It rained overnight, but this morning the clouds began to break and we saw blue skies. Today is the longest day in terms of miles to travel. We are going from Dingle all the way north of Galway to a little village called Cong. Here we are to stay in a real Castle!
There are two ways to get where we’re going. One is through Limerick and overland northwards. The problem is, this bypasses another well known Irish sight, the Cliffs of Moher. Like Torc falls, the Cliffs of Moher are frequently seen in books on Ireland. Their sheer imposing forms, constantly being battered by the North Atlantic, are a proud National Heritage. In order to see them, and still have some daylight left to roam the castle, we decided to take the ferry from Tarbert to Kittimer. This short 1 1/2 mile trip over water, cuts out almost 100 miles of road travel! It also keeps us on the western coast where we want to be.
That’s our “roller skate” third from the right.
Barb wants this as our new summer home.
After a relatively uneventful drive we arrived at the Cliffs. When we were here in 2003, it was a small parking lot, no admission fee, and you could literally crawl out to the very edge of the 600 foot cliffs and look down. Since that time, they have moved the parking lot across the road and added an admission gate. They have also built an eco friendly visitors center and restaurant into the hills leading up to the cliffs. They have surrounded the edge with large stones to keep the dumber tourists back from the unstable ledges.
Here you can see some of the more adventurous (i.e. dumber) tourists. Every year portions of the ledges drop with no warning. Not sure how many of these folks drop with it, but I wouldn’t want to be one!!
We left the cliffs and headed towards Galway. It was a long day and we were tired. We turned into the entry gates and were enthralled. This is just the entry. It led to a road that wandered for another mile or so of manicured grounds and forest until we came in sight of the castle itself.
This place was owned (up until just recently) by the Guinness family (of beer and world record fame). It hosted King George of England in the early 1900’s. It is the ultimate in luxury treatment. We were met by a bellman in the parking lot who delivered our bags to the lobby and parked our car. Once in the lobby, we were met by Grace at the reception desk. She checked us in, made our dinner reservation, then took us on a quick walking tour of the castle. She then led us to our room and made sure that we were comfortable. We hadn’t been in the room more than a few minutes when the phone rang and it was management calling to make sure that everything was up to standard and that we were satisfied with our accommodations. We walked through a hallway where there were photos of past dignitaries and celebrities who had stayed there. Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Ronald Reagan, and the Prince of Wales to name a few. We were definitely above our station here!!
A stroll of the grounds revealed unbelievable manicured gardens, tennis courts hidden in the trees, a falconry where you could learn the art of flying falcons, and a boat dock where you could rent kayaks or small row boats. Further down the road was a heliport, an equestrian center and large golf course.
Inside was regal and rich, dark woods.
Dinner was a coat and tie affair. Since I had neither, Grace came to the rescue and provided me a coat from the castle stores and then found me a nice tie to match my shirt. So now, properly attired, we went to dinner. Again, very upper class. Two waiters for our table and multiple courses for the meal. We thoroughly enjoyed it. After dinner, I returned my borrowed coat and tie and we strolled the grounds. It was now after sunset and the castle was wrapped in the low glow of lights that lined the pathways. Tomorrow it’s back to Dublin and only one more day in Ireland. This trip has gone by wayyy to fast. This is a good way to end our adventure in the countryside!
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