Wild Atlantic Way
Today I woke up on the beach with the sun shining, the beach here is fantastic, beautiful white sand with lush blue sea, the tide doesn’t go out that far so it’s beautiful when in or out. The rocky outcrops are lovely places where the birds land to look at the views. I was feeling pretty good this morning and really loving life, there is something so special about waking up in nature. I made my porridge and ate it looking out to sea, then sorted out my little campsite while listening to Billy Ocean, had a little mad moment singing along to Billy Ocean which seemed quite appropriate being so near the ocean. I had a little dance all on my own with no one around for miles. It was such a liberating moment I just had to record it somehow so I videod myself singing and dancing in the Wild wonderful Ballyconeelly. Don’t laugh too loud, it was fun! Lol
Later I spent some time on the Wild Atlantic way, a coastal road that runs from the North to the South of Ireland on the Atlantic coast and it is pretty spectacular in this area.
Again Gary picked me up and took me on the Connemara loop which takes you around many places of interest and parts of it are also part of the Wild Atlantic Way.
First we passed what is known as the only hill in Connemara, Doolin hill, which has a castle type building by the side of it, which is said to have been built for magistrates many years ago during the time that Ireland was still under UK rule. The castle is now in ruins and is considered on private property but having talked to Gary who knows a lot about local tradition, apparently the local farmer has claimed the castle as his own and has put his own signs up, prohibiting entry, which is not allowed, so I might take a walk there tomorrow.
After driving past the castle we took a trip to Roundstone, yet another beautiful fishing village on the Atlantic coast. It’s called Roundstone because you have to go around the rocky, stone mountain to get to it. It’s part of the Wild Atlantic Way, we then visited Dog bay, another beautiful white sand beach where this time we saw a few swimmers. After that it was on to Recess in Ballynahinch with another beautiful castle which has been turned into a hotel, the hotel owns the fishing rights to all the surrounding rivers and lakes and is a prime spot for catching the best salmon and trout. The grounds are splendid with ancient trees and lakes with water lillies.
The Connemara loop which takes you through the Inagh valley between the two mountain ranges of The Twelve Bens to the West and the Maamturk Mountains to the East. A very beautiful area of outstanding beauty and has been likened to the Highlands of Scotland. The valley is covered in a blanket bog and turf is cut from it for fuel for local families, evidence of this is apparent with turf stacks left to dry by the side of the road. We stopped at a little service area before going through the valley and admired the monuments which had been built there “For no apparent reason” very typical of Irish humour.
We were en route to the only Fjord in Ireland called Killary Fjord when we came upon a layby with trees and fence adorned with all sorts of things hanging from the trees, apparently if you tie something of your own to the tree you will have good luck, always worth a try I think so I tied one of my socks as did Gary. There were all sorts of things tied to the tree from handkerchiefs to sunglasses, jewellery, shorts and anything people can find on them when they pass by.
The Fjord didn’t disappoint, it was a splendid sight with lots of mussel bed activity plain to see on the top of the water, apparently owned by mussel farmers, it is said that anyone can go down to the water and pick their own mussels if they can find any. There are regular boat trips out onto the fjord where you might spot some dolphins and a local walk which was part of the famine relief road dating back to 1856.
Our final stop for the day was Kylemore and a quick stop off at Kylemore Abbey built between 1864 and 1871 as a token of love by Englishman Mitchell Henry to his wife Margaret. The building is now a Benedictine Abbey and has many attractions for visitors including the Gothic chapel and the Victorian gardens. It is surrounded by a tranquil lake and in the mountain behind you can see a mini Christ the Redeemer type statue as seen on the mountain in Rio de Janeiro.
By the time we got back to my tent the rain was starting to fall and the weather had definitely taken a turn for the worst, I spent the night in the golf club and hoped the weather would stabilise throughout the night.
