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County Galway & Connemara region Wednesday, 4/21/04 |
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We stayed in County Galway for 2 days at a B&B in Spiddle on the Bay of Galway. Spiddle is a small town 15 miles west of Galway City. We took day trips to the towns of Roundstone and Clifden in the Connemara area. Along the way we climbed Mt Errisbeg, and visited the Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey.
Connemara in Western Galway is a wild region of great bogs, lakes and mountains with very little forest area. There is still much 'peat cutting' in the bogs. The peat is dried and burned for heat. Burning peat has a unique pungent odor that you notice throughout the Irish countryside. The rugged terrain of the region was created by the damp, mild climate and by the ancient settlers cutting down the Oak and pine forests that used to blanket the landscape. |
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lowtide in Roundstone Harbor |
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View to the West from Road R336 near town of Kinvarra |
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Kylemore Abbey on R344 was originally a private residence and is now a convent school run by Benedictine Nuns
(My thanks to Tim Lynch for recommending Connemara and Kylemore Abbey.) |
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Restored Gothic Church on the grounds of Kylemore Abbey (with 'the Hooligans' avoiding having their pictures taken) |
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Back to Ireland Tour |
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To Roundstone & Errisbeg Mt |
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