The desolation of Doo
We had a longer journey than normal planned for Saturday, not just because we stayed an extra day in Achill Island, but also because we needed to refill our LPG cylinder and the nearest Autogas fuel station was in Castlebar. This meant an extra 40 miles.
The garage had a small supermarket attached, but it was very modern, was excellently stocked and even had a large deli selling freshly cooked roast dinners. There are garages like this all over Ireland, and are replacing the traditional corner shop. Even small villages have one, and they play a great part in keeping communities together.
It was then back down the N5 to Westport, and rejoin the Wild Atlantic Way which headed out along the south coast of Clew Bay. Along the way was the beginning of the walk up to the summit of Croagh Patrick - Ireland's answer to Mecca. On the last Sunday in July there is a mass pilgrimage to the top, the more devout climbing it barefoot.
At Louisburgh the road turns south into some really desolate country, but in the distance the Mweelrea Mountains can be seen and the road is pointing to an obvious gap. In the middle of this desolation was a restaurant/giftshop called Glen Keen Farm (coaches welcome), and there was a coach already there. Inside the restaurant was buzzing and the coachload were being fed soup and sandwiches, and enjoying Irish songs being played by an "internationally famous" artist. There was another coachload due at any moment, who were there for a farm visit and wool weaving experience. Despite all the chaos and revelry they found a spot for us, and supplied soup and sandwiches. It was all great fun.
Further on, from out of nowhere, we arrived at the beautiful Doo Lough nestled into the the steep sided Glen Keen. There is a darker side to the area as it was hit very badly by the famine. However, nowadays they choose to commemorate the event with an annual Stop World Poverty charity walk from Louisburgh to a memorial by the side of Doo Lough.
The road then does a loop around Connemara National Park and passes a memorial to Alcock and Brown, who crashed there at the end of the first non stop flight across the Atlantic. The roads here are incredibly narrow, so we were lucky not to meet much oncoming traffic. However progress was really slow, and the whole journey to are stop for the night took over eight hours. The area is also An Gaeltacht, which means Gaelic speaking, and they don't put English translations on their signs.
We parked up in the large carpark of Tigh Mheaic (translated as Mick's Place) in a small village called Carna. It was a large and very welcoming pub, with a peat fire. Ann and I treated ourselves to dinner there - local goats cheese salad for Ann, and griddled scallops with bacon and black pudding for me. Absolutely delicious. There was no noise at closing time, and we felt perfectly safe.
The garage had a small supermarket attached, but it was very modern, was excellently stocked and even had a large deli selling freshly cooked roast dinners. There are garages like this all over Ireland, and are replacing the traditional corner shop. Even small villages have one, and they play a great part in keeping communities together.
It was then back down the N5 to Westport, and rejoin the Wild Atlantic Way which headed out along the south coast of Clew Bay. Along the way was the beginning of the walk up to the summit of Croagh Patrick - Ireland's answer to Mecca. On the last Sunday in July there is a mass pilgrimage to the top, the more devout climbing it barefoot.
At Louisburgh the road turns south into some really desolate country, but in the distance the Mweelrea Mountains can be seen and the road is pointing to an obvious gap. In the middle of this desolation was a restaurant/giftshop called Glen Keen Farm (coaches welcome), and there was a coach already there. Inside the restaurant was buzzing and the coachload were being fed soup and sandwiches, and enjoying Irish songs being played by an "internationally famous" artist. There was another coachload due at any moment, who were there for a farm visit and wool weaving experience. Despite all the chaos and revelry they found a spot for us, and supplied soup and sandwiches. It was all great fun.
Further on, from out of nowhere, we arrived at the beautiful Doo Lough nestled into the the steep sided Glen Keen. There is a darker side to the area as it was hit very badly by the famine. However, nowadays they choose to commemorate the event with an annual Stop World Poverty charity walk from Louisburgh to a memorial by the side of Doo Lough.
The road then does a loop around Connemara National Park and passes a memorial to Alcock and Brown, who crashed there at the end of the first non stop flight across the Atlantic. The roads here are incredibly narrow, so we were lucky not to meet much oncoming traffic. However progress was really slow, and the whole journey to are stop for the night took over eight hours. The area is also An Gaeltacht, which means Gaelic speaking, and they don't put English translations on their signs.
We parked up in the large carpark of Tigh Mheaic (translated as Mick's Place) in a small village called Carna. It was a large and very welcoming pub, with a peat fire. Ann and I treated ourselves to dinner there - local goats cheese salad for Ann, and griddled scallops with bacon and black pudding for me. Absolutely delicious. There was no noise at closing time, and we felt perfectly safe.
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