Out To See...: Fall Travel 2014: Ireland Bike Tour Sept 4

I awoke to cows mooing outside my door and songbirds greeting the sunrise. After enjoying those moments I met the group downstairs for breakfast and we headed off to see one more fortress ruin called Dun Aonghasa.

That's the fort, way up there....

On the way there were two adorable fledgling robins who were chirping their heads off in defense of their territory which we were invading!

In Medieval times, people on the Aran Islands lived in “chiefdoms” – the largest example of this is the hillfort at Dun Aonghasa ( Dun Aengus ) on Inis Mor. This spectacular fort stands on the highest point of the cliffs on Inis Mor (87m or almost 300 ft).

Looking straight down

The word “Dun” means “fort of a king or chieftain”. The Aran Island chiefs were powerful and wealthy people who controlled the western sea passages – supposedly keeping the seas free from pirates on behalf of the merchants in Galway in exchange for protection money. Apparently these protectors were not against a bit of pirating themselves, but that’s another story!

Non- flying buttresses

Chevaux de frise

“Chevaux de frise” is the name given to a band of closely spaced stone uprights or wooden stakes, effective against attack in horseback and often found on stony landscapes where excavating a ditch would have been difficult.

One look back up the path

On our way back to catch the noon ferry we stopped at the Spar to buy sandwiches for the ride.

We docked in Rossaveal and collected our bikes for an afternoon trek to Clifden via the Bog Road.

Along the “Bog Road” looking towards the Twelve Bens mountains

Winding our way up the road I was tempted to stop at every turn to take another picture, however this was a long ride day, so I tried to keep it to just a few.