Saturday 26^th July     ROOSKA EAST  -  TUAM  -  WESTPORT  -  FOXFORD  -  DRUMDONEY

It’s been a travel day today, and a big one, but good. We’ve covered many kilometres and travelled through several counties, and are very happy to be snug and warm in our lovely cottage tonight. We are amazed that the places we’re staying just seem to keep getting better, and this one is just lovely.

We were up nice and early in our farmhouse this morning to a fine but cool day. Jo had got herself organised and went for a walk while Lex and I got ourselves packed up, and we got away around 8 on the road north. We were heading for Westport on Clew Bay, where Jo’s Coyne ancestors hailed from. The Westport Heritage Centre seemed like a good place to head for, and it was with consternation that we read via Google that it was closed over the weekend. We decided that we’d head there and have a look, anyway. As we drove north from Limerick, the countryside changed from the pretty rolling hills to flatter land, and lots of stone walls again.

                                              Back in the land of stone fences

We stopped in Tuam in County Galway for morning tea, and found The Galway Roast there, which gave us a lovely feed before we headed off again. 

                                                          Morning tea at Tuam  

We arrived in Westport in County Mayo to discover that it’s obviously a big tourist destination (perhaps the fact that there is a motorway to there should have given us a hint?) We found a huge row of lovely shops and restaurants on the edge of the bay just near the Heritage Centre, and parked there to have a look at the bay. It was very low tide – you could hardly see any water. We thought we’d take a drive up the nearby hill to see what we could see, and drove past the centre….to find it open! So we paid our admission fees and went in for a look. There was a lot about the Easter Uprising and 1916 – several of the executed freedom fighters came from this area. We also found a big map of all the islands nearby (there are 365 in total, but Jo’s ancestors came from a little one called Inishnacross) and finally worked out that it wasn’t near Westport, but up at the top of Clew bay.

                                                                 Low tide in Clew Bay

                                                                  Heritage Centre

It was well and truly lunch time by now, so we had lovely sandwiches at The Creel Deli before heading up and around the bay. The wonders of Google Maps let us pinpoint the road we needed to go down to the water, and Jo and I were very excited to stand on the shore and work out exactly which was Inishnacross. (Happy moments in family history!)

 

Lovely shops and restaurants at Clew Bay

After it was very well recorded (and I’d filmed at least four tractors for Danny), we set a course for Drumdoney. We saw a sign to Foxford Woollen Mills, and Lex and I were sure that we’d been there in 2014. I was also sure that they had toilets, so we diverted there to the little town of Foxford in County Mayo. It’s the retail outlet for the Mills, and they make the most wonderful scarves, blankets, and cotton goods. Jo and I both just had to do a bit of shopping, and I have acquired the most beautiful set of their cotton pillowcases with the Wild Atlantic print – it has pictures of all sorts of Irish west coast things on it (including puffins!)

                                                   Foxford Woollen Mills - shopping heaven

                                           Our lovely house at Drumdoney

After that, we were just intent on getting to our accommodation, as we were all a bit weary. We shopped for groceries at the SuperValu at Ballymote, then it was only about a quarter of an hour to our house. It’s an old (circa 1830s or maybe even earlier) farmhouse that Viola, our host, and her husband have done up beautifully. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so we are all very happy. We are now in County Sligo. We’re here for three nights, so can explore the area.

                                              Inishnacross is the island in the middle at the back