock look familiar?


Perhaps this may jog your memory? *Picture from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.


The rock stairway leading up to the Monastery area was built by monks during the 8th century.




Chantil standing in the archway that opens to the monastery area at 550 ft above sea level.


An idea of the level of detail that the monks used in the building of the stairways and dome enclosures.


A panorama of the small monastery area where the monks lived and worked.


For some this was a spiritual experience; this gentleman meditated in the same spot that monks would have done the same thing hundreds of years before.


Gravestones mark the passing of fellow monks from their Earthly lives.


The dwellings are built with rocks layered to cause the water runs outside. To say they were dry inside would be an overstatement, but they were dryer.

Visitors actively listen to the guide as she explains what life would have been like for the monks among the challenging terrain. Thankfully, she kept it informative and respected the lives of the monks and didn’t even mention the word “Star Wars” once.


The myriad of grey lichen on the rock face creates natures version of modern art.


Walking back down to “Christ’s Saddle”. This was near the area where Ray handing Luke his lightsaber in the movie.




It’s quite amazing that a group of monks lived in this harsh and desolate environment.


Standing on the main walkway up to “Christ’s Saddle”. Another walkway continued upwards from the saddle area to the monastic site.


Returning to the “Wailing Woman” rock. The fog lifted enough to see Little Skellig in the distance.


Seabirds of various types live on this and nearby islands.


We never did see a Thala-siren, or get to taste their unique green milk. Apparently they migrate to the Faroe Islands during the summer *Picture from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.


The departing view of Skellig Island was better than when we arrived since most of the fog was cleared.


Little Skellig is not populated by humans so a quick boat ride beneath the rocky cliffs gave us a magnificent view of...


...the millions of birds roosting and flying around the island. It was awe inspiring to see so many birds squawking and flying around.


Each of those tiny white dots is a bird. Millions of them. Learn more about the various types: HERE


The last view of the Skellig Islands as we say “goodbye”.


Heading back to Portmagee.


Captain Dave even let me drive his boat back into port until just before we had to dock.


Thanks to Derek (left) and Capt Dave (middle) for a wonderful day. Thanks to Skelligs Rock: Boat Tour to the Skellig Island for the memory and destination of a lifetime!

We worked up quite an appetite hiking the stone stairways in Skellig; Time for an early dinner at Smugglers Cafe in Portmagee.


The restaurant was decorated with seaside and nautical art pieces.


I find the look of a high-quality colored chart to be very appealing.


A rope covered hanging lamp lit our table.




The clam chowder was some of the BEST we’ve ever eaten.

I would have been very content finding a hotel room in Portmagee and relaxing for the night, but we needed to move along while we still had some daylight.


The Ring of Kerry continues north through the town of Cahirciveen – population 1,041.


During a fuel stop this dog kept barking at us. Perhaps he wanted to ride on our mules instead of his Toyota?


Monument to St. Brendan the Navigator by Éamonn O'Doherty is a sculpture that represents the monks’ voyage to the monastery at Skellig Michael.


We continued heading northish along the route marked the “Wild Atlantic Way”.


All hail King Puck, Lord Goat of Killorglin! This statue of King Puck in Killorglin, Ireland is a monument to the country’s oldest festival, the Puck Fair.


During this ancient celebration, a wild male goat (known as a “puck”) is crowned king of the town for three days before being returned to his normal life in the Irish hills, his royalty all but ignored by his fellow goats.


Continuing along the Ring of Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Route.

Today was a great day! One of the greatest!!

I rode around Ireland in May. I absolutely enjoyed every day, but words can't describe the beauty of the Glengash Pass, Slieve League Cliffs and the Antrim Coast. I definitely would go back in a heartbeat.

We covered quite a bit of ground today in order to get back on schedule – 350 km! That’s a lot for us. We continued clockwise along the Wild Atlantic Coastal Route of Ireland’s west coast, stopping at Clare Abbey Burial Ground, Cliffs of Moher, and Aughnaure Castle. We found a campsite, well after dark, at Kings Caravan & Campsite.


“Did you see that sign?” This ended up being an impromptu spot that we discovered from the highway.


Heading to the ruins of Clare Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1195


Could this cool place really be without any tourists?


No people to disturb? Time to fly the drone and captured some great videos that we’ll post in a future video of our trip.




The Celtic cross seems to be the gravestone of choice for most Irish.

Story: This is a bit creepy, but during our visit I heard voices of children laughing in a playground. I just shrugged it off because sound can travel in peculiar ways...


...however, as we were leaving the site, Chantil mentioned she also heard voices!


The weird thing is that there was nothing around except for some cows and goats in the surrounding fields. Why the sounds of children playing at school on a Saturday? Haunted? Nah.


Next stop, the Cliffs of Moher. The entrance fee of 8 euros included parking for our mules.


The famous Cliffs of Moher!


Pinnacle Rock. Pan around to see the bay from 200 meters above.


It was a perfect day. The sun was warm. Musicians were playing Irish songs. People were smiling. We were in Ireland!


The word “Mothar” means ruined fort in ancient Gaelic. A fort from the 1st century BC stood at Hags Head where Moher Tower now stands.


O'Brien's Tower was a popular spot for taking pictures and enjoying the views. The tower was built in 1835 as an observation spot for Victorian tourists


Pinnacle Rock.


A group of young adults relaxing in the grass above the cliff walls. Just a few feet from the guy on the left is the edge where it drops 200 meters onto a rocky shore.




Cows enjoying the afternoon sunshine and multitude of fresh green grass. By the way, that fence is electric. Guess how I know?


A black bird enjoying his perch above all the tourists.


Just up the road from the Cliffs of Moher is this restaurant called Stonecutters Kitchen. We sat next to an older Irish couple who recommended...


... the Traditional Beef and Guinness Stew with Cidona apple drink. It was delicious!

Although we were pushing to get back on our scheduled timeline, we did stop and enjoy the scenery along the way.


The narrow roads combined with the sunny weather made riding a joy today!


Near the end of the day we came across a sign pointing to Aughnaure Castle. Why not? We parked our mules and walked past a pasture to a walking trail leading to the castle.


We ended up being the last tourists of the day. We walked around as the caretaker was tidying up the castle.


The picture shows what the original looked like when it was built in the 16th century.


The design and wood of the rafters of the ceiling.


It seems a lot of castles we went into have this murder hole where you could pour hot coals or shoot arrows down on unwanted guests.


The castle owner and caretaker is a loving and kind lady that showed us the keys to her castle. The keys looked just like you would expect castle keys to look like.


The caretaker was such a warm and friendly lady. Meeting wonderful people is part of the adventure!


It was well after dark before me made it to Kings Caravan & Campsite. It was so late that the office was closed but Chantil was able to find the camp host who opened the bathroom doors for us.

A day of aviation history, rainbows, church attendance, and more exploring of the beautiful Irish coastline.


450 km today! Unfortunately, we passed by some great places that would have been worth the stop. On a positive note, we are closer to being on our planned schedule for our trip. We were definitely ready for some sleep once we reached Northern Ireland.


Ask most Americans who was the first person to fly a plane non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and they will most likely tell you Charles Lindbergh. They would be wrong. Lindbergh was actually the 19th person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic.


In a remote bog of northwestern Ireland known as Derrigimlagh,…


…two British aviators, John Alcock and Arthur Brown, completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland.


Their landing wasn’t glamorous, but they completed the trip in less than 16 hours.


The hike out to the “landing” site is not difficult but it is shared by sheep. Watch out for their droppings.


The site where John Alcock and Arthur Brown landed was definitely a rough boggy landscape. It’s surprising they were not seriously injured in the landing.


A simple white cone marks the site where aviation history was made in 1919.


A display shows the damaged Vickers Vimy bomber where it “landed”.


Some may wonder why they decided to land here but it’s important to remember that the ground looks much different from the air and they had been airborne for nearly 16 hours with some pretty terrifying icing and storms.


The two aviators who made aviation history - John Alcock and Arthur Brown.


As if it wasn’t crazy enough, they brought two cats with them on the plane!! Actually, I read that wrong... Two toy cats were given to them for the journey. One of them, named Twinkle Toes, later flew a similar flight 60 years later in a RAF F-4 Phantom. The F-4 was a bit faster at only six hours and it landed without mishap. Twinkle Toes is in the RAF Museum in Cosford, England.

As an aviation buff, I enjoyed the remote and quite corner of Derrigimlagh. However, this experience made me question my education since I had no idea about Alcock and Brown growing up. Perhaps the textbooks in the United States tend to focus on American accomplishments? After all, Charles Lindbergh was an American born in Detroit.

We continued along the route, making good time in order to attend church services in the town of Sligo. Along the way, the rain clouds lifted and we had the joy of experiencing one of the brightest rainbows we’ve seen for quite some time.


It’s no wonder rainbows are often associated with Ireland. This was one of the most vivid rainbows I seen in recent history.




Along the way we noticed the Church of St Joseph and St Conal in the town of Donegal.


It was open so we peeked inside...


...to find this charming altar...


...and beautifully designed stained-glass window.

We decided to take a diversion to Bunglass Point, based on a recommendation from some motorcyclist we met at church earlier.


In many ways, I feel the BMW G650GS is the ideal adventure motorcycle. It's not too heavy, a world traveled proven engine with adequate power for riding on highways, gets great fuel mileage, has more cargo capacity than we’ll ever use, is easy to maintain, and doesn't cost much. The cost of purchasing, outfitting, and customizing our two mules was about 14K USD.


On our way to Teelin we stopped to take some picture of grounded, broken-hulled boats.


The Rusty Mackerel near Donegal looked like a nice place to eat but we only stopped long enough to snap a photo of their mural.


The mules parked at Bunglass Point.


Although, I would have liked to see more of the coast, the day was getting late. Bunglass Point ended up being our last stop before we reached Northern Ireland.


Welcome to Northern Ireland! Time to switch our GPS units to miles per hour, put away our Euros, and pull out our Pound sterling.
*Picture from www.thesun.ie

It seems many are in support of the Irish reunification where the whole of Ireland would be a single sovereign state. This is a complicated and emotionally charged issue for lots of Irish folks on both side of the border. As an American who was just traveling through, I don’t have the history or information needed to form an opinion. I just hope for a democratic and peaceful agreement for the future of Ireland.

Tomorrow is Day 11! Join us, along with some wonderful sunny weather, as we continue our travels clockwise around Northern Ireland…

A few days ago, we were talking to a gentleman about our plans to ride around Ireland clockwise to Northern Ireland. He responded, “Northern Ireland is always rainy, cold, and cloudy.”
Our experience was the opposite - sunny and relatively warm. Luck of the Irish for us!


Only 102 miles (165 km) of riding today. We experienced the beauty of Northern Ireland’s north coast: Downhill House and Mussenden Temple, Giant Causeway, and The Dark Hedges. Then we rode south to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland and the birthplace of the RMS Titanic.


Sunny with white fluffy clouds this morning.




Dry roads. No raingear. It’s going to be a great day!


Our first stop, and right along the northern coast, was the Downhill House. This palatial home was built in the late 18th century but was destroyed by a fire in 1851.


The nearby Mussenden Temple was built in 1785. It is perched picture perfectly on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.


An inscription around the outside of the building reads “"Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem."; meaning "Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore. The troubled sailor, and hear the tempests roar."


I imagine it was quite a nice place to study or just look out over the ocean below.


The Downhill House is now just stone steps and walls ever since a fire destroyed it in 1851. It was rebuilt but then fell into disrepair after WW2.


I imagine it must have been quite the elegant residence.


Since there were relatively few visitors, we launched the drone to capture some video and this photo of the Downhill House. Here is one of my favorites.


Looking down at the foundation and layout.


Passing through the seaside town of Portstewart.


Dunluce Castle sits proudly on the cliff edge surrounding by cows.


Originally built in the 13th century; the last resident lived there until the 1690s. It’s been slowly deteriorated ever since but is now managed by the Northern Irish Environment Agency.


The views from the coastal road are some of the best.

As we got closer towards Giant’s Causeway, I started to get a bit nervous. Were we heading into another tourist trap? The multitude of tourist buses and large parking lots suggested that it would be.

Travel advice: Do not park in the visitor’s center parking area and pay the £11.50. There are much cheaper alternatives that are just a short walk away. We parked by the train station for £5.00


The visitors center is definitely a unique architectural design that was built to compliment the basalt columns of the Causeway. We didn’t go inside because of the high cost.


The walking trails, Causeway, ocean views, and today’s sun was all free.

I definitely recommend taking the Red Trail since it’s less crowded and give great views from the cliffs above.

[
There were even blackberry bushes…






Some benches had some informative wood carvings on them.




We even found this lady bug that kept moving making getting this picture difficult.


The Red Trail winds down the cliff and drops you into this picturesque beach.








Love the different colors of lichen on the dark rocks.


There are over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that make up the Giant Causeway.


These unique shapes and columns are the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.


The ocean waves splash against the lower columns turning them into a darker color.


Lots of folks!


The parking lot uses the unique but complimentary hexagonal patterns.

Giant’s Causeway, you surprised me! I thought you would be a tourist trap but your many miles of trails and views from the cliffs above the Causeway made the visit definitely worth the time.


The nearby restaurant called The Nook had tasty sandwiches and a side of potato and lentil soup.

We continued along the coast enjoying the views, and wonderful sun, along the way...

Hi guys

As a long time lurker I decided to register today to comment on your ride tail ... I live in the UK so find your trip report incredibly interesting

I think it's very true that you never notice the incredible locations on your own doorstep while dreaming of far off lands

I've been riding for a couple of years now and have always had the urge to travel by bike - particularly exploring my own country ... currently though my travel is the 15 mile communte every morning and every evening

Look forward to seeing more of your trip as the Ireland element has already generated a number of Points of Interest to plug into my planning GPS

Love your photography style as well + the drone captures are gorgeous

Mal Skelton