Climbing to the top of Mullaghmore in the Burren

Yes, I was in the Burren again. Those of you who have read my previous post on the Burren will know what I'm talking about.
Well, as I've mentioned on various occasions, we had no summer again in the West of Ireland for the third year running. For the last 3 months, from the beginning of June to the beginning of September we had rain every day. Not necessarily for the whole day, but we had some rain every day. Very frustrating!
And then, 4 days ago, the sun came out. Normally it comes out when the kids go back to school, but this year it was delayed by a week. But now our summer is back, or should I say it started in the autumn? We've had a pleasant 17 to 21 degrees today, warmer in sheltered spots, blue sky and sunshine, yippee!
So I donned my walking boots, grabbed a couple of my dogs and set off for the Burren. I expected to see a good few people out walking, but it was very quiet. Many people would have spent this Saturday at the seaside after such a rainy summer.
I'm not usually overstruck with what our local council does, but they actually did a good thing by marking out some walkways in the Burren. Previously, you had to find your own way which was fun, but you could easily injure yourself when walking over the rocky ground, especially when you were trying to walk over grass and shrub covered rocks. Many a time I've slipped and nearly twisted my ankle as the rocks are very slippery when wet.
Not so today. There was a little bit of mud in places, but most of the path was dry. Now, this is not a walk to want to do without proper hiking boots, but if you're kitted out and fairly fit, you can master the walks they've marked out. They are between 4.5 and 5.5km long.
For the first time in several years, I climbed to the top of Mullaghmore today in beautiful sunshine. I met a couple of people coming down from the mountain, but nobody else was going up and I had perfect solitude when I reached the top, a wonderful experience. And looking around, I couldn't see a single soul except for my 2 faithful hounds who'd accompanied me.
Pity my photos cannot portray the peaceful silence up there, nor can the camera really show how high up you are on Mullaghmore (I think you're climbing 140 metres in height between your starting point and the top of the mountain).
Enjoy the pictures! This time I've included a picture showing the "Father Ted House" in the distance, nestled among the hills around Mullaghmore in the vicinity of the village of Kilnaboy, Co. Clare.