I’m looking at small brochure which briefly describes the merits of Kilkee, County Clare. It quickly lists all the things to do, sights to see and places to visit. On the back page it says “Kilkee, one of Ireland’s leading tourist resorts, is a charming picturesque seaside town that retains much of its Victorian ambiance of the 19th century”. Having been there I feel I can’t, and wouldn’t, argue with that.
Inside the folded cover it lists its many tourist attractions, including:
- In Kilkee: Kilkee beach, Cliff Scenery, Kilkee Waterworld, Fishing, Pollock Holes, Kilkee Golf Club
- Near Kilkee: Loop Head, Carrigaholt Castle, Scattery Island, Doonbeg Bog, Dolphin Watch
Less than a fortnight ago I’d the chance to spend a weekend in Kilkee. I wasn’t sure what I’d get up to but I knew that The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher weren’t too far away and would be worth a visit.
I never got to see them.
I enjoyed Kilkee and its surroundings so much that I spent the entire weekend either in Kilkee, out walking on its wonderful cliff walks or exploring Loop head and its many stunning views. If you read this blog regularly you’ll know that I also spent a wonderful afternoon out on the sea with Carrigaholt Dolphinwatch.
But let’s go back to Kilkee and the town itself.
We travelled from Dublin and picked the Galway road before turning off for Loughrea, Gort, Ennis, Kilrush and then Kilkee. It’s a 4 hour journey, there’s no getting away from that. We could’ve taken the Limerick road but it wouldn’t have been any quicker. Anyway the Galway route suited us as we wanted to stop in Athlone, stretch our legs and have a bite to eat.
People have different preferences when it comes to the type of accommodation they prefer. Kilkee has no shortage of Hotels, B & Bs and self-catering holiday homes. We picked a self-catering holiday home that is part of the Spanish Cove complex and it was great. We’d plenty of space, good facilities and easy access to the beach.
In fact the beach was no more that 2 minutes walk away. The brochure says it is a mile long semi-circular sandy beach and is one of the finest in Ireland. Well it certainly looked great to me.
In the morning the sun rises and spreads its glow out from the beach onto the sea. In the evening the setting sun falls into the Atlantic and you can see walkers, joggers and sometimes horses casting long shadows in the sand.
The highlight for me was the cliff walks. You could easily spend 2 hours out walking around the cliffs on either side of Kilkee. If, like me, you stop regularly to take in the stunning views it could take a bit longer than that.
Walking in a south-west direction, keeping the sea to your right you can head out past the Diamond Rocks Cafe and the statue of Richard Harris and on past many spectacular views of cliffs and sea stacks.
If you go in the other direction, north-east, keeping the sea to your left, passing Kilkee Golf Course and on to George’s Head you have wonderful views back toward Kilkee itself and across to the sea stack on the far side of the bay. The golf course looks impressive too, with the 3rd hole looking precarious for anyone with a tendency to hook their tee shot.
I spent hours out on these cliffs at different times of the day and each time I looked at what became familiar scenery I was surprised by how different it felt as the sun and the clouds fought for position.
There weren’t too many people visiting Kilkee while I was there. I found that strange as I think with all it has to offer, (swimming, walking, fishing, golf, cycling, horse riding) there is plenty to do no matter what the weather has in store. I did see some car registrations from Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Donegal, Northern Ireland and UK) so I think a select group of people from all over the country know its worth.
I’ll write about Loop Head and the many places we found that served fantastic seafood in another post. Although those experiences were part of the weekend and helped make it special I just feel that Kilkee deserves a post on its own.
As I was out walking I met a Polish man who lives in Nenagh and travelled to Kilkee that morning to fish from the rocks. He said he caught plenty of pollock the previous week. When I asked if he expected to do well today he said it didn’t matter, if he truly wanted to get fish he’d go to a fishmongers, all he really wanted to do was smell the ocean and spend time relaxing and taking in the scenery. I can’t blame him.
I also met a local man who was heading for his morning dip in one of the rock pools not far from the golf club. The sea looked fantastic but cold, so I wasn’t tempted to get in. But he looked as though not going for a swim in the morning was like not breathing; it was just part of his life. I bet he swims there all year round.
Related posts:
Our song about Kilkee “The diamond Rocks” has just been chosen for RTE’s main playlist for this week, 9th Jan 2012;
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/playlist/
If you’d like the rest of the country to know about the beauty of Kilkee, please phone RTE and request it! In honour of Che, it’s a Latin/bossa nova rhythm
Incidentally, due to budgetary constraints, the video – soon to appear on youtube – was filmed in Muir Bay, California, as distinct from Moore Bay! Hope you like it, nevertheless
Warmly
Mistletoe Music California
Well this is a surprise.
I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing the artist Melanie O’Reilly and now I’m going to make a point to look out for her and perhaps catch her in concert the next time she’s in Ireland. Looks like Ireland’s loss is California’s gain based on her current concert plans.
Many thanks for bringing this to my attention. I like Seastruck.