This village is called by many names, Enniscrone, Inniscrone, Inishcrone, Inis Crabhann or Inis Eascair Abhainn. Whatever the name, our sat-nav had difficulty finding any of these anyway, so we entered the name of a town, hopefully nearby, then relied on a concertina road map. It was quite crinkled by now because it was more in use than that ‘talking-too-much-and-getting-us-lost’ little gadget! Yep, back to the roots! Enniscrone, most road signs said Inniscrone, despite its size, boasts a big golf course and a five kilometre sandy beach. The first thing you notice though, when you enter Enniscrone, is the huge Black Pig! It is actually a one and a half metre high sculpture, which simply cannot be missed. Legend has it that a wild poisonous boar, with magical powers and long black hairy bristles, killed everyone in its path, until it reached Enniscrone. After recovering from their fright, the people, using long-handed spears and poles, ran it out of town and killed it. The second thing you notice, is even though there is only one main road, is that you still can get lost. The third thing you notice are all the warning signs every metre or two on the beach or public areas of a three thousand euro fine if your dog dares to poop anywhere, yet you see lots of dog poo. Everywhere! One lady actually parked her big Volvo on the verge of the road, directly next to the beach, AND a huge warning sign, let her dog out, and gave it two toe-tapping minutes to lift it’s tail to poop n pee. She did not even look ashamed or scared to be caught…

This old Cliffs Bath House, used for seaweed baths, was built on these rocks in 1850 and not long afterwards it was damaged by a hurricane. It is not in use today, but further along this beach is the famous seaweed baths of Enniscrone, where the water used is warmed and taken directly from the ocean a few metres away, as well as all the seaweed! Healthy!

As the beach was directly in front of our accommodation, we walked this way to go to the centre of the busy little village. It was an easy and short uphill walk. Too short for huffing or puffing!  😉 The weather was not warm enough for a dip, but there were one or two brave surfers out there, even though there was not a single wave to be seen…

There is also a long and well-pathed coastal walkway, which seems to be very popular with the locals. What a lovely way to keep fit and healthy with all that fresh air and breath-taking views of the Atlantic ocean. We sat on one of these benches to have a little foodie nibble before we set out to do the walk. After eating full Irish breakfasts for five days, every bit of exercise was welcome! Cliff hanging, rock hopping or knees shaking does not count as exercise by the way 😉

When the tide is out, the beach is quite vast. We walked right up to the edge where sea meets sand, and it really felt as if we were embarking on a journey to America hee-heeeee! We were also not the only ones having fun, as you can see. These two children were having such fun crossing the Bellawaddy river as it pours itself into the ocean. Don’t worry, it was really shallow and slow flowing, so not dangerous at this time…

The view from the old Cliff Bath House. These rocks are completely covered when the tide comes in, which was also fascinating to watch. The rectangular pool on the right is man-made and carved out of the rocks. It was used by the Baths as a fresh seawater supply when the tide was out. Apparently one can hunt for crabs here too…

These steps are used to reach the road above from the beach, and only when the tide is low. They are quite slippery too. The ‘red carpet’ for Mermaids perhaps?

This little pier was built between 1884 and 1887, and the coastal walkway passes here.