West of Ireland:Connemara, Cong & Kylemore Abbey

Back on the motorbike I decided to head to the West of Ireland but not to the Cliffs of Moher where most of the tourists tend to dash toward when arriving here. I headed west and into the untouched, unspoilt countryside and mountains of Connemara. This was unchartered territory for me and it was early on in the trip that I realised how lost I had gotten in this area when my bike broke down. It was very hot at the time, VERY hot and I was sweating and cursing trying to figure out what was wrong - It was simple enough in the end, some loose connections on the battery.

Anyway during this time and many, many others I came to appreciate just how beautiful the countryside is in the West of Ireland. You can see by the photos!!

I visited many small country roads on my journey but amongst my favourite spots were Ross Errilly Friary (Amazing and remote) and Killary Fjord below.

 

I wasn't done there, I visited Cong - Home to Irelands last King Rory O'Connor where I visited the historic abbey/town and the enchanting forest next to it. Once I had left the tourists behind I really felt like I was in a scene from the Lord of the Rings (pictured below)

 

 

These places really are amongst the best places I have ever seen in Ireland and knowing the history that surrounded me while I took a look about added to the awesome feeling I had throughout the trip.

I got caught in the rain many, many times which wasnt surprising given how little cover I had!! But the truth was I couldnt have cared less, I was on a magical journey into the heart of my own country...just me and my bike :)

The highlight however came in Kylemore Abbey, For fear of ruining the treat you may have ahead I would like to avoid telling you the unbelievable real life story behind this wondersome place. It is both hard to believe, terribly sad and incredibly inspiring. I have left a few photos below to show you a glimpse of what I mean.

 

Connemara is one of the most beautiful places in the Ireland and I feel so privileged to have travelled through it knowing the amazing history of the area. There is really too much behind it all to go into for this blog. It can be reached by car or some of the multiday tours around Ireland spend quite a bit of time here hiking etc. Alternatively check out the many day tours that go here from Dublin and Galway. Seriously......you'll be be lost in it all....and you'll never wanna be found !!

PS I Love You:Visiting Ireland after watching the movie

For the past two years I have been working with a day tour company in Dublin and it goes without saying I meet a huge number of tourists looking for the best places to visit around Ireland. The Wicklow Mountains is usually my first recommendation to new arrivals as it is a beautiful national park and very close to Dublin. Along with the gorgeous countryside, Mountains and scenery you can visit a very historical place in the middle of it called Glendalough (Gaelic translation: Valley of two lakes) which is home to a 1500 year old Monastic Site.

I was always amazed by the amount of girls who arrived wanting to visit the film locations for the movie PS I Love You. It’s insane how much an effect the movie/book has had and being a typical guy I genuinely knew little to nothing about the movie itself.

So as part of “research” for my new tour company, I thought it would make sense to watch the movie to hopefully understand better what it is that all these excited visitors were so eager to see….the results of this research were very interesting.

The movie itself was good but what surprised me was that I didn’t find the much talked about scenery in the movie all that inspiring?! How can I explain this, I love Wicklow, it has some of the most beautiful remote scenery you are likely to find anywhere but the movie, for me, didn’t take advantage of the scenery in this area. Basically it is far more beautiful than the movie portrays.

The first scene where Holly meets Gerry was shot close to a place called Sally Gap. The scene took place beside a small bridge and I admittedly always liked this little spot….I took the picture below when I stopped my motorbike for a sandwich yesterday and I have to admit, after watching the movie, I can see how anyone would fall in love here. I sat for half an hour, alone, with not one passer by or a body in site but really, As I sat there drinking in the views I wondered why the cameras didn’t shoot more of the surroundings in this area. I took some more pics to show you what I mean.

The farmhouse scenes were taken in a small town called Enniskerry. It’s a lovely little town in fairness so I couldn’t fault how they made use of the “farm” parts of the film. But the clips in between of the Irish Countryside, again while beautiful, I just didn’t find very inspiring compared to what they could have used. Check out some of the photos I took in the same Mountains and compare them to what you see in the movie.

Just for your information another scene that I am often asked about is the “bar scene” where Holly and her friends are ogling over the guitar player. This is Whelans pub on Wexford Street in Dublin – It’s a great bar, very local with great music. I was happy to see a genuine non touristy pub used rather than the more contrived traditional pubs you see in places like Temple Bar. You should definitely visit the bar during a visit to Ireland and meet some locals here!

Conclusion

It might sound like I’m giving a negative write up about the movie here, I’m not. I liked it, I was glad they chose to shoot it in Wicklow and despite big competition it inspired me to organise a tour around it and also to put the Wicklow Mountains onto my list for the best places to see in Ireland.

I’m just surprised they didn’t use some of the more dramatic scenery up there in the Mountains. If anything it only serves to prepare visitors for a surprise in that the scenery is even better than in the movie, usually it’s the opposite right?!

After watching PS I Love You I now understand what it is that is so intriguing. While watching the movie, you fall in love but not just with Holly and Gerry, you fall in love with the idea of  a vacation to Ireland which somehow allows you to be cast in your own little version of the movie, then maybe you too will find love here….The irony of all of this is that you will!

Thumbs up!

How to get there

The Wicklow Mountains are 30 minutes from Dublin and accessible by car or with one of the many Day Tour Companies operating in Dublin. There is also a regular service bus for anyone wanting to visit Glendalough, It runs daily at 11.30 from Dawson Street, Dublin 2 and you can pay the fare on the bus.