A long weekend in Ireland – day 3, Connemara & Kylemore Abbey | alison richards

I left Galway just before 9am and set off towards Connemara. The aim for today was to go to Kylemore Abbey, which I have had pinned on my Pinterest board since I first started using Pinterest about 10 years ago. However, the day was so much more than just going to the Abbey, as I discovered that the road through the Connemara National Park was just amazing – beautiful mountains and lakes all around.

It took me a lot longer than it should have to get to the Abbey because I had to keep stopping. Like All. The. Time. Thankfully, I was not the only one, as the car up ahead was doing the same thing, though I was a bit more safety-first than the guy in front, who literally stopped in the middle of the road to take photos.

I got to Kylemore Abbey a bit before 10:30 and, being February, there was no one there! I think I was the first to buy tickets to the Abbey for the day, which was OK with me as I went in and got to experience it by myself. I didn’t take any photos inside because most of it was like a museum of the place, but I went for a long walk up and around the lake and gardens, which were really beautiful, even in winter. I even walked all the way to the walled garden and back – it was such a glorious day!

I couldn’t decide which of these three beautiful pics to put up….

Because the water was so mirror-like and gorgeous that I just had to.

I sat on a bench here for a bit, it was so serene

Little church on the Kylemore Abbey property

I do love little country churches. They are so quaint

I think I woke the cat up, it wasn’t very happy with me

This photo was an after-thought because it looks so terrible covered in scaffolding!

I would definitely come back to Connemara National Park, it was just stunning.

I left the park and drove the loooooong drive back to Dublin to drop the car off. I wish I’d known how beautiful it was and stayed another day or two to go for a hike. But it was not to be! I dropped the car back, then made for my hotel, which was different from the one I’d first stayed in. This one, however, had decided to put me in the top floor of their hotel in a suite. I had a kitchen and washing machine, huge room with a sofa, and a giant bed. It was awesome! I went to meet a friend for dinner at a pub nearby, and had an Irish stew for dinner, which was delicious! Then went back to my giant room for a good night’s sleep.