Ireland – Day 4
We were on Achill Island today. Quite different from our other jaunts. The day involved a lot of coastline, many sheep in the fields and on the roads and hot whiskey toddies in a local pub.
Sheep are everywhere. It is open grazing, so the sheep wander where they will. Many of them just wander on the road, which makes driving around there fun.
The coastline along the Atlantic Drive is spectacular. Crashing waves, cliffs, including the second highest in Europe, sand beaches nestled in bays and, of course, sheep.
On one part of the island there is a deserted village, with the ruins of 137 stone houses. They were abandoned during and after the potato famines in the mid-1800′s. They are incredibly small and it is amazing to imagine people living there.
Like everywhere in Ireland, Achill Island has a ton of history. Much of it is in the landscape, from famine rows, to famine graves, church ruins, legends around landmarks, etc. It surrounds you and draws you in.
