Chauffeurdriven tour of Connemara with Dave Hogan

Preparing to set sail from Kinvara this morning, not fully loaded yet, but we did get under way shortly after this.

Our destination today was Connemara, that region we call God's Country, a land of rugged granite mountains, glacial lakes, bogs, spectacular scenery, and abundance of sheep dotting the mountain sides.  Our first stop was to be Ashford Castle and the village of Cong, renowned for being the centre for that great old movie,"The Quiet Man".

Here we have my happy family photographed with Ashford Castle in the background. You can also see the lake, Lough Corrib, and the castle golf course to the right. 
From the left: Terry, Erin, Michael, Ted and Kaitlyn.

I just had to put these two happy kids, Michael and Kaitlyn, on the web for their pals to admire back home.

and these three kids also, Michael, Erin and Kaitlyn.

How about these two guys......Ted and Michael. I would love to have a picture like that of myself and my Dad. Keep that one Micheal.

Here we have Kaitlyn, Ted, Erin and Michael in the gardens at the back of the castle. What a wonderful place this is. Ashford is a five star luxury hotel and its location at the top of Lough Corrib is superb. It has been home to many world famous people and continues  to be Ireland's most famous castle hotel. You can enjoy golf here, fishing on the lake, forest walks, shooting, even falconry, and the food here is just exquisite. 

Kaitlyn and Michael posing by the fountain. I think that Michael was begining to feel like Harry Potter here.

Now we are begining to feel at home as we relax in the bar lounge. This castle was owned by the Guinness family and the crests on and over the fireplace are the Guinness crests.

After leaving Ashford we continued on into Joyce Country. Here we have the Corrib lake below, as we made our way to the Maam Valley. They say that there are three hundred and sixty five islands on this lake, and i think that they are not far out. As you can see, our weather today was overcast, but it was nice, and the only rain we got was of the misty kind. It did not interfere with our day, and everybody had a great time.

This is the time of the year when they are cutting the turf, (the peat), which they burn in the Winter fires. You can see the freshly cut turf being left to dry out before being brought in for the long Winter months ahead. It does make a lovely fire, and the smoke has a special smell all of its own.

Ted, Erin, Michael and Kaitlyn, with Kylemore Abbey in the background. The religious sisters here ran a world famous girls school for years, but unfortunately they have had to close it down inside the last two years. I think that the problem has been a lack of vocations similar to the priesthood here in Ireland. I just hope that this place never falls into the hands of the wrong type of people. It deserves better after the way the sisters saved it from extinction when it had been left to rot for years. They deserve great credit,and i am sure that there are many past pupils who will agree with me there.

Back in Kinvara this evening, in my back field,after a wonderful day with a lovely family. Here we have Erin and Michael with my little pal Taffy. He had just had some fresh carrots and was in a happy mood.
That was another successful day and one i know everybody enjoyed. Tomorrow we are off to Galway City, my own home town, where after seeing the sights, the shops will next on the list.

Stay with us, and enjoy the trip.