We wanted to spend our last few days in Ireland relaxing. We had stayed in a castle the last time we were here, and thought that might be a good way to do it. We have a Ireland hotel guide with us and Anna looked up a nearby castle while we were driving. They were booked full. She tried another, Ashford Castle, and they had an available room, so we booked it.
As we began looking at the map, we realized that Ashford is clear on the other side of the country, near the west coast by Galway. There was little we could do except keep driving.
Along the way, we stopped in Enniskillen and toured the local castle. Then we went to a local Geopark called the Marble Arch Caves. There is a tour of subterranean caves in boats, but Anna wouldn't go in the caves, and we already had a long drive ahead of us, so we settled for the walking trail instead.
The marble arch is the remaining section of a cave whose roof fell in several thousand years ago. It sounds much more impresive than it looks since the arch is very overgrown and a bit hard to see, but the path and the scenery is still nice.
The path follows a small river that has some wonderful foliage and rock formations.
There are also some waterfalls along the way.
On the way back, Anna spied some shamrocks under some moss. Being that we are in Ireland, we took it as a sign of good luck.
After the walking path, we got back on the road and headed toward the castle. At one point, we passed a nice scene with some sheep in a field and had to take a picture. This is classic Ireland.
This brings up a point I want to make. Ireland is probably my favorite place to be outside of my home state, Vermont. Likely, because you could take a field like the one above, pick it up and set it down in Vermont, and it would not look out of place. The people here are also similar to Vermonters, down to earth, hard working, and honest. I am more comfortable here that I have been at any time during this trip. What I mean is, I feel like I'm home.
There is something about the roling hills here, the misty rain, and the small back roads that calls to my blood. I feel extremely content here in the country. It tend to get a bit clausterphobic and tense when I am around alot of people. Being here calms me. This was a good place to be after the stress and uncertainty of the first few countries on this trip. This is what I needed.
We continued on passed the field and finally arrived at our destination at around 7:30 PM. Ashford Castle.
Entry to castle.
We'll be staying here for the next couple of nights. I'm actually typing this in their business center right now. I didn't realize the size of this place when I booked it this morning. The castle sits on a plot of land covering over 350 acres. There is a lake for fishing, a golf course, falconry lessons, shooting range, and a spa. And the coolest part of all: until 1939 this was the summer home of the Guinness family. Apparently, making the world's most beloved beer has its perks.
-Scott
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