Ireland’s beauty continues to amaze me. This past weekend we took a field trip to Westport where we stopped at the Kylemore Abbey, the Connemara National Park, the Ceide Fields, and the Knock’s Shrine. My favorite of these is the Kylemore Abbey which was a beautiful castle near a lake. This building was once a home to Mitchell and Margaret Henry and then became a school which the Nun’s directed. The castle entails a romantic love story. Mitchell and Margaret traveled to Ireland during their honeymoon, Margaret became fascinated by its beauty and the couple decided to move there. The estate consists of 15,000 acres of forest-like grounds by a lake and majestic hills. This view is truly breathtaking and I, like Margaret, fell in love with this scene. Sadly, Margaret traveled to Egypt, contracted a disease and died 16 days after her return. Mitchell was heartbroken over the loss of his lover that he built Margaret a memorial consisting of a miniature cathedral and a mausoleum. The church and the Abbey were sights of marvelous architecture with a backdrop to match. When Mitchell finally passed away he had his ashes laid to rest next to his wife in the mausoleum. This estate was the place of a real love story.
Our sense of adventure came out again as we entered the Connemara National Park. The park was large and the day was cold, rainy, and extremely windy. Some of us ventured up the paths where, sadly we only saw sights that consisted mostly of fog. However, there were sheep scattered everywhere to keep the scene lively. The tour guides warned us of these strong winds, but some of the group decided to take on Mother Nature! I wish that the weather would have been nicer to us, because the top of Diamond Hill would have been a wonderful sight to see.
Overall, this field trip was extremely fun and Kylemore Abbey has become another of my favorite sights so far in Ireland. Westport treated us well as we mingled with the locals on Saturday night at the pubs and despite the weather, ended up being a great trip!
Our sense of adventure came out again as we entered the Connemara National Park. The park was large and the day was cold, rainy, and extremely windy. Some of us ventured up the paths where, sadly we only saw sights that consisted mostly of fog. However, there were sheep scattered everywhere to keep the scene lively. The tour guides warned us of these strong winds, but some of the group decided to take on Mother Nature! I wish that the weather would have been nicer to us, because the top of Diamond Hill would have been a wonderful sight to see.
Overall, this field trip was extremely fun and Kylemore Abbey has become another of my favorite sights so far in Ireland. Westport treated us well as we mingled with the locals on Saturday night at the pubs and despite the weather, ended up being a great trip!