After a morning of shopping in Dingle, we got a late start out for our next destination – Doolin. Our route included taking our car across the River Shannon on a ferry. On the ferry ride we saw several dolphins (the river crossing is near the ocean).

Our only stop of the day was the Cliffs of Moher, just south of Doolin. It was a clear sunny evening, but very windy especially up on the cliffs, which are 702 feet above the ocean and their highest point. We can see why everybody wants to include the cliffs in their trip to Ireland (it receives over one million visitors per year). They truly were beautiful, especially washed in the light of the evening sun from the west. We didn’t stay for sunset however (which was nearly 10pm), but instead headed to the Ballinalacken Castle Country House Hotel, just north of Doolin.

We were warmly welcomed by our host Declan, who invited us to have dinner in the hotel restaurant. We really didn’t feel like going out again, so we had a wonderful dinner there. After dinner, Declan offered to give us a tour of the castle ruins adjacent to the hotel. The castle dates back to 1390 and was originally owned by the O’Connor family and was later taken over by the O’Brien family in 1564. The hotel dates back to 1840. Declan’s family (the O’Callaghans) bought the hotel and castle in 1938 and has operated it ever since. The castle was as stunning as any other we have visited so far, and Declan’s eagerness to share his intimate knowledge of it with us made it one of the highlights of our trip. We finished off the evening with Baileys coffees at the cozy hotel bar. The hotel seemed like a perfect size – large enough to enjoy the on-site restaurant but small enough to get the personal connection you would expect from a bed & breakfast. And a private tour of a castle not open to the general public was such a bonus that we felt like we got a great value for our money, and will definitely be coming back here for our next trip. We were so mesmerized by the castle that we accepted Declan’s gracious offer to take a second tour the next morning before we left.