Day 11 - Galway

After breakfast we head off by 10.00am to drive to Kylemore Abbey.  The journey takes us through Connemara, which is a National Park with rolling hills divided by stone walls.  There seems to be a lot of rock throughout the countryside so this area must have been a very active volcanic site once upon a time.  For much of the drive we are following the coastline beside the Atlantic then turn inland north to Kylemore Abbey.  These are only fairly narrow roads and although they suggest a maximum of 100kph....I'm not convinced :(  Admission to the Abbey is 16 euros each and you can take a shuttle to the Victorian walled gardens which, along with the castle, was built in the 1860s by Mitchell Henry.  We then head to the Gothic Church which was built by Henry as a monument to his wife who died after a brief illness at the age 45 and whom he deeply loved.  The castle had a chequered history of ownership but finally was bought by the Benedictine nuns in 1920 and turned into an Abbey and a school.

We head to Clifden for a break and then back to Galway.  It's been a bit drizzly but clears as we head home so don't know if being close to the Atlantic influences the weather.  Left at 10am back by 4pm.  It was quite a drive but now it's time a bit of R&R before heading out for NYE!

Dinner at Loam!  Delightful :)

On the road heading west rom Galway

Kylemore Abbey

A little friend

The original gardener's cottage
- a whole lot more luxurious than his helpers!

One of the many babbling brooks

Part of the walled garden

In the Gothic church