From one end to the other: east to west and north to south
The route we planned for today would take us to the far west side of the island to see Keem Beach, and then back to the center to do a loop north, and then to do a loop south, for a total of 72 kilometers. We had been warned by the bike shop in Westport, plus the host at our B&B, about the steep hills that would need to be traversed in order to get to and from Keem Beach. But it was necessary to get to Keem Beach to see Colm's hut from the movie "The Banshees of Inishirin".
We set off and rode through several small villages before arriving in Keel where lots was happening. The golf course parking lot was full and the course looked very . . . umm . . . link-like. Across the street there was a big lake and people were learning how to kite surf and paraglide. Others were already on the lake in kayaks. And guess what? It's windy yet again - 20+ kilometers per hour.
Keel Lough, the lake where lots of activities were taking place. The mountain in back is Slievemore and the deserted village we visit later in the day can be seen next to the cemetery.
We climbed up and over the steep hill and arrived at Keem Beach. What a beautiful spot. If it were 5 degrees warmer and less wind, I'd have been in the water in a heartbeat. However, we still had to climb back out of here and from the looks of it, this climb would be harder than what we just did. After looking over Colm's hut and watching the sheep, we started back up the hill. The views were out of this world. They say that the next piece of land to the west is North America.
As we came over the top of the climb, this was our first sighting of Keem Bay.
We came across sheep all day. Sometimes Chuck was herding them down the road and other times we had to take it slow for the 'sheep crossing'. And the lambs, you never knew which way they would go.
Our route north took us by a deserted village and we stopped to walk around and try to get a feel for what life must've been like in the mid-1800s around here. The village struggled through the Great Famine and most of the families left. We learned a bit later that this island had a population of over 5,000 before the Great Famine, and afterwards the population was about 2,500. Many left on ships taking them to Quebec and Boston. After exploring the ruins, we rode to the next village which offered a really nice beach. I can imagine the crowds come July & August. The old church in the village was also used in the movie.
Chuck called it a duplex. Then we learned a bit later that the family lived in one side and the animals were kept in the other side at night and in foul weather.
Finally we started on the south loop which promised to be the prettiest part of the day. It is also known as the Coast Road and we've quickly learned that coast roads offer incredible views. On this road we had our last steep climb of the day, but this road was so majestic looking we didn't really notice the steepness between our oooo's and ahhhh's. At the top, we found the location where the pub in The Banshees was located , and the crossroads that was walked quite often in the movie where there was a statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue was a movie prop, and the pub was constructed just for the movie and removed afterwards. Aside from the movie fame of this spot, it was beautiful.
In the last few kilometers of the ride as we were skirting along the Acail Sound, we saw an old tower. Upon reading about it, we learned that it was one of the castles that Grace O'Malley owned. Unlike Newport's historical recount, this one mentioned piracy. Next to the tower in the parking lot was a small stand selling coffees, teas, hot chocolates, and cakes. We placed our order and sat on the rock wall leading to the pier. We watched the ferry from Clare Island come in and proceed to unload a huge wedding party. The buses were waiting to take the guests and we spied the getaway car: an old red VW bug.
This island has a lot of history and is a beautiful place to visit. We're really happy that we did the complete island tour on today's ride rather than skipping any section. And the climbs weren't that bad!! It was well worth the effort.
