In June 2022, I took a two-week adventure around Ireland in a van with my dog, Anayah.
When I got back home, I put together a travel journal scrapbook, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Whether you're planning your own trip to Ireland and looking for some must-see spots to add to your itinerary, or you just want to scroll through a travel journal for some inspiration, you’ve come to the right place!
Hey! I'm TJ, welcome back to the blog! If you are new, it's nice to virtually meet you.
Welcome to the 2nd part of my Irish trip scrapbook! There’s so much more to share! I’ll be sharing photos of the scrapbook pages along with the text from each page for you to enjoy. Let’s dive in!
(Note: All human and animal names have been changed for privacy!)
Also, apologies for any spelling errors on the pages themselves, I'm Dyslexic!
Day 7 - Killala and Deirbhiles Twist.
It hasn't been the best of days. Lots of little to see. 3 places we stopped at didn't allow dogs, which I still don't get (there didn't seem to be any reason behind it). Rosserk Friary was lovely to have an explore round. Killala harbour was beautiful in a weird way. It's a fishing village, so loads of fishing boats and fresh sea food shops on the seafront. We had to avoid the rain, it got heavy at times! I can't think of the word Killala without thinking of Jack Sparrows voice saying it. The harbour is on the esturary and is very industrial.
But the mountain loop I wanted to do didn't allow dogs, the viewpoint I found was the same. The place I had planned to stay was also no dogs! I did have a coffee with a view, though over the valley watching the clouds roll in.
I bought myself fish and chips to save time as I had to find somewhere to stay, still. They weren't great chips, either!
I went to 3 more unsuitable places to stay (I was also in an anxious mood which probably didn't help matters!). One wasn't flat enough, the next didn't feel safe and I had to trust my gut and the 3rd the grass was too soft to trust parking on for the night without getting stuck.
So, here I am in a car park for Deirbhiles Twist. The sigh says the man who made it said 'The rocks were already in the ground, I just rearranged them."!
It's on a cliff surrounded on 2 sides by sea. It's windy with no facilities but it's okay! It's beautiful and quiet. I'm just tired.
But not too tired to sprint over the rocks in crocks for a photo! The sun was setting so fast, but I got it!
I was woken up at 1 am by a car blaring their music right next to the van on purpose, some lads from the local village I assumed. They soon got bored when they got no reaction but I hardly slept after that. I'm glad I had Anayah!
Day 8 - Ballycroy National Park, Connermara National park and Bunowen Pier.
It was a really rough night because of that car and I'm exhausted today. I would have felt a lot less safe without Anayah, that's for sure.
This morning I took Anayah for an explore around the twist on the long lead. We walked right to the edge of the outlet and were surrounded by the water on three sides! It's a lovely view, with loads of rocks forming natural stepping stones to jump over!
Our first stop today was Ballycroy National Park. I learned so much about bogs and how important they are after speaking with a very intelligent man in the visitors centre. I met a lovely couple from Wales, lovely ladies! A Robin and a Chaffinch joined me for lunch at the van. The birds in Ireland seem less bothered by people than back home. It was a small reserve but beautiful all the same! The walk was pleasant.
Then we drove through Connemara National Park, full of mountains and loughs. It was breathtaking. We took a hike through the park, it was busy and we were dodging the showers, but it was beautiful! We did the Lower Diamond trail.
Tonight we are at a lovely pier. It's quiet save for another couple (also British). I went for a very cold swim in the sea, though it took me a while to get the courage to get in! It's so windy, though, and it took over an hour to cook dinner! I had to try and shelter the cooker!
I know I'll sleep well tonight at Bunowen Pier!
Information - Ballycroy National park:
Ballycroy National Park is 11000 hectares of blanket bog and mountainous terrain. Situation in County Mayo, it is one of the largest active blanket bogs in Western Europe. Bogs take hundredsof years to form and are made up of fresh water, living and decaying plants and they form in poor draining areas.
Flora - Sphagnum Mosses, Bog Cotton, Black Bog Rushes, Deer Grasses, Bell and Ling Heather, Orchids, Milkwort, Sundew, Lichens, Crowberry and Bilberry, Bog Bean, Common Spike Rush, Pipewort and much much more!
Fauna -Red Grouse, Dippers, Sandpipers, Hooded Crows, Ravens, Woodcock, Golden Plover, White-fronted Geese, Foxes, Red Deer, Hares, Badges, Bats, Otters, American Mink, Sea Trout, a variety of insects and more.
It's a dark sky reserve!
Over 1000 bodies have been found in bogs in Europe. most did NOT die from natural causes! Spooky!
Information - Connemara National Park:
Connermara National Park covers 2000 hectares of bogs, mountains, woodlands, heaths and grasslands. The mountains are part of the famous Twelve Bens range. The park is situated in County Gallway. There are 4 main hiking trails: Ellis Wood trail, Struffaunboy trail, Lower Diamond trail and Upper Diamond Trail. The later is the large mountain route.
Flora - Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Bell Heather, Purple Moor Grass, Sundews and Butterwort (both carnivorous insect eaters!), Roseroot, Purple and Starry Saxifrages, Mountain Sorrel, Lesser Twayblade and more.
Trees - Whitebeam, Hawthorn, Birch, Spruce, Rowan, Spanish Chestnut, Beech, Lime, Hazel, Ash, Horse Chesnuts, Scots Pine, Oak, Holly, Alder, Willow, Elder to name a few!
Fauna - Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Stonechaffs, Wrens, Robins, Kestrels, Sparrowhawks, Merlin, Peregrine Falcons, Thrushes, Starlings, Woodcocks, Redwings, Field Fares, Badgers, Foxes, Bats, Pine Martins, Red Deer, Hares, Otters, Stoats, Ponies, Trout, Salmon, Mussel, Frgos, Newts plus more.
Connemara is a state of light of fluent sky, flayed rock and flowering bog. Of storied lake and inlet and deep song, of wind and wild - Michael Coady.
Day 9 - Coral Strands, Galway and Tipperary
It's been an adventurous day. Our first stop was Coral Strand, a beach made up of Maerl (dead Red Coralline Algea that grows in the bay and gets washed up on shore.). It is one of only a few beaches of its kind in Ireland and creates a unique habitat. It was hard to walk on as it was all loose, Anayah enjoyed it, though. She found a dog toy which is now drying on the windscreen in the sun! The sea was so clear, too!
Galway wasn't really worth the stressful city driving! We only stopped at the seafront for a look but ventured no further into the city. Typical, rough kind of place. I can officially say I've been there but I won't go back in a hurry! Cities just aren't for me, I much prefer the beautiful scenes of the mountains and forests.
We are at Tipperary marina for the night now and the weather is lovely. I've had a shower using the waterways card and swilled some clothes, too. During dinner a little Robin joined me and stuck around whilst I did some reading. It seems like a busy place, lots of teens swimming, a load of occupied boats, but it's rather peaceful.
It definitely was a long way to Tipperary!
Day 10 - Shannon Estuary, Carrigafoyle Castle and County Kerry.
Today has been a total mix of highs and lows. This morning we walked around the woods by the harbour and the village. 4 Cranes landed in a tree and caused such a racket, I'd never heard such a thing before! I then did some photos in the woods, shared my breakfast with the Robin (some crushed up shreddies for him) and we headed off. First, I tried to find a castle ruin. I found it but somehow couldn't get to it! So we moved on. I found a vets to worm Anayah before we head home. I did some shopping, too.
We followed the Shannon Estuary and had a walk by the water (that was lovely!) before finding Carrigafoyle castle. That was fun to explore with the view of the Estuary.
Meenogahane Pier was next. I met a nasty man who full-mooned me because he disagreed with how I trained Anayah. It was a stunning place, though ruined for me with the encounter. We drove through County Kerry which is just beautiful. We are at White-strand Beach for the night. It's been a lovely evening with me reading in bed with the doors open!
Day 11 - Ringfort, Velentia Island, Bally-Vohane
I don't quite know how I got so much done today! I'm exhausted, as is Anayah, but it was so worth it.
After a walk on the beach and breakfast, we followed some advice from a local and found a Ringfort. The walk to that wasn't easy with so many sheep to contend with (Anayah has a high prey drive) but the fort was awesome to mooch around!
We then got a mini ferry to Velentia Island. Anayah was very confused when seeing the water out of the window!
We found the highest peak on the island, Geokaun Mountain. You could drive to the top, but we parked about half way and followed what I thought was a footpath (It was not!). We eventually got to the top and the muscle cramps were so worth it! The veiws were breathtaking.
We followed the coastal road back into County Kerry and had to drive an insanely steep, windy road with incredible sights.
This is where I'm staying tonight, Bally-vohane. I had plenty of time to drive elsewhere, but this is heaven. I didn't know peace like this was possible!
I went swimming with two lovely ladies and tried to teach Anayah to swim with no success! It's a dark sky reserve, but its a bit cloudy. I'll stay up for sunset, anyway!
I met this lovely dog. The man owned the land and we spoke for a while whilst I cuddled the dog. Now it's just me and Anayah, the birds and the waves. I don't ever want to leave!
Day 12 - Killenary National Park, Uragh Stones and Cork.
There has been a lot of driving today, just so we don't have a huge chunk tomorrow.
Killenary National Park was beautiful, and entertainingly steep to drive. We first stopped for a wonder by the lake (lough. Then we stopped in a busy car park to find it was the start of a walk loop to Torc Waterfalls. There was also a carpark closer, but I am glad we did the walk. The start lead through what looked like an estate park that had horse-drawn carriages that went around the park. We then found the falls after a load of steps and a stunning walk (it was busy with tourists!) and someone offered to take our photo! Anayah did so well. The route back to the van was much quieter.
We then found Uragh Stone Circle which is from the Bronze age. The original use is not certain, but it could have been for rituals or the Solar/Lunar cycles.
Now we are at Cork beach after having finally found some Irish Mead! Out of everywhere we've been this is my least favourite area. It's so busy and built up. I got talking to a couple from England who had just decided to travel for 6 months! How awesome is that. Another camper lost their dog and were arguing about whose fault it was. Luckily with some help, the rat (oh I mean tiny dog) was found!
Day 13 - Knackadoon Pier and Rosslare Beach
Today was mostly driving as I have a couple of places I want to see tomorrow before catching the ferry at 5.15pm.
I stopped at a place called Kncokadoon, which I couldn't (and still can't) think or say aggressively: Knock her down!
We had a walk over the top of the cliffs and lunch on the sandy beach.
Now we are back at Rosslare beach where it all started. It's busier than last time, but I saw a few people I met when I was here last, It's been nice to catch up.
The Guarda (police) just left, they came to take a statement about the guy who full-mooned me after I reported him, they say he's a well known individual to the Guarda.
They were nice and reassured me it would be investigated, they also apologized for it having ruined my trip, which I told them it had done no such thing!
Bed time! Zzzzzz!
Day 14 - Wexford Lavender Farm, Tara Hill and Home.
Oh what a wonderful last day! I've loved it. First we found Wexford Lavender farm. We walked around the fields of Lavender and the woodland at the back. It was quiet at first. I bought some lunch, some gifts and did some photography. It was such a lovely place, the lavender was is rows! There was a park for the kids and some small animals. Anayah enjoyed it here and we got chatting to a lady in the woods with her dog.
Then we went to Tara Hill, something I can now tick off my bucket list with my actual first name being Tara! The walk was tough going, steep with loose gravel and we got lost at the top, which made me nervous slightly because I knew I had to catch the ferry!
But it was so worth it! Surrounded by nature, stunning views and Anayah loved it too.
Then we went to Rosslare, where I bought an ice cream from a very popular ice cream parlour called Izmoo (I see why it's popular) and Now I'm on the ferry home.
It has been an incredible experience with highs and lows. But I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed it and how well I did!
Bring on the next adventure!
Thank you for joining me on this adventure and exploring my Travel Journal Scrapbook for my journey around Ireland!
When I have finished the Scotland Travel Journal Scrapbook, I shall share that with you, also!
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Have you done any awesome travelling? Have you got your own travel scrapbook? I would love to know all about your travels, I love meeting and chatting with new people! Pop me a message and we can connect.
Until next time!
TJ
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