Ireland. God's own country and the most beautiful place on earth. Okay, I am very much biased, but with its glorious mountains, rolling countryside, windswept cliffs and other romantic scenery it is hard to not fall in love with the land of Wilde, Joyce and Yeats. It is a stunningly beautiful, warm afternoon here in Exeter, yet, I am left pining for the West of Ireland, where I was visiting two weeks ago. Due to my African adventures, this is the shortest amount of time I have EVER spent in Ireland since 1989: I was there only three whole days. This post is thus split into three parts: firstly, a quick overview to show you some of the day trips you can do in the West (where my family are based and we have a house) if you have a car and a sense of adventure; secondly, some short reviews of a trio of excellent restaurants with award winning locally produced food and thirdly, some things, I foraged while I was there in my field. If this kind of travel post is not your cup of tea - do come back soon, as I have a load of foragey posts coming up in the next week or so, but if you are staying to have a read, may I say: failte ar ais go dti mo bhlag!*
*welcome back to my blog as gaeilge (and no, I realise there are fadas and accents on dti and failte, but god knows how to add these in on blogger, so if you're Irish speaking and offended by the lack of fadas, please try and pretend they are where they ought to be).
PART ONE: DAY TRIPS IN THE WEST OF IRELAND
Day One: Westport and Achill Island
Driving out about lunchtime, we were all packed in the car: my parents, sister and one very excited black Labrador. Our mission: to get to the deserted village on Achill Island. To get there from our house, we passed through the very gentile town of Westport by the sea. We have stopped at this Georgian Town many times: it is very pretty with a big artificial walk waterway flowing through the centre, lots of craft shops and Westport House. This house used to be owned by the Marquesses of Sligo and in past years has been a stately home (in a National Trust kind of way) cum theme park. As a child its fantastic. There are swan boats, slides and a log flume. What's not to like? For while, the house itself was encased in what can only be described as a giant shed, while repairs were made, but this seems to be a thing of the past. For more information see: http://www.westporthouse.ie/
Anyhow, a drive out of Westport will take you past some big mountains (with Croagh Patick, "the reek", rising up like a kid's scribble of a triangular mountain amongst them, until you get to Achill Island. You don't need a ferry as the island itself is connected to the mainland by a bridge. You might think yourself on Craggy Island and look about for Ted, Dougal and Father Jack. Others certainly have thought this, and so one of the first things we saw was a Craggy Island Bus, which was a bit mad.
We eventually got to the Deserted Village (it doesn't really have another name), which is as its name suggests,is literally a deserted settlement. Abandoned in the first half of the twentieth century, it is hauntingly beautiful, settled in the base of the Slievemore Mountains. Entry is free, the views exquisite and you can wander around the eighty of so houses with a free reign and imagine the people bustling through its main street a hundred years ago or so. (see: http://www.achilltourism.com/deserted.html)
Elsewhere on Achill, there are some super stunning beaches. There are apparently more Blue Flag Beaches in this bit of Mayo than in the rest of Ireland put together, and it is easy to see why. They are big, white and often fairly empty, with stunning views and crystal clear Atlantic water, perfect for surfing and swimming. This one below is next to the village of Keel, but there are tonnes in the surrounding area if you want to go an find your own secluded bit of beach heaven (see: http://www.blueflagireland.org/)
Day Two: Sligo and Donegal
Longer drive the second day to the beautiful north western counties of Sligo and Donegal. This was like a blast from the past and a tourist's wet dream, with lots of picture post card scenes of old Ireland, such as this house below...
We stopped on our way up to Sligo at Drumcliff, to see the final resting place of Yeats. His gravestone is surprisingly simple with the epitaph "Cast a cold Eye, on Life, on Death, Horseman pass by" but is the perfect setting for the final resting place one of Ireland's literary heavy weights, with the towering moody mountain of Ben Bulben watching overhead. The church next to it is very nice also, and Yeat's grandfather was its rector. Inside, there are many interesting plaques from a couple of centuries back, including a particularly moving one a 'sorrowing husband' called Michael Jones, in memory of his wife Mary describing her as 'a most affectionate and indulgent parent and a truly kind and considerate friend'. Awww. I'm tearing up as I write. Nearby, is a also the ruins of a round tower (for those of you not in the know, these are tall structures, used possibly (its a bit disputed) as places of refuge for monks and their books when being attacked. Apparently, it was part of a monestry built by the saint, Colum Cille, around 561, as penance for causing a big war over his copying of a book belonging to St. Finian, before he bogged off into exile on the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland.
Further up the country, you get to the wild lands of Donegal. The coastline here, near Classiebawn the home of the Queen's cousins the Mountbattens (you can see it in the photo below) is particularly stunning with dramatic cliffs and rocks. Just beautiful!
At Kilcar, you can find the wonderful Studio Donegal (http://www.studiodonegal.ie/), where they still make handmade woolen coats, hats, jumpers and blankets in the workshop upstairs. I did get quite attached to this hat, but at ninety euro, it was a little out of my price range. Though the wool is now imported from Australia, it is more than clear that a lot of love goes into the products they produce. The mater was chatting to one of the ladies who runs it about the colours in a blanket she was interested in and the lady talked with passion about how the contrasting colours of greens and purples were chosen deliberately to reflect the heather and gorse of the local landscape. Delightful.
We also stopped at Slieve League (http://slieveleaguecliffs.ie/) to climb the cliffs and admire the stunning scenery. The cliffs are most dramatic and the abundance of heather, heavenly.
And finally, we stopped at Glencolumbkille (http://www.gleanncholmcille.ie/), to seek out one of Colum Cille's early churches and a holy well (there is always a holy well it seems at such places). Though mostly a pile of rubble, the view across the near deserted, lonely valley was worth it.
Day Three: Moore Hall and Lough Cara
An old favourite nearby, the ruins of Moore Hall, once owned by eponymous Moore family of literary renown, this is free to go and see and eerily stunning. Situated by Lough Cara in the middle of wood, this is ideal dog walking adventure territory and absolutely free. The house was burnt down in 1923 during the Irish Civil War, which I always thought was a great pity, in that the Moore's as English Landlords go, were better than most. No one died on their turf during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s and the Patriarch, George Moore, refused to evict any of his tenants and provided each family with a cow. Still, you can't lament the past and if the old IRA hadn't gutted it, we would not have the pleasure of visiting it today. Sadly, you can't go inside really (though people do) but nearby, there are a number of small beaches on the shores of Lough Cara where you can paddle and enjoy the pleasant scenery with a flask. See: http://www.moorehall.net/
PART TWO: FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Calvey's Restaurant, Keel on Achill Island
Award winning food, with a set menu for twenty six euro, with such glorious offering as:
Keel Island Crab Tian with Mango and Avocado salad
Smoked Bacon Lardons, wild garlic croutons and dressed leaves
Oven Roast Fresh Sea Bass on Sweet Potato Puree
Leg of Achill Island Lamb with fresh vegetables
Death by Chocolate served warm with vanilla icecrean
raspberry roulade with chantilly cream
Ingredients if possible, locally sourced from the island (and proud of it! - see map above)
Possibly the best meal I've ever had in the West of Ireland. Still dreaming about that delicate, gorgeous sea bass a fortnight on. See: http://www.calveysofachill.com/calveys_restaurant.htm
Aghna's Coffee Bar, Claremorris, Co. Mayo
Warm, bright, cafe, with excellent local fare, including salads, jacket potatoes, paninis and truly excelled boiled bacon and cabbage. Good quality home made food need not cost the earth. See: http://www.aghnas.com/
Old Arch Bar, Claremorris, Co. Mayo
Extremely popular gastro pub in Claremorris High Street, with some truly excellent home cooked fare. Book or go in early to avoid disapointment, as it can get busy. Locally inspired dishes with a twist - this time I had black and white pudding crispy wan ton with apple and grape sauce and deep fried tempura prawns. Delicious: this pub bar has been nominated for an Irish Restaurant Award, earlier this year. See: http://www.theoldarch-claremorris.com/
PART THREE: FORAGING
In my field and secret garden, I took the opportunity to see what foraging opportunities might come my way. For the most part, it was frustrating. Whilst in England, the trees are dripping with ripening fruit, there was practically nothing ripe at all round and about my house. Blackberries - hard and green, elderberries - hard and green, sloes - hard and green... so annoying!
Then, when I was bout to give up hope, I found a hazelnut tree out the back of the field with quite a few ripening hazelnuts. Jack pot! The question was, then, how to open them. A pair of Dad's pliers did the trick, and part of the fun for my sister and I was all the bits of shell pinging about the sitting room, hitting the ceiling and picture frames... (shhhhh don't tell mum). Unlike the brown hazelnuts you get at Christmas, these wild ones are sweet like peas and very moreish.
Anyhow, I've had a busy first week back at work. Touch wood, its all rather lovely at the moment. I have been busy foraging and making various jams and cordials, and when I have a minute later in the week I will get that blog post up. But for now, from lovely Ireland, goodbye!
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