Wills Walkers: Galway and The Doolough Valley

Leaving Drumcreehy House and its lovely situation with the bay in front and the Burren behind made us comment that this accomodation had been brilliantly chosen!

Now onto Galway. I sat down on this seat with Oscar Wilde and immediately a man appeared with a big camera, offering to take my photo, but I told him my friend would take my photo. We noticed several times opportunistic people offering services at local features in town, expecting remuneration for their services. It wasn't begging but probably the next step away from it.

I loved this strip of houses along the river. And then another surprise. We watched a group of men dancing riverdance along the river.

That's it for Galway. I don't think we're city people, we are always keen to leave them..

Now we're back amongst the hills and valleys of the Doolough Valley. This part of Ireland is strongly Gaelic with no reference to English on road signs which makes reading the map difficult (especially when it's Joan in the front seat with the map!)

We arrived at this beautiful spot which looks like a lake but is the inlet on Killary Bay with the small village of Leenane sitting right on the edge. A great lunchtime break. The lady in the cafe said that we needed to drive the road in the opposite direction to get a full appreciation for this valley which peaked our interest. What we had just driven was gorgeous, the southern edge of The Connemara National Park. We continued on to Westport, our next three night stopover.

Today we decided to follow local advice and began driving in the opposite direction. Our lonely planet book told us to watch out for the sheep on the road, which was exactly as we found them. Cute lambs tucked into rocks right beside the road or ewes slowly wandering on the road.

Doolough Valley is part of The Wild Atlantic Way. We have been following this wavey symbol for most of our journey in Ireland.

We stopped at this cross which has been erected in memory of a tragic event that occurred during the great famine, when the potato crop failed. On a bitterly cold day in 1849, up to 600 starving people gathered in Louisburgh seeking food or a ticket to the Westport workhouse. They were told to apply to the Poor Law officials who were meeting the next day at Delphi, ten miles away. Some died overnight. The rest struggled across the mountains following sheep tracks and wading streams. When they arrived at Delphi, the Poor Law officials rose from lunch, refused to help and told them to return. No one knows how many died by the wayside of cold, hunger and exhaustion. Some were buried where they fell.

We found ourselves sobered by the knowledge of such tragic events and hardhearted men. We also reflected, as we stood by the beautiful shores of Doo Lough, that so often in history, great tragedy has happened in beautiful places.

We drove further along the valley and saw the sign for Delphi Lodge so decided we would turn in. Another delightful, big house by a lake was what we found.

The gardens surrounding the house are substantial and beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop.

People come here to fish in the lake, participate in many different physical activities or be pampered in the spa. We opted for lunch

in the grand diningroom. Very nice.

The wild flowers growing along the roadside and down the valley make such a lovely picture, often with sheep grazing somewhere nearby.

We continued our drive, stopping frequently for photo opportunities, agreeing with our local advice that this valley is extremely beautiful.

The sniper was still up to his tricks, showing the care taken to capture a shot!

Aasleagh Falls are on the River Erriff. Atlantic salmon live in the river and have to negotiate these falls to continue upstream to spawn. This means they have to jump up the falls. Graham saw one jump just after we arrived. A kindly gentleman offered to take our photo in front of the falls.