We hit the road reasonably early and unbeknown to us, this weekend was going to be literally a heatwave in Ireland – nice. West Clare is easily the most visited part of the county and deservedly so – it has the famous Burren, the Cliffs of Moher, hillwalking a plenty and fantastic beaches that offer some of the best surfing conditions in the country. Throw in some really nice towns, villages, cycling options and megalithic sites and you won’t be short of things to do. It’s also a major hub for traditional Irish music which draws tourists in their tens of thousands year after year.
Once turned off the N67 at Kilcolgan, the journey passes through the small, sleepy village of Ballinderreen where you’ll find a petrol station and convenience store if you need to pick up anything. From there, the next town is Kinvara which is nice stop if you are looking for a bite to eat or even just a coffee – you’ll find a decent sized supermarket if you need to pick up anything substantial. From there, the winding road continues with some really nice views of the hills off in the distance. You will eventually come to a small junction where you can continue on the main road, or take a left which will bring you up a hill – look for signs for the Hazel Mountain Chocolate Factory – this is the route we usually take. We have visited Hazel Mountain on several occasions and if you’re looking for a coffee break, they do decent coffee and a few cakes, which are all gluten free. You can purchase chocolates and other gifts as well as getting to see them making the chocolate.
Continuing along the road, you will come to another junction, if you stay on your current route – you will see signs for the Burren Perfumery, which is well worth a visit – along with the excellent products, there is a really nice coffee dock to grab a drink, salad, some cakes or other treats – there is also outdoor seating which is really nice. You can arrange a tour of the perfumery, be sure to book in advance. As we were not visiting the perfumery on this occasion, we took a right turn towards the hamlet of Bell Harbour which has little of interest except for the Corcomroe Abbey ruin which is on the main road and up a small road to your right – worth a quick stop for a wander around.
The road continues around to the left and the next village is Ballyvaughan. Again, you will find a small supermarket on the right which has parking. There are toilets here behind the supermarket if you need them and also in the small, old school (community centre) nearby. Again, there are some places to grab a snack but most are seasonal – Monks is probably the busiest stop in Ballyvaughan – turn right at the ‘T’ junction (see below). Depending when you arrive into Ballyvaughan, there may be a market or two happening.
At Ballyvaughan, you will come to a ‘T’ junction, left will take you inland and right will take you along the coast, we usually tend to go left here and we usually come from the other direction on the return journey. However, there was a bike race on and they were all heading inland, so we opted to go on the coast road – going against the cyclists. The coast road makes for a pleasant drive which takes you around Black Head and down into the village of Fanore. Fanore has a nice beach and is always busy when the suns shines. Fanore car park is a good spot to leave the car as there are several walks that can be undertaken from here, including the 20+ Km Black Head Loop. Continuing along, you will see signposts for Doolin where we will be spending the night, but for now, we are continuing along to our first stop, Lahinch, pretty much considered the surf capital of Ireland. As the weather was amazing, Lahinch was busy, Lahinch is always busy. There are plenty of pubs which offer food as well as some smaller places to eat and drink. Lahinch is a good place to base yourself if you are visiting Co.Clare for a few days. We always pop into the Lahinch Surf Shop for a wander around and Celtic T-shirts are also worth a browse. C likes to visit the small Lahinch Bookshop for a browse. You will also find the outstanding Hugo’s Bakery – more about Hugo’s below.
After Lahinch, we made our along the main road towards the village of Liscannor, which has a few places to grab a bite to eat as well as some places to stay. However, Vaughan’s Anchor Bar is worth popping in for the really good fish ‘n’ chips. We arrived in time for lunch and I opted to try their seafood chowder – which was actually dreadful, it was not chowder, it was fish soup. Thankfully though, the fish and chips which C went for were excellent. I decided to be a little retro and got scampi. While the scampi were fine, C’s fish ‘n’ chips were fantastic. They have other items on the menu, but really, just have the fish ‘n’ chips, or just the chips, if you don’t eat anything else – you know who you are :-).
Other options in Liscannor are Joseph’s McHugh’s pub which offers standard pub grub, while nothing outstanding, it’s a solid choice. One of the newest kids on the block is Dolly’s, so after lunch we popped in for a coffee and a pastry for dessert. If you’re looking for lite snack and coffee, and you like a dog friendly spot, you’ll enjoy it, although, the coffee is nothing to write home about.
After lunch, we headed towards Doolin where we are spending the night. Doolin is less than a 20 minute drive from Liscannor. There are basically two areas in Doolin, the north of the village and the south of the village – both offer accommodation as well as pubs and places to eat, however, there are numerous accommodation options scattered around, as well as the large Nagle’s camping site, where you can pitch your tent, or hook up your camper. We based ourselves at the south end of the village and we’re staying at the Doolin Inn. The Doolin Inn is a boutique B&B with an onsite restaurant. They have parking out the back and once parked up, we checked in and made our way to our room. The place was spotlessly clean and our room was a good size with a really good sized bathroom – very nice.
We relaxed in our room for a while before heading out for a walk, we headed towards the north of Doolin, which, is less than a 10 minute walk up the road. We popped into Fitz’s pub, grabbed a drink and soon after we sat down, three musicians arrived, sporting a fiddle, accordion and harp – there were really good. As we had no plans for dinner, we decided to just wing it. On this occasion, we wandered into The Ivy Cottage restaurant, the place was crazy busy but we were told we’d get a table in about 15 minutes, so we decided to wait.
The seating is what is best described as ‘cosy’ but it did not feel cramped, they also have outdoor seating and the staff were very friendly and professional. We ordered a drink and had a look over the interesting but short menu. C decided to forgo a starter, I however, ‘had’ to order the chowder given my disappointment earlier that day. Thankfully, the chowder was tasty, creamy with plenty of fish and they did not hold back on the dill (my favourite herb). For our mains, C opted for the Thai green curry, I went with steak. The curry was really tasty and it came in a humongous bowl, the steak, was, mediocre, not the worst steak I ever had, but given the amazing chowder, it was a disappointment. For dessert we shared a slice of apple tart, which was actually pretty decent – we ordered one more drink and headed back for a good’s night rest.
The following morning we got up reasonably early and headed to Anthony’s restaurant where breakfast is served. As far as breakfasts go, this was really good. We got scones, fruit and granola to kick things off and for my mains I went with the full Irish and C went with the Avo eggs benny – I also ordered some hollandaise on the side. Once substantially full, we headed out for a walk down towards Nagle’s campground and the harbour where you can hop on the ferry and visit the famous Aran Islands – a journey we took on a previous visit. We made our way back, packed up and checked out. I have to say, the Doolin Inn was excellent, great location, friendly staff, spotlessly clean and although we only had breakfast there, the food was really good.
We hit the road with all the windows down in the car – yes, the weather was that good and with some really nice tunes playing, it made for a fantastic drive. We were now on our way back to Lahinch, but not without a stop at Moher Cottage coffee shop. A few years previous, on a national radio station, they asked listeners to send in where was the best coffee in Ireland – and well, Moher Cottage came out with the most votes. As well as coffee, some cakes and ice cream they have a small gift shop. We both went for a flat white and although I was still pretty full after breakfast, I decided to try their apple slice. The coffee was tasty, not the best I’ve had in Ireland, but a decent cup – the apple slice was nothing special, however, the view in the outdoor seating area (there’s no indoor seating) was delightful.
Once back at Lahinch our first port of call was to Hugo’s bakery which is probably the first site you will see as you arrive into Lahinch after the Golf Club. Hugo opened a small bakery a few years ago and did some sambos to take out – at that time he mainly focused on sourdough and focaccia and was pretty much a one-man operation – however, he now has a bigger bakery and offers more delights. There is always a slightly different selection of pastries available, as well as some different types of bread, however, the sourdough is really good. If you like a ‘dark’ bake on your bread, you’ll really enjoy Hugo’s. We grabbed just a loaf, the always tasty sausage rolls, a pain au raisin, the hazelnut cruffin and probably some of the best pastel de natas you’ll find in the country.
Once stocked up, we dropped the goodies back to the car and went for a walk along the beach. As said at the outset, Lahinch is a mecca for surfing and there are several surf schools should you like to give it a try. After our walk we popped into Vaughan’s (there’s one in Lahinch too – made up of a restaurant and ice cream parlour) to grab an ice cream. It was so nice to be sitting out in the sun, watching the literally hundreds of surfers as the sun shone.
So for lunch, we did actually have a plan, which involved us making our way back towards Doolin, although not going into the village. On the main road, there is a relatively new place called the Doolin Homestead Cottage which only opened less than two years ago. We first visited Homestead Cottage in September 2023 for lunch – the menu at the time consisted of just two starters, two mains and two desserts – so, of course, we ordered the entire menu. The food was absolutely outstanding – jump forward to February 2024, the Homestead Cottage received a Michelin Star and as of writing in 2025, held its star. We have been to the Homestead several times and it’s a must visit when visiting this part of Co.Clare. Below you will find a few photos from not just this trip to the Doolin Homestead Cottage, but several other visits.
Once again and no surprise really, the food was amazing, throw really friendly and professional staff into the mix and well, you get the idea. We left the Homestead Cottage already planning our return visit – the only down side for us is, it is about an hour and 15 minute drive from home – but it’s worth the trip.
After lunch, we made our way back home, swinging in by the famous town of Lisdoonvarna to pop into the Burren Smoke House, where you can pick up some of the best smoked salmon in Ireland, no seriously, it’s outstanding. Once stocked up we made our way back home along the coast road.
This was a fantastic night away, amazing weather, really good, comfortable accommodation and of course, some amazing food. The West coast of Co.Clare has so much to offer and is certainly worth planning a few days in the area if you are visiting Ireland for any period of time.
As always, hope you enjoyed reading along,
Until next time,
Bye for now,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 