Quietly does it
Quietly does it

Quietly does it

The beach

It remained warm but largely wet whilst we stayed at Acton’s. There was little wind and on our second night when we opened the rear doors to access the boot, a host of flies moved in, attracted by the light. 

We slept well on both nights in complete peace, quiet and utter darkness. It was grand,

I was all for stopping at the Eco Beach site for another night but Mr Snail was suffering itchy feet again. Our destination was Cong, home of The Quiet Man (well, the film location at least.) Mr Snail set about emptying and filling tanks and I gazed at the sea in hope of glimpsing more dolphins. I tried to take photos and I think the light was a little better than when we arrived but nothing came out startlingly better than previously.

Vincent on site

We went to Lidl in Clifden for supplies and found it strangely quiet, with scarcely a car in the car park – leaving lots of room for Vincent. 

We left, turning left onto the N59 and soon found out why the shop was quiet, for it seemed that not only the whole of Clifden but half the world itself was at a pony sale just down the road! The yard was full and there was a market on – the road itself was lined with cars and trailers and horseboxes.

Sudden mayhem on the road

Had I known, I should have loved to be in there with my camera but of course… there was nowhere for Vincent to park.

We continued.

We had read that there is a campaign ongoing to support the upgrading of he stretch of N59 from Clifden to Galway and that many feel it is in a poor state. It wasn’t tip top but certainly better than some of the road we have travelled recently. Anyway, we soon turned off to travel East, passing another sale on the way.

We saw some amazing scenery but with very few chances to stop and capture it for the scrapbook blog. This was a shame as the combination of low cloud with sunshine playing across the landscape provided some stunning scenes. Grabbing shots through the windscreen whilst on the mood just does not do justice.

Let me out!

The weather seemed to be getting ever warmer and we were soon treated to the sight of Camellia bushes in full and glorious bloom (no, no photos, couldn’t stop…)

We found an approximation to a lay by – full of road surfacing material but enough space for Vincent to squeeze in
Lough Corrib
Lough Corrib
Lough Corrib

It took me a while to register the fact that I was seeing heather in bloom… in February

When we arrived at the Cong Caravan Park we found it very quiet. Very quiet as in totally empty. We received a warm welcome however, with what has become the usual apology regarding refurbishment works. Refurbishment or not, at least the water is on and the showers (included in the price for once) in operation.  

We are parked on hard standing in a quadrangle surrounded by tall Leylandii. There is a children’s play area between us and what we though would be a very quiet road. The road leads to one of the castle entrances and most specifically to one of the hotel/bar/restaurant areas plus giving access to the grounds and walks. It is really quite busy. Behind us is some kind of sports ground and this generates a level of associated noise from ball-kicking etcetera. Mainly however the dominant sound is of birdsong and we passed a quiet night. Lighting levels are enough to get to the facilities but not too bright for sleeping.

The facilities are adequate but far from luxurious. They are  badly in need of updating. Cleaning is suspect (my shower cubicle had long strands of dark hair clinging to the walls.) The cubicles are small, with little room to move and no seating arrangements to aid dressing and undressing. Showers are push button operation and deliver around 30 seconds of a decent flow at a good temperature (heeding the instruction to press all the buttons on arrival and wait for the water to get hot before undressing. This is key… as it is yet another chilly and unheated block. Skimpy shower curtains (cut down, possibly to make one curtain do two cubicles, and frayed) don’t quite stop the water from spilling into the dry part of the cubicle so one’s trouser bottoms get soggy when struggling to dress standing on one leg. There is no extraction either so the facilities feel very damp and claggy after showers have been used. Used shampoo bottle left in the shower, fragments of used soap everywhere (no liquid soap dispensers), a towel dangling (no hot air dryers) – nothing feels really pleasant or entirely sanitary to me but this is probably entirely psychological and extra-squeamish of me… though I checked with Mr Snail and asked what he thought of the facilities and he has the same sense.

Ashford Castle

Dogs on leads on site. Quiet road at access is not as quiet as it looks, care is needed. Main road into Cong is very busy. Dogs on leads in Castle grounds. Waymarked trails from the village are marked as “No Dogs.” Mr Snail found a wood to walk in about ten minutes away on the way into Cong and let Nell off the lead there. Not the best site for doggy travellers.

There  are red squirrels in the woods.

The site is just outside the village and is adjacent to Ashford Castle. It is  a short walk via the road into Cong, or a slightly longer but more pleasant stroll through the castle grounds. 

That’s the one! and apparently the boss cannot wait to get inside

We walked down with the dog, in the expectation of a pint of Guinness. The pub that I had picked out on our drive through looked just the biz and apparently was the one used in the film.

Oh, let me in, I’m thirsty!

Yes, just the ticket. Hand me my Guinness… but… wait, what is this?

CLOSED!

Closed! So we tried another establishment. Could we bring the dog in, please?

No.

None of the pubs would let Nell in. They all serve food and apparently Irish Govt regs preclude dogs from entering such premises.

We found one where we could sit out in the drizzle and have our pint with our canine companion.

My pint, at last
…and it was good

I find it fascinating that a whole Irish village can build its whole economy on a single Hollywood movie and one that was made so long ago.

Most places were however closed for the winter – but, really, a pub closing for the season? Perhaps I had better get over that… and move swiftly on.

Despite so little on offer there were tourist coaches arriving both yesterday and today and plenty of people about, especially within the castle grounds.

We were not alone overnight, a veedub camper arrived in the evening and then another one turned up today, so now we are three.

I tackled the laundry finally this morning. After having passed by on several opportunities due to the hefty €4 price of a wash… I have ended up having to pay €6 for my wash and another €6 for my dry!!! That was painful but is, I suppose, slightly mitigated by not having to pay €3 for a shower of a morning.

One of many creature cut-outs around the village. I wished that there were a pair of them. I could always use Photoshop…

We’re going to Tipperary tomorrow! Co Tipperary, at least.

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