JULY 2014 : IRELAND : Galway to Killybegs

                                           

                                         

                                                       Galway via Sligo to Killybegs

       

Mark collected our hire car, a Fiat, in Galway and we have decided to drive north and explore.

The countryside north of Galway was all farming - sheep and cattle. Vibrant green pastures.

         

A students' view of Sligo, 150 kms north of Galway, where we decided to stop for lunch.

       

Sligo in County Mayo is set along a river. It seemed quite a depressed place with vacant shops, and secondhand clothing stores. 

        

Despite being a little disappointed with the state of the town we found a wonderful cafe for lunch, Casa Mia.

                                     

A really homey cafe with a good outlook of the river and wonderful atmosphere and food inside.

                                       

Walking from the car park we discovered that this area had special significance for the great Irish poet, W.B. Yeats.

                                        

                   

                We discovered a memorabilia and photographic display of Yeat's life and interests.

                 He spent much of his early life around this area.

        

                                        

                    A few minutes out of Sligo is Drumcliffe, where Yeats and his wife, Georgie, are buried.

    

        

       

In view of St Columba's graveyard are the two main landmarks of Sligo, which inspired some of his poetry.

                                     

               A memorial to Yeats outside the churchyard donated by the local community.

                                     

We took a coast road to Mullaghmore. It is a small port and has a surf beach. High on the hill nearby we thought there was a castle ruin but on closer inspection we discovered a grand country home. We have since learnt that it is Classiebawn Castle, formerly owned by Lord Mountbatten. In fact, he left from this beautiful place on that fateful day in 1979 when he went sailing with 2 friends on his boat, Shadow V, and died due to injuries sustained by an IRA bomb hidden on board.

        

     The winner of the Hilarious Name Competition today - not Beach, Cranny Lower.

          

Our destination today was Killybegs. We decided to stay here on the recommendation of a waitress on Inis Mor, as her aunt and uncle own a B&B here.

                                   

                                 Sea winds B&B. Surprisingly comfortable and spacious.

         

      

        The Killybegs port is a working operation and not picturesque but down a side street we found a pub with an excellent restaurant upstairs.

      

                                         Our attentive waitress, Regina.

      

 

    OK the diet's off. My undoing : expresso panacotta with butterscotch sauce.

        

                                

The view from our window. A serious fishing industry (the largest Irish port) and beautiful homes across the bay. Apparently this is quite a wealthy town with the fishing and a carpet industry.

This picture was taken at 10 pm. Amazingly long summer days.

Today was wet and a perfect day for car travel. We successfully navigated our way and didn't get lost once, which is a remarkable achievement for us! 

M&M

3/6/2014