9/16 – I forgot my camera today!  Fortunately, I had my iPad.

We decided to do a loop of the Connemara region of Ireland.  Our first stop was at Aughnanure Castle, built around 1500.  There was an entry fee, but I thought it was worth it.  They refurbished the castle, although the outside maintains that ancient feel.  It had a roof, windows, and the walls were finished.  The grounds were manicured and there were gun towers.  There were many informational signs about secret spaces and ambush nooks.  There were many tales of how awful the O’Flaherty’s were and how badly they treated others.  It really brought a new dimension to the experience.

Next up was Kylemore Abbey.  I think every tourbus must stop here.  At Aughnanure, we were one of maybe 15 people at most.  Kylemore had hundreds!  It’s very striking, set upon the Lough.  Unfortunately, when we were there, a large portion was being renovated and scaffolding was very evident.  I tried my best to take photos where a tree would conceal it.  It’s now a hotel, but they do have tours, restaurant and a gift shop. Fred and I stayed here long enough to take a couple of photos and use the loo.  I’m glad for my photos, but was happy to get out of there.

We the very short distance to Connemara National Park. There were three loop trails here, each one going higher than the next.  The weather was very threatening, so Fred and I opted for the shortest loop. The views were really beautiful of the inlet to the north.

The view from the top of the lowest loop at Connemara National Park

We continued driving, opting to divert to Sky Road, stated to be very scenic.  It circled around a peninsula and did not disappoint.

At just about the point Sky Road rejoins the main road are the ruins of Clifden Castle.  We could see the ruins but had a dickens of a time figuring out how to get to them.  There was a rough parking area with a huge archway, seemingly about the same vintage as the castle.  So we took our chances the track would take us to it.  It was quite a way from the castle, but made for a nice walk.  The castle ruins were covered in ivy, much if crumbled, but still much of it intact.  It had some spectacular arched doorways.  The main floorboards were long gone and if you went through one of those doorways, it was a long drop.

That evening, we braved the rain and headed to Dela Restaurant.  We scored another window seat and watched the passers-by and were entertained by a woman parking her car in the smallest of parallel parking spots.  Fred ordered a whiskey and the waitress was hesitant to serve it to him.  Apparently, it was not popular.  It was a “peated” whiskey and had a smokey smell.  Fred tried it, but I doubt he’d order it again.

It seemed like every set of ruins we visited had crows on top of them.  We knew we were getting close to our destination because a flock of them would be seen in the air.  They would perch themselves on top of the towers, as seen here at Ross Errilly Friary.  They weren’t really crows, but some sort of other large black bird.

9/17 – Today was a loop around the areas north of Galway.  A couple of weeks prior to the trip, I read about the Falcon Walk at Ashford Castle and booked us for the walk at 2pm.  That was our priority for the day and we squeezed what we could prior to the walk, with an eye on the clock.

Our first stop was Ross Errilly Friary.  This would also be on my top 5 Monastic Sites. It was very expansive and well-preserved.  It was unusual in that it had two cloisters and had many alleys to explore with impressive towers and archways.  We spent a lot of time here and wandering outside in the graveyard and looking for a geocache.

Looking up at a set of stairs that came down to the second floor of Roos Errilly Friary.  This monastery had lots of features on the second floor such as these stairs and including huge fireplaces.  The wooden floors had given way long ago, leaving the Friary’s architecture to the imagination.

Then we drove north around Lough Carra to a rather unpopulated area with country lanes until we got to the parking area for Moore Hall.  The area is a forest open to the public.  Moore Hall is a little over 200 years old and was torched in the Irish Civil War in 1923. What remains is a façade of a huge mansion in the middle of the woods.  It had an eerie quality about it.

Unlike the two earlier sights that were void of any other tourists, we came to Cong.  Cong is a cute little village along the River Cong and its claim to fame is that it was where The Quiet Man was filmed.  There’s a statue of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in the middle of town! There’s also an abbey to explore and behind it, a nature walk.  The abbey was unimpressive, but the nature walk was beautiful.

We had plenty of time before our Falcon Walk to explore the gardens of Ashford Castle.  The castle is a hotel, so the interior is for guests only.  The gardens are free to walk around – they were huge! There were even a couple of walled gardens that were off the main pathways and you walked under an archway to get to them.  There was obviously a lot of work and care that went into these gardens.  While there, we saw a group of three women with their falcons, so got a preview of what was to come!

The Falcon Walk was very informative and I would highly recommend it.  Fred and I got our own birds and the guide showed us how to send them off and call them back.  They had their own personalities and guide would explain their behavior.  At one time, Andes, Fred’s falcon, disappeared. I had this moment of fear, thinking we lost their bird! But we found him in one of the walled gardens.  We’re not sure why he took off like he did.  We found out the reason they raise the falcons is to learn about them and also for hunting excursions.

Fred, bonding with Andes.  There was a point we were in the deep woods and signaled the falcons to return and it was unbelievable how they navigated the branches with such agility!

So for anyone visiting the area, seriously consider this experience – you won’t regret it.

That evening, we had dinner again at Ard Bia – we liked it so much.  They had bookshelves full of decorations and I noticed an Ard Bia cookbook.  Guess what’s sitting on our shelf now!

9/18 – Today was the journey back to Dublin for our flight home tomorrow.  We diverted off of M6 to do the Rindoon Loop walk at Lough Ree.

The remains of the castle at Rindoon.  Pictures I saw on the internet didn’t show all the trees around it and made it appear that you could explore it.  But it was so overgrown, we couldn’t find a way in.

This was really remote and I don’t remember seeing another person there during the hour and a half we were there.  It had ruins, graveyards, a castle so overgrown with trees and shrubbery you couldn’t get close to it.  Sometimes the trail was right next to the shoreline, other times you were expected to cross a huge field and be able to find the trail on the other side.  The castle was built in the 1200s and there used to be an entire town of 1000 people.  There are remains of a church, hospital, and windmill.  Many places were extremely muddy and you often shared the field with sheep.

We also visited Kilbeggen Whiskey Distillery.  We opted to do a self-tour and Fred did a little whiskey tasting at the end.  I had a wee sip of each, not being a whiskey-drinker myself.  The “peated” whiskey he had at Dela Restaurant was one of their sipping pours.  I kind of liked it.

So that finishes up our trip to Ireland.  It’s beautiful and green, with lots of ruins and graveyards!  Weather is damp and be sure to wear waterproof shoes, and be prepared for mud anywhere you get off the asphalt.

Leaving you with an idyllic picture of an Ireland landscape – taken at Rindoon