Day 38 - Sunday 2nd September

The weather had improved after the storm yesterday. It was still cloudy but it wasn't windy and it wasn't raining. After another buffet breakfast in the hotel, we checked out, packed the car in the car park and set off by 9am.

The plan today was to drive to Ballynahinch Castle which is in the Connemara area about 75km north of Galway. We had to be there by 12:15pm because we'd booked to go on a walking tour of the castle this afternoon.

When we went to the tourist information office in Galway yesterday, we'd learned that the main road north of Galway was going to be closed this morning because of a major ironman event. They recommended that we go on a route on the eastern side of the Lake Corrib through a town called Cong.

Just before Cong, we passed Ashbury Castle where Suzy had originally wanted to stay but it was booked out.

In Cong we visited the abbey ruins and walked down to the river to see the building where the monk used to go fishing.

After leaving Cong, we travelled to the east of the next lake, Lake Mask where we joined up with the main highway. It turned out to be a more interesting trip than travelling all the way on the main highway.

When we reached Ballynahinch Castle at 11:30, they were still packing up after a wedding the previous night. There were two large marquees in the grounds and guests were still leaving. It meant that our room wasn't ready and so we left our bags in the car.

It also meant that they couldn't offer us any lunch before our walk and she suggested that we drive into Clifden to get something. She said this was a 15 minute trip each way via the back gate of the castle grounds. This would leave us only a few minutes to grab some food there before we had to back for the walk.

We found a roadside cafe, O'Hara's Cafe, before Clifden. They hadn't opened for lunch yet but they agreed to make us some sandwiches in a hurry. It turned out that the bread they used for Suzy's sandwich was mouldy and so they gave her some cake instead. We made it back to the castle by 12:15.

After all the rush, Noel, our guide, didn't arrive until 12:30 which gave me time to explore the various lounges, library, bar and restaurant near the reception area. They were all very elegant and tasteful.

The walk was fascinating and lasted for over 2 hours. Noel gave us the history of the castle and took us through the gardens, along the river and along a track that had once been the path of a railway. Finally he took us in a small dinghy to an island in the middle of the river that was the site of a watch house.

When we got back to the castle, we were able to check in. Our room was a luxurious spacious room with a four-poster bed overlooking the river.

Next we followed Noel's suggestion and drove to a nearby town called Roundstone. There we had coffee and scones in a cafe and Suzy bought some jewellery in yet another cute little shop.

We then drove to a nearby beach. It looked like an Australian sandy beach but it wasn't very inviting because of the cool windy weather.

The WiFi reception in our room was unreliable and so I went to one of the lounge areas near reception where the WiFi signal was strong. However, the internet speed was very slow and so it took an eternity to upload my photos.

We'd booked to have dinner in the hotel pub at 7:30. This proved to be an excellent meal. The menu choices were limited but the food was very good and they had an extensive wine selection. We asked them to deliver coffee to our room - it took ages to arrive.