Cheap flights and a few days off work were all we needed to get away to do some walking in totally new surroundings. We stayed in a number of Airbnb homes, which proved to exceed our expectations. We flew into Knock and headed straight for Westport.
Just outside of Westport lies Croagh Patrick, the "Holy Mountain or "Reek" as it can be known, don`t ask me why. I just know we put sunscreen on at the bottom and waterproofs on at the top, the weather is so changeable. As the saying goes, "If you don`t like the weather in Connemara, wait five minutes"
Every year there is a mass pilgrimage up the mountain and some people actually do the walk in bare feet. All in honour of St Patrick.
We decided to stay on the beautiful Clare Island for the peace and quiet, and to walk up Knockmore. The picture below was taken at Roonagh pier looking over at the island, while waiting for the ferry.
Once settled in to Anna`s coffee shop we set off in search of Knockmore, quite a long walk to the summit via the lighthouse.
Below was taken from close to the lighthouse looking back to the mainland and yesterdays walk up Croagh Patrick.
The view along the cliffs to our destination. Care had to be taken on the route, there was a landslide a couple of years ago.
There were quite a lot of ups and downs on the way, not what was expected, but worth the effort. The weather had closed in once at the top so not much scope for picture taking.
The beach at Clare, with the community centre and Sailors bar and restaurant on the left.
On our tour of the Wild Atlantic Way we stopped at the Lost Valley, a most amazing beach "Uggool Sands"
Kylemore Abbey, once a Benedictine Monastary, then a girls school, now a tourist attraction.
A one night stop at Letterfrack. We were able to walk up Diamond Hill, a popular route due to the summit having fantastic views. The one below looks out to Tully mountain and the Atlantic ocean.
The weather held out and we were blessed with glorious views of the Twelve Bens. The path leads you down through the Bog Road back to Letterfrack.
Another drive on the Wild Atlantic Way took us toward Roundstone. We stopped short and parked our car by Dog Bay and walked along the Bog Road until we found a suitable line to the summit. For such a small height gain it was surprisingly tough going with no obvious paths or tracks.
The views are extensive and worth the effort. Below is the peninsular to the south with Dogs Bay and Gorteen Bay.
One could`t drive the Connemara Loop without visiting the most beautiful village of Cong, full of history besides it being the location of the John Wayne/Maureen O`Hara film The Quiet Man. We arrived at the village just before the bus loads of tourists were due and were able to ramble around the village at our leisure.
There are the ruins of the Augustinian Abbey dating back to the 13th century. The picture below is of the monks fishing cottage on the river and contains a trap door were a net was sunk to catch the fish, not really fishing I suppose but efficient.
We finished off our tour in Galway with the odd pint of Guiness, some good food, and a promise to return, maybe take in those Twelve Bens???
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