Follow our journey on this map.
Day 33 was nothing like yesterday in terms of the weather. Rain. Rain. Rain. And very long bus ride.
We crossed from Birr which is approximately in the center of the island all the way to westernmost continental city in Europe: Clifden. Along the way we saw lots of sheep. Lots of cattle. Lots of rain.
We stopped along the way to see Bunratty castle and grab a snack. I try really, really hard to get shots of these buildings with no other people or cars in the frame. I failed miserably on this photo shoot as you will see below.
The only real destination was to get to the Cliffs of Moher. Wikipedia says they are sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare and run for about 9 miles. At their southern end, they rise 390 ft above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and, 5 miles to the north, they reach their maximum height of 702 ft just north of O'Brien's Tower, a round stone tower near the midpoint of the cliffs, built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O'Brien, then continue at lower heights.
The reason I had to revert to Wikipedia is because that is all we know about it. The stock images are spectacular; the photo I took was as if I was photographing a grey wall.
After getting completely soaked, we got back on the bus and headed to Galway for lunch. All we know about that city is that it had a good pub that was warm and was airing the Canada vs Ireland women’s soccer match. Unfortunately, Ireland lost.
Our stop for the evening was the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel. It’s not as much of a vintage feel as the former hotel, but it’s super relaxed and comfortable. Abbeyglen Castle was built in 1832 by John d’Arcy of Clifden Castle. In 1854, it was bought by the Irish Church Mission Society for use as a Protestant Orphanage. It was here the girls were trained for domestic service. The Connemara Orphan Nurseries operated until 1955 when it closed due to financial difficulties. In its final years it became a mixed orphanage with, for example, seven boys and four girls in 1953. After its closure, the building fell derelict and was home to cattle and sheep for some time. The property was purchased in the 1960s and operated the Glenowen House Hotel in the 1960’s. The current owners’ interest began in 1969 and, since then they have developed Abbeyglen Castle into one of Connemara’s premier hotels.
Dinner was nice (food shots are back!) and bar was lively with a really good pianist/singer in full swing accentuated by local folks who thought they could sing. We sat by a warm fire and enjoyed every moment.
The room is nicely appointed down to the vintage telephone on the night stand. I remember those in my childhood home. This phone actually still works!
We arrived in the pouring rain so we didn’t get a chance to tour the grounds. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be much better. We’ll see.
