Biking in Inishmore, Aran Islands, Ireland

By Xanthe Webb

(Photos to come.)

The bike ride I took in Ireland was a step back in time for me. It was a beautiful, sunny day that led me through the famous green hills to one of the most beautiful ancient sites I've ever seen.

Inishmore is the largest of the three Aran isles and is just about five miles off the western coast of Ireland. The island still holds the ancient Irish charm and most the island still speaks the native language of Irish (or what we call Gaelic).

The group I was with rented bikes for the day from the popular Aran Bike Hire, and spent a couple hours riding about five miles round trip and hiking up to Dun Aengus. The ride was relatively easy; many people of all athletic ability accomplish this task each day. The terrain is just gradual, rolling hills along the coastline.

Always since I was little, I pictured Europe and its rolling, intensely green hills and this particular adventure was everything I had hoped for, had seen in pictures and movies, but even more. The coast was extremely pretty; you could see the mainland off in the distance. The ancient stone walls were everywhere, looking like squares over the entire landscape. If you ask anyone if they know who built the walls, they will tell you that they don't know, though they live all around these walls and still use them to define property today. The hills were intensely green and I rode slowly just to bask in my delight that I really was in Ireland, riding along a beautiful coast with some white sand beaches.

The hike up to Dun Aengus, after you've parked your bike, is very short. Just up and around a hill and you are at the top of a plateau, with a sheer cliff dropping down 300 feet. Dun Aengus consists of a semi-circle of stone, facing towards the ocean. It was named after an ancient, legendary chief and was probably used for religious purposes.

Taking pictures of it, and imagining what it would be like to jump off it was fun, but just sitting and pondering what life could have been like for the people who used the ancient site was very rewarding and memorable. Dun Aengus and places like it hold a lot of mystery and I very much enjoyed my experience of just taking a moment in my life to stay there for a while, to just enjoy it.