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I made my eighth trip to Galway in June 2018, working again with my colleague Michael Hogan at NUIG. As usual, I took a long walk most evenings, either down to the Galway Bay or along the Corrib River. I had all sorts of weather, but fortunately, there were some sunny days and some colorful sunsets.

This year I was able to make a couple of day trips outside Galway, one to Connemara and one to the Burren. These are my two favorite places in Ireland, and I've been many times to each. In galleries from previous years, I have many, many photos from these two areas.
The highlight of my stay was the trip to Connemara. I started out with the intention to hike Erinsbeg mountain, near Roundstone. But on the way to Roundstone I stopped at Ballynahinch Castle, which is now a Hotel, restaurant and bar. They have developed some very nice walking trails on the grounds, so I walked along the river for a couple of hours before continuing on to Roundstone. It was a cloudy day, but there were very small patches of blue that appeared occasionally, hinting that the sun might some out later in the afternoon. On the way to Roundstone, just a few kilometers before reaching the village, I came to a small track that crossed the bog area between Roundstone and Cliften. I had driven on this track a couple of times in the past, and I had images in my mind of the dozens of lakes that dot the bog. I thought it might be nice to stop somewhere along the way to have my picnic lunch. After parking the car at a small pullout, I walked up a hillside where I could get a view of the bog. I discovered that because it has been a dry period for about 2 weeks, the bog was walkable, so I followed a sheep track to a small hill overlooking a large lake, with the 12 Bens rising in the distance on the other side of the lake. As I was having my lunch, the clouds began to open up and the sun was shining brightly, bringing out the green of the bog grasses and the deep blue of the lakes. Then slowly the 12 Bens began to open up on the horizon. I took all this as a sign that I was where I should be for the afternoon, and I started exploring the bog, being careful to stay on the sheep trails (so that I didn’t disappear in the sinkholes that famously swallow up those who dare enter these treacherous areas). I followed the lake to the west for at least an hour, stopping numerous time for photos. I couldn’t believe my good fortunate, to be able to walk in the bog on dry trails, on a sunny day, with no midges (I was told later that it was too hot and dry for them). I just walked and took in the scenery, knowing that this was a pretty special opportunity. The sun lasted about 3 hours before the cloud cover began to move in from the sea. Indeed, by the time I returned to my lunch spot, the clouds had covered the sun. But I decided to continue along the road toward Cliften, since it was now too late to walk the Erinsbeg trail. I found another place to park overlooking another large lake, so I decided to take a second walk. Amazingly, the clouds that were moving in from the sea started to reverse course, and the sun begin to shine again, this time through a thin cloud cover, but still brightening up the green grasses and blue water. This was a shorter walk, but the filtered sun gave a different view of the bog. After an afternoon snack by the lake, I make my way back to Galway, stopping for the sunset by a small lake not far from Ballynahinch Castle. All in all, it was an exceptional day.

On my second weekend, I went to the Burren, where I walked on Black Head, a place that I had become familiar with from several walks in previous years. It was a cloudy day, with strong winds from the west, and there were occasional rain showers. It was not the best day for this walk, although in the early afternoon there were a few short minutes when the clouds parted just a bit for the sun. I was down by the shore during this time, trying to stay behind a large boulder out of the wind while having my lunch, so I was able to get a couple of photos of the coast with incoming tide. Afterwards, I walked up the hillside, to the very top of the ridge, where there was a stone monument that had been built there many centuries ago. On the way back down I walked to the small ring fort that overlooks Galway Bay and the Aran Islands. I had to fight the strong winds all the way down the hillside, so by the time I reached my car I was quite exhausted. It probably wasn’t the best choice for a walk that day, but it gave me good exercise, fresh air, and a nice visit to a familiar spot. Not many photos this year, but last year’s walk had been exceptional, so I have plenty of images in my mind of the Burren at its best. You can find those photos here.

I spent the last night of my trip in Dublin, so that I would be close to the airport for my morning flight, so I walked around Trinity College and along the river on a cloudy afternoon. I haven't really spent any time in Dublin, so someday I'll have to explore the city a bit more. But it's the west coast of Ireland that calls the most!

I hope you enjoy the photos!