Aran Island Day

Jul 20
4 min read

16th July – Aran Islands Day

Today’s adventure took us on a ferry to Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands. Its name means “big island,” and it lives up to that title with its rugged limestone landscapes and coastal scenery.

Our target of the day is Dún Aonghasa, a prehistoric stone fort perched dramatically on a 100-metre cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

After a hot and sleepless night, breakfast was at 7 and I was hoping for a cooler day

It did turn out to be marginally cooler (in the 80s and sunny), but I think I’ve had my sun quotient for the entire year. I made a decision to hike in shorts because of the heat and believe I will be burned - lots of skin cream tonight.

The short bus ride was rather exciting because we never knew if Tomas was going to take a surprise turn and throw us al about the inside of the van.

Guide Tomas spotlight: He is from nearby Lahinch in Ireland, no kids and has been married since he was 19. His wife makes lace (dying art).

We queued to get on the hour ferry ride from Doolan to the island was enjoyable, mostly because of the wind which cooled things down. I was very happy in the breeze by the bow of the boat.

Chris and I were on Inis Mor in 2020 and walked almost the entire length of the island, but we did not see this section or this fort.

Before heading out of the port area, we stopped to take in a unique house where each building stone seemed to have a fossil.

We went to Spar to buy our lunch provisions (which barely fit in my pack). There was an interesting road sign showing a list of island attractions

The landscape and trail began along a back road walking (lots of stones) and a dolphin skeleton.

And along the way we were able to see grey herons nesting - rather unusual on this island. We also saw local gold finches.

At the top of the hill we saw a monument dedicated to the memory of Brendan Gill memorial - lost at sea. Buni thought the chair was a bit big.

Through the transition of surfaces, we walked on gravel and saw a brown mouse run across the road.

As we approached the fort and the “end of the world” (per local legend) the area changed again, resembling a moonscape. I was glad I had 1 pole as the going was very uneven.

The fort, also made of limestone, was very old, built about 2000 years ago. (Can you see Buni on the right pretending to be an early occupant?)

I was surprised to see a small entrance which I would have crawled into, if Tomas hadn’t warned us about ticks….Buni thought it was his house

We continued along the shoreline and hiked by several cliff rookeries, mostly seagulls. Along the way we managed to disturb some oyster catchers nesting and who weren’t very happy we came to visit. The water was amazingly clear .

Lunch was about half way along the route, looking out at the sea, but again in full sun. Even with the breeze I was getting pretty parboiled.

Walking back was up to a ridge where ruins of an ancient building used for religious purposes from the times of the Vikings.

finally I had some shade time.

Down from the hill (photo above) we were warned that we would walk through a field that had a bull in it. I stupidly made a comment about “wow, look at that bull” at the same time Karen was negotiating a style. This destroyed her concentration and she fell down. Thankfully she only bruised her ego, but I felt awful about it.

After the descent, we were fortunate enough to see fortifications again Napoleon during that war.

From there we returned to town along an amazingly busy road. We were very lucky not to get hit as several of the cars didn’t eve slow down. One wing mirror just missed Lisa.