Hello! I'm trying to plan for our last day in Ireland for our upcoming October trip, just the 2 of us. We're heading out of Galway, ending up in Shannon for our final overnight. We hopefully would have already visited The Burren and we're trying to avoid too touristy Bunratty. I've read about Drunmore Wood Nature Reserve in Ennis, and also the village of Adare. We'll probably be returning our car rental on that last day instead of the next morning before our flight, so we don't want to trek out too far. Any suggestions? Thank you!
For a pleasant and relaxing day you could drive the coastal road (N 67) south of Lahinch down to Kilkee and then loop back up via Kilrush to Shannon. It's a very pretty drive with lots of beautiful seascapes, photo ops, etc., and not a lot of traffic. Kilkee is a nice little village for lunch, and there's a cliff walk there (just up from a very pretty beach) that makes it an excellent place to stretch your legs, take more photos, etc. Nice place for a picnic lunch too. See if you can find the memorial to the actor Richard Harris, who was a local athlete of some renown before heading off to the states to pursue an acting career.
The Loop Head drive south of the town - down to a lighthouse - is a pretty meander, though it's on one of the rural "R" roads which means it's quite narrow in places.
Kilrush is another pleasant little place, though for that there are any number of enticing stops along the way.
Thank you, Robert!