Day Twenty-five – Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Clifden – Tullamore

Accommodation – Seadew B&B

Weather – rain, showers and some sunshine

Temperature – 20 degrees

Today we started heading back to Dublin.  Our aim was to explore the Connemara further and then head towards Dublin.

The Connemara is a lovely region of Ireland and there are many villages to explore.  We followed the Sky Road which passes through the seaside villages of Balleyconnelly and Roundstone.  Fortunately, the weather was kind and the sun shone for the first time that morning as we stopped for photos.

Roundstone.....you can see the rain heading towards us!

The landscape on this route is craggy and harsh and it would endure some fierce weather being so open to the Atlantic.  Roundstone is noted for its canvas bottomed boats a couple of which we saw in the harbour.  We could see up ahead that we were in for some rain and after setting off from Roundstone we encountered the heaviest rain so far of the trip.

The Connemara is famous for its mountains – the ten Bens – and we passed by them on a minor route to Cong.  It was a very scenic drive following Lough Corrib along the way as well as streams where salmon are caught.  We deliberately chose roads we had not been on before and we were pleased with our decision to see so many parts of this pretty area.

Some of  'The Bens' in the background.

On the way we were listening to the radio which announced that Dull in Oregon has agreed to be a twin sister of Boring in Scotland!

We stopped for lunch in Cong in County Mayo made famous for the movie The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.  It is a lovely little village and I expected it to be very busy going by the guide book however it was very quiet.  We were the first customers at a great coffee shop and they were really pleased to see us.  As it had turned out they had forgotten to turn over the ‘closed’ sign and people had been walking past.  I told them we would sit in the window seat to make it look busy and sure enough people came through pretty quickly after that.

Part of the cloisters of the Augustinian Abbey at Cong.

After my Victoria sponge, David’s banana cake and some great coffees we headed off to explore the village.  A fantastic old abbey is still standing although roofless.  It was founded in 1120AD and is known as the Royal Augustinian Abbey of Cong.  The last high king of Ireland was buried here in 1198 however is body was removed later on.  The abbey has Gothic and Romanesque features and is built on the original site of a 6^th century church.

Wandering behind the abbey we found the Monk’s Fishing House which was built in the 15^th or 16^th centuries.  It is built on a platform over a small arch which allows for water to flow underneath.  A trapdoor in the floor may have been used for a net and the monks could sit by a small fireplace in cold weather waiting for their catch.  It was a very peaceful scene with smooth water and green overhanging trees encircling the stream.

The Monk's Fishing House at Cong.

It was now nearly 3pm and we had to put in a couple of hours driving to head towards Dublin.  After County Mayo we noticed a big difference in the area – we had become used to stone fences and a more rural landscape but we now were heading towards bigger areas (we saw our first MacDonald’s sign).

Tullamore is a rural town not noted for its tourism however we managed to find very comfortable accommodation not far from the town’s centre.  After a walk around we settled on a pub meal.

We’ll miss the west coast of Ireland but there are more adventures ahead – Dublin tomorrow!