Kinsale

Kinsale is a popular seaside holiday destination for both Irish and overseas visitors. Apparently it's also a foodie destination with its festivals.

Parking is scarce and costly in the village so the authorities have provided a free car park; you only have to walk downhill into the village.

People enjoying the good weather. Temperatures are milder on the south coast compared to the west coast.

Tables ready for customers. But the wind has ruffled one.

I liked the pattern on the grill of this planter.

If anything the coloured facades are even more prominent here.

And here.

Ah, it was the subliminal effect of that gelato cone later. That's my story anyway.

Everybody can use this therapy. Not open though.

Pirate Anne Bonny was born in Kinsale and they are proud to claim her.

Tidy streets. You will notice there is no law requiring a parked car to face the direction of travel, presumably because narrow roads in the country are hard to turn around on.

A gastropub is not an abdominal condition but a pub that serves cooked meals as opposed to cold dishes, in addition to drinks. Apparently the appellation was coined in the UK.

Quaint shops.

The post office and I think the bank house is now a hotel.

And now the port.

It was rather silty, maybe because the tide was out.

Probably many of these are accommodation.

Further out.

There's a modern building behind.

It is possible to get a better view from Compass Hill but I didn't walk there.

For lunch I found a pub serving seafood chowder.

It was Monday, but that didn't stop me from having a gelato from Sundays after lunch.

Panoramas:

Sky Road, Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey

In the morning, I drove to Upper Sky Road which circles back to Clifden and saw that it lived up to its name.

Taking a look around, starting with the bay.

Panning clockwise towards the Atlantic.

And the headland and islands.

Zooming in.

And where I was standing.

All together now.

The wind was cutting into my jacket so I didn't hang around. I emerged on N59 a couple of km north of Clifden. I now see from Maps that there was north branch of Sky Road overlooking an inlet that I should have traversed. Oh well.

I could have turned south to have a squiz of the town but decided to press on.

I reached Letterfrack where the visitor centre for Connemara National Park is situated. It was too early for lunch so I explored the Renvyle Peninsula to the north.

This was a windswept beach which was otherwise nondescript so I took pictures and moved on.

This is in the vicinity of Renvyle Castle.

The ruins in question.

Looking around.

Time to visit the Connemara National Park.

They had an interesting display about bogs. I learnt a few things there.

Outside are pretty gardens.

I took one of the short walks in the park.

Equine residents.

Distant views.

Quite possibly looking back at houses outside the NP and beyond that the bay.

A clearing displaying various types of rock.

Then it was goodbye to the NP visitor centre, having worked up an appetite.

At a restaurant in Letterfrack, I had this lunch of seafood chowder. I found it a bit strong, and I realised that they had put too much salmon in it. Salmon is farmed in quantity in Ireland and often served at breakfast. I prefer it with a balance of white fish and salmon.

A short drive away is Kylemore Abbey with its postcard perfect location.

Zooming in.

It has its own lough and a Victorian walled garden.

It's very popular with tour crowds. It has two car parks! There was a long queue for admission tickets. I could have bypassed the queue by buying a ticket online with my phone, with a discount too, but I wasn't so enthusiastic by this time. No doubt I've missed out on the fantastic interiors and a lovely garden but I'm not a great fan of buildings, more of nature.

So here's a panorama before leaving.

I drove north-east until I reached the town of Leenane. I remembered the name from Martin McDonagh's play The Beauty Queen of Leenane. I don't know the play; the name just stuck with me. I thought it was an old play but it's actually from 1996. I was probably thinking of Synge's The Playboy of The Western World, another Irish work.

It's at the head of a fjord.

A pretty stop for this leg.

Leenane is where I left County Galway and entered County Ketchup, er, I mean County Mayo. It would be the northernmost county of my Irish travel.

Foreground distortion but the background is great. The second view is a few minutes up the road.

I reached Westport and found the B&B at the waterfront, a couple of km out of the town centre. The room was tiny, but I was fond of it; it felt cosy, and had all the required amenities.

In the evening I went to the centre looking for an Asian restaurant. I didn't spot it until after I had dined at a Portuguese restaurant. The shellfish stew was a bit quirky, perhaps it was the chef's invention, but it was alright. In retrospect it was probably better than an overpriced pad thai.

I'll merge the Westport pictures I took in the evening into the next day's blog.