The Irish Countryside : Connemara
Continuing our journey in Ireland, we spent a day driving through a portion of Connemara in West Ireland. I had been told it was possibly the most beautiful countryside in all of Ireland, and since I can’t compare it to any other Irish countryside, I whole-heartedly agree! We did half the loop, starting in Galway City, heading west towards and through the Eastern Boundary of Connemara, Maam Cross. Our first official stop, aside from the many ‘pull aside the road to photograph sheep’, was the little town of Roundstone. This is still the favorite town we visited on our trip. It was almost a ghost town this time of year, not many businesses opened yet for the Spring. We stopped into O’Dowds, on the pubs in town. It was cold, so I had an Irish Coffee, so cliche’, and we ordered chowder, which we had as often as possible, it was both necessary with the temperatures, and better than most in the States.
We chose to take the R340 south, then a coastal country road West to R341 south to Roundstone, this allowed us to witness so many adorable yet breathtaking coastal towns and lots of sheep!
1st Part of Drive
The lovely creatures on the way to Roundstone:-).
Next stop Kylemore Abbey. We left Roundstone going north, then East through Clifden. Oh, I wished we had had more time to explore Clifden, it was breathtaking coming up on the town. Much larger than Roundstone, we only had time to drive through to make time for Kylemore Abbey and getting back to Galway City for dinner.
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Kylemore Abbey, the stunning structure rose up out of the ground, almost glowing. It was overcast by the time we arrived and it began to rain before we walked over to the Abbey. Really, it was just magical in this weather, with the steam coming off the lake and the grayish sky. Personally I was drawn to the Gothic Church on the property, being a fan of this style of Architecture. If we’d had more time we would have also toured the Victorian Gardens as well.
On the way back to Galway City, we stopped briefly in Leenane, home of the only Fjord in Ireland. Amazing how the mountains drop down into the river like that. I can only imagine what seeing them in places like Norway must be like.
The fjord in Leenane, Connemara.
We could have easily spent a week just exploring Connemara, beautiful countryside and quaint coastal villages, and have I mentioned the mountains. I was really ignorant arriving in Ireland, I had no idea they had mountains the size we saw. Snow-capped and beautiful! All a part of the Connemara landscape, and I haven’t mentioned yet the warmth of the people. We found that the Irish are born raconteurs, they love to tell a story. If you ask an Irishman a question, ask knowing you may learn some history. A very open, helpful people they are. So much so that prior to our trip we had read to get lost, ask for directions, it’s a great way to meet and learn about the locals.
Cliffs of Mohar, The Burrens and Dublin still to come….
Note about the sheep: And in case you are wondering about the different colors sprayed on the sheep . . . this is a branding technique. When it come times to round up the sheep, their ownership can be sorted out by their colors. I dubbed them sherbet sheep:-)!
Filed Under: Family, Photo LOVE, Travel, Travel, Travel LOVE
