Kanga And Wombats Adventures

Day 15

Once again it was hard to leave our host Bridie. Such a gentle and kind lady who obviously loved company but who was also lonely. Devoted to her only son Colm. We had a long way to travel today, over 200kms! Nevertheless, we were nervous! Roads in Ireland are certainly “different”, and what seems like a short distance to cover can actually take a long time! Our destination for the night was Sligo. We were pretty excited about visiting Sligo as my nephew Ollie, Di and Jon’s youngest boy, lives there with his partner Izzie and kids Pearl (10) and Sonny (8). We haven’t seen them for over 6 years. Our aim was to drive north and explore the north western part of Galway before turning east to follow the coast to Sligo. Leaving Kilkieran, we drove north to Leenaun, the Twelve Ben’s ever present on our left.

We stretched our legs at Westport, a pretty Georgian town with lots of flower baskets and a very pleasant riverside walk.

Along the northern most coast of Galway lies the archaeological marvel, Ceide Fields. First discovered in the 1930’s by Paddy Caulfield when he was digging in the bog, and then 40 years later investigated further by his son Seamus, Ceide Fields is the world’s most extensive Stone Age monument. Some say it looks nothing more than a series of small walls. I reckon it’s nothing more than several piles of rocks. The ultimate Irish joke???

It was in a beautiful setting,

but I failed to see how a pike of rocks could be interpreted as having been a thriving community within stone-walled fields with megalithic tombs aplenty. I’m definitely a heathen!

It was great to reach Sligo and catch up with the family. The biggest news from them is that baby No3 is on the way and due mid December. Pearl and Sonny are uber excited to say the least! We had a BBQ with Ollie, Izzy and the kids and planned to meet in the morning for a day of exploring Sligo. This was the sun setting on Benbulben, just behind their house, on our way home at about 10pm.