Green Ireland: charming towns and beautiful nature

Two years ago in late September I visited Ireland with my boyfriend and friends. We wanted to explore the countryside, see the green fields and magnificent cliffs, drink beer in pub and get Irish breakfast. With only 4 full days to complete all these tasks we rented a car for 3 days and spend our last days in Dublin.

Ireland is stunning. I was so amazed by the gorgeous countryside, the green all around, charming colourful houses and the best views of magnificent Cliffs of Moher. I would love to go back and just drive around the countryside, stop every now and then for great views and maybe even skip Dublin all together. Nature is what makes Ireland so special in my opinion and even though Dublin is charming it is far from the picturesque little towns, abandoned churches and abbeys and endless green fields.

Our first stop was Killarney, where we went for a walk through Killarney National Park. The weather was very Irish, rain, wind, sun taking turns, which only made it more authentic and special. Walking through lush forests came with few surprises, first one being abandoned Muckross Abbey. It is almost unbelievable how beautiful this place is. Forgotten by people and slowly overtaken by nature.

Not so forgotten was Muckross House, a nineteen century Victorian mansion surrounded by beautiful gardens and picture perfect green grass. I still can’t believe how soft that grass felt.

Slowly we reached the Muckross Lake, one of the three lakes in Killarney, and followed the path leading us to Torc Waterfall. 

After lovely morning outside in the beautiful nature we explored the town of Killarney. It is charming and colourful, with lots of bars, restaurants and shopping options.

Next day we drove to Galway and made quite a lot of stops on our way there. We first stopped in a lovely little village Adare, which we noticed on first day on our way to Killarney. Adare is known as the prettiest village in Ireland and it deserves that title so much. On the main street through the village you will find old picturesque cottages and if your budget is more on a luxurious side you would probably wish to stay in Adare Manor. I am not sure if this place is open for public, it wasn’t when we were there. I wouldn’t mind having a tea in a setting of this mansion. Since we couldn’t go in, we wandered around, went to see St Mary’s Cathedral and continued our way to the highlight of this trip.

 

 

Cliffs of Moher are so magnificent and fascinating you wouldn’t want to miss them. We were so lucky to have the best possible weather there with so much sunshine it was almost unbeliavable. Even if weather isn’t the best from the start it is worth staying for a while, because it can change so quickly there and you might just catch a bit of sunshine after rain and clouds clear.

Once you see this you get why it is the most visited tourist attraction in Ireland. The beauty of these 350 million years old cliffs and view of the endless Atlantic is just breathtaking.

Before heading straight to Galway we made one last stop for another natural sight, which wasn’t crowded at all and it looked really great. I just love watching waves crashing into the rocks and this place is so perfect for that. We drove to Doolin, another very charming village and from there you just go to the port of Doolin and you will find yourself walking on the rocks while waves are crashing into them all around.

We arrived to Galway just before dark and got to experience the amazing nightlife. Nightlife in Ireland is the best. I rarely ever go to parties and clubs anymore and here you can enjoy the live music, drink beer (or something else, if you are not fan of the beer, but have at least one Guinness) and still be in your bed by midnight.

---

Have you been to Ireland? What was your favourite thing there? I know I would love to go back and explore more of the countryside.

Pin it for later!