This day, this moment in Ireland is arguably my very favorite. It was one of those days where everything, the weather, the area, my mood, and the company collided into perfection. No matter what your level of mobility, you can enjoy everything that the Gleniff Horseshoe has to offer.
We drove the 14 km loop and pulled over whenever the beauty would overwhelm us, which was often. The day was overcast and misty, which gave us the gift of the horseshoe all to ourselves. It let us feel as if we had discovered this magical place for the very first time. The wind whistled through the air, the gates, the cave at the top of Ben Bulben. I cannot even describe it in words. We did not want to leave.
I will let the photographs speak the rest.
All photographs taken by Ed Lyons, Gleniff Horseshoe, County Leitrim, Ireland.
If you are going, we came out of Drumcliff on the N15 and followed the signs to the Horseshoe. If you have limited mobility, I suggest driving to various pull off spots, and getting out to walk or roll along the paved road. The road has gentle hills in various places and is flat in others. I recommend Davis’ Restaurant/Yeats Tavern in Drumcliffe for a wonderful meal and good accessibility.
I am an ocean girl. The sound of the waves, the feel of the wind coming off the water, the salty smells, the sun. Therefore, the search for stable, firm sand access is an ongoing passion and challenge for me. The soft, giving sand that used to feel so good underfoot now can cause an inaccessible quagmire.
On the beach at Thanksgiving a few years ago. Nice hard packed sand, beautiful clean ocean.
If you don’t need a wheelchair, but do need easy access and firm sand, I recommend St. Tropez condominiums, on 81st street. https://sainttropezoc.com/ They have wonderful 2- and 3-bedroom condos for rent, oceanfront with balconies. The building has a reliable elevator, a bathroom with shower only (no tub to scramble over), and a flat access path to the beach. We drive from the condo parking lot to the handicapped parking space, 30 seconds drive, as the condo parking lot has a steep hill.
View from the condo balcony
The sand is usually firm enough for me to get down to a beach chair and enjoy the ocean close up, but full disclosure, sometimes the tides change the consistency and access available on the sand. If that happens, I just enjoy the ocean from the lovely balcony. Peaceful and private.
Ocean City has many wonderful restaurants, shops, and a lovely and entertaining boardwalk.
If you decide to try this beautiful beach, make sure to check carefully based on your individual needs and requirements for mobility. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that I may be able to address for you.
Vote below for your favorite of the following cool and thought-provoking quotes.
I agree with all of them actually, but I will refrain from commenting for now on my favorite. Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts. Or maybe you have a quote to share. I would love to hear from you. Have a great day, whether you are traveling, thinking of traveling, or enjoying your own piece of green grass. Love, Lisa
Wow! This amazing part of the world is a perfect combination of beauty, peace, and drama. If you are looking for a place to recharge, rethink, or not think at all, this is the place for you. I came up to this place feeling frazzled, stressed, blue, and left feeling quite the opposite.
As far as mobility issues, this area presents quite a mix. Challenges, no-go’s, and perfect access. But isn’t that true of all destinations? The key is to really know your body, what you can and cannot do, bring the proper mobility aids and support, and then just go for it. I have been trying lately to engage in more fearless living, not being reckless, but also, not driven by my constant fear of getting more injured. Because that hinders further strengthening and recovery. It hinders fun, adventures, stories, and victories.
So, here are my specific reviews. As always, review the destination very carefully based on your specific challenges or needs. We are all so very different. For reference, I have a complete ankle fusion, TT and ST, so inclines and uneven ground is a challenge.
Getting There: We chose to drive, so that our cockapoo doggie could accompany us easily. It was a 14 hour drive. My ankle could accept about four hours of the driving, so my husband did the brunt of the journey. The drive included heavy traffic through NYC, always a thrilling and terrifying thing! Mostly I-95 highway driving. If you are flying, you could fly into Portland and rent a car. Highlight: Entering Maine, and beginning to see water and boats everywhere!
Accommodations: A beautiful, rustic, built in the 1920’s, right on the water, log cabin rented through Airbnb. If you have no problems with an access from the driveway of stone steps with no handrails, or if you have a good support person who can assist, it was perfection! Rent with no hesitation. Otherwise, I would keep looking. When I was using my wheelchair, I would not have been able to access this property. This was in no way the fault of the lister….it was my fault for not inquiring. From the photographs, I assumed it was a flat entrance. The owner was super accommodating, and gladly answered any questions I had about the property. Bathroom was tight also. Shower with no tub. Despite the challenges, I would rent this home again, over and over. Highlight: Laying in my bed listening to the waves hitting the rocks right in our backyard. Waking up very early each morning like it was Christmas morning knowing I would open my eyes, and the ocean would still be right there! Also, being a half mile from Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, and spending every morning watching the morning sun glistening on the water and the rocks.
The view that woke me up smiling every morning. Access from drivewayHubby and I enjoying our mornings by the Pemaquid Point LighthouseThe layered rocks and glimmering sea beneath the lighthouse
Featured Restaurants:
Shaw’s, New Harbor: A lot of the 1999 Nicholas Sparks movie, Message in a Bottle, was filmed here. Plus, it was only 5 minutes from our rental home. So of course, we wanted to go. Picturesque harbor, working docks, fresh seafood. Access: almost undoable for me, but finally conquered. My husband drove me down to the very steep ramp access, and he went to park. I walked backwards up the gargantuan ramp, and my daughter served as my spotter in front of me. I decided to do the steps on the way down, as the ramp was scary. About 20-25 steps down. Highlight: Figuring out which scenes were filmed where from the movie, and watching the boats do their boat thing. Very authentic and unpretentious, which I enjoy.
Peaceful New Harbor
Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf
Mine Oyster, Boothbay Harbor: Wonderful food, wonderful service, wonderful view of the harbor and boats. But, you must be able to manage the 25-30 steps up and then back down. Sturdy, low rise steps, with sturdy handrail. Also, restroom is not handicapped accessible. Highlight: The thick, delicious piece of haddock I had for lunch, along with a celebratory cocktail for accomplishing the steps!
Boothbay Harbor as seen from Mine Oyster Restaurant.Making my way back down the stairs at Mine Oyster after a delicious lunch.
McSeagull’s Restaurant, Boothbay Harbor: Excellent accessibility to the restaurant by ramp, but again, no handicapped accessible restroom. Highlight: Delicious food, attentive service, good view of the ships in the harbor.
Boothbay Harbor, as seen from McSeagull’s Restaurant deck
Pemaquid Seafood, New Harbor: Probably the best seafood of our trip, unpretentious and relaxing outdoor picnic tables beside the water. Required 2-3 steps to order inside. Everything else fairly level. Restrooms not handicapped accessible. Highlight: Eating seafood, lobster and crab, that was caught by the cafe owners, so, so fresh. Also, talking to some local Mainers during lunch.
Relaxing time by the water. Access is on the right of the building.
Seagull Cafe, Pemaquid Point: My personal favorite of the trip. Ate there twice. Excellent handicapped access and restroom, ramp, no stairs. Amazing view of the lighthouse, ocean, seagulls, rocks. Friendly servers and excellent food, binoculars by the tables to watch the sea. Beautiful gift shop attached. Plus, only 1/2 mile from our rental home! Highlight: All of it!!!!
Our friendly companion as we sat outside the Seagull Cafe, enjoying our breakfast. He was quite the ham for the camera and seemed to enjoy posing.Inside the marvelous Seagull Cafe, Pemaquid Point
FeaturedActivities:
Hiking: We hiked two accessible trails in the area, we loved both of them. There are many more that we didn’t get to visit. This is something that Maine does VERY well! We went to Oak Point Farm, Boothbay Region Land Trust, and completed the 0.65-mile accessible trail.
Harbor Cruise: We took a Cap’n Fish cruise, the harbor, lighthouse, and seal tour, and totally enjoyed every moment! Again, access to the dock and ship is by steep ramp, steepness based on the level of the tide. With my wonderful supportive family’s assistance, this was a victory. Saw beautiful lighthouses, open water, sea porpoises, and seals. Felt the sea wind on our faces and felt so alive! Highly recommend! https://www.boothbayboattrips.com/
Cap’n Fish Cruise in Boothbay Harbor. Wonderful captain and sightseeing tour.Burnt Island Lighthouse, built 1821. So beautiful. Mom Seal and her baby enjoying the cold Maine water
Pemaquid Beach: Of all the very memorable Maine moments, for me, this was the very best. The search for an accessible beach with hard-packed level sand is a constant obsession for me, as I love the ocean with a passion. And this was the very best I have ever been on since my surgeries. Beautiful, flat sand, calm beautiful turquoise waves, and my ankle did not sink or waver one bit in the sand. I cried happy and thankful tears, I can tell you. If it was possible for a person to just live 24/7 on the beach beside the water, I would be there still, grinning like a crazy person. 🙂
Overall assessment: I came away from this week energized, feeling empowered by conquering new challenges, and with renewed peace in my soul from God’s amazing, beautiful creation. I am thankful that we went. Please reach out to me for more details on any location discussed, or any other question you may have. I will try my best to answer.
Travel Level Rating (TLR) 😎😎😎😎
Accessibility (path, road) ✔
Scenic Value ✔
Authentic (not too touristy) ✔
Surrounding Facilities (restaurants, accommodations, restrooms) This is a mixed bag. Excellent quality restaurants and accommodations, but check very carefully as to your access needs before going.
“Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.” ―Roy T. Bennett
This led to….
This!
We just got back from a very needed trip to Maine. It was only a week, but in my spirit, it has revitalized me as if it were a month. We stayed at a wondrous Airbnb log cabin right on the water, listened to the waves hitting the rocks as we fell asleep, visited the local lighthouse every morning, and took hikes on the well-crafted and well-designed accessible trails that the area had to offer.
I am going to review the area in detail in the next few blogs, but today, I wanted to talk about challenges, the unexpected, pain, triumphs, and beauty. This trip contained all of these for me. The Airbnb that I thought was a fairly flat entrance to access had a steep set of rock stairs with no handrail. The 16-hour car trip was long and tiring. The harbor towns had many hills, and a steep descent down to the water and the boats.
But……God gave me the strength and the stubbornness to want to face these challenges, to try and conquer them the best I could. He gave me wonderful family to help me down and up the stairs, the hills, to drive me to an access point. Together, as a unit, we conquered them.
And there was such beauty, beauty that takes your breath away in a very peaceful and settling way. And victories, like the beach that was so wondrously flat and hard packed that I could walk on it. And being able to make 0.8 miles on a hike. And conquering that steep ramp that led to the harbor, even if you had to walk it backwards. That lets you know that there is life past injury and disability. That you can continue to grow and heal and change continually, as you challenge yourself.
So I want to encourage you today. Take the time to heal, to savor, to be inspired, and yes, to be challenged. Growth in your body and your spirit will ensue.
Travel Level 