Kilkee, over on the Atlantic coast and eight miles northwest of Kilrush, is a small, busy, seaside holiday town with all the amenities you'd expect: cheap cafés, restaurants, amusements and nightlife. Popular with the bucket-and-spade brigade, the town comes as a healthy piece of normality if the offbeat romanticism of the west coast has become too much. The westerly tip of the town's magnificent golden beach, set in dramatic cliff scenery, meets an apron of laminated rock strata known as the Duggerna Rocks, which protects it from the ravages of the Atlantic. Here, when the tide is out, deep, clear pollock holes form, filled with colorful marine life.

The area is a favorite for scuba diving and snorkeling, but even without equipment, exploration is rewarding. There are exhilarating walks for miles along the cliffs both to the north and, more spectacularly, to the south round Loop Head , where you can walk for sixteen miles along the cliff's edge past stack rocks, puffing holes (where the sea spouts up through crevices in the rock) and the natural Bridges of Ross. The other good way to see this peninsula is by bike ; you can rent them from Williams', Circular Rd (phone 065/905 6041).

In the little church at MONEEN , near Kilbaha at the tip of the peninsula, you'll find a nineteenth-century curiosity known as The Little Arc . In penal times, Catholics were forced to be both ingenious and secret in the practice of their faith. Here they were not allowed to worship on land, and so built a little hut on wheels which was kept on the beach and wheeled down below the high-water mark between tides, beyond the legal grasp of the local Protestant landowner.

The priest would then say Mass in it while the congregation knelt around it on the beach. A couple of pubs at the tiny village of Cross are handy for breaking your explorations of Loop Head, but better by far is the unspoiled fishing village of CARRIGAHOLT , which has a slither of beach beside the quays, a ruined castle overlooking the harbor and some very welcoming pubs: The Long Dock , for example, does good pub food and has music several nights a week in summer. Carrigaholt is also an excellent place to see Ireland's only known resident group of bottlenose dolphins - they're sometimes visible from the shore, but the best way is to take a boat trip with Dolphin Watch (phone 065/905 8156; 2hr boat trip; advance booking essential; £10/?12.70).

The best reason to stop in KILRUSH , twenty-six miles from Ennis, is for a trip across the broad Shannon estuary to Scattery Island . The town itself has a busy marina and one very broad main street; at the top of the street stands the old market house and a statue of the Maid of Éireann . In Toler Street, just off the main street, the spacious St Senan's Catholic Church is worth looking in for a view of the Harry Clarke stained glass windows.

The coastline north of Kilkee is one of fine cliffs and sandy beaches, though not all of them are accessible.

Those which are include Doonbeg, a relaxing spot where you might see seals and otters, and about a mile further north the beautiful White Strand - both of which are Blue Flag beaches and ideal for swimming. Doughmore beach near Quilty, about eight miles north of Doonbeg, is excellent for experienced surfers, though swimming is not advised here. Strand Camping (phone 065/905 5345) is a small family-run site located right by the beach at Doonbeg at the mouth of the Doonbeg River.

The Victorian resort of MILTOWN MALBAY , eighteen miles north of Kilkee and situated some way inland, comes alive for the Willie Clancy Summer School, held here usually during the first or second week in July, when it's packed with traditional music enthusiasts from all over the world (and booking accommodation well in advance is essential).

Clancy's and O'Friel's (also known as Lynch's ) bars are likely to be lively any time during the summer, and The Crosses of Annagh , about two miles south of Miltown Malbay on the road towards Mullagh, has excellent music sessions (Thurs summer; Sat year round). For B&B , there's An Gleann (phone 065/708 4281; £33-40/?41.90-50.79) and Malone's (phone 065/708 4246; £26-33/?33.01-41.90), both on the Ennis road, or you could try The Station House (phone 065/708 4008; £33-40/?41.90-50.79), on the Lahinch road.

Two and a half miles away you'll find an excellent sandy swimming beach at SPANISH POINT , so called because it was here that survivors from wrecked Armada ships swam ashore, only to be executed by the High Sheriff of Clare.

It's a holiday spot for nuns, and appropriately enough has a very quiet campsite , Lahiff's Caravan and Camping Park (closed Oct-March; phone 065/708 4006). Other places to stay include Atlantic Star (phone 065/708 4782; £33-40/?41.90-50.79), a spacious, modern B&B just across from the golf course on the main N67, and a couple of new hotels : Armada Hotel (phone 065/708 4110, www.iol.ie/~armada/index.htm ; £70-90/?88.88-114.28) and the Bellbridge House Hotel (phone 065/708 4038; £70-90/?88.88-114.28).

To the east of Spanish Point, Slieve Callan rises beside the main road to Ennis. Taking this road you pass Knocknalassa, where there's an impressive wedge-shaped gallery grave, known as Diarmuid and Gráinne's Bed (after the Irish version of the Tristan and Isolde story). It's quite tricky to find: five miles along the road from Miltown Malbay you will pass a house with a thatched little barn alongside; the grave is about half a mile further east from here, tucked out of sight behind a hummocky rise to the left of the road. Follow the cows - it's worth seeing.

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