No Dungeons at this Castle

Sunday May 10. Happy Mother to Cats Day

Belleek Castle, near Ballina.

Distance traveled: 262 km

Cumulative distance: 1,395 km

Temperature: 10-15. Brilliantly sunny in the morning, overcast and cloudy with occasional showers in the afternoon.

After an easy and restful day yesterday with no driving, today was almost as easy with driving but nothing in the way of stops on the route calling to us to pay attention. Which was awesome. We don't like to have too much on the agenda; sometimes it's nice just to see the countryside.

We had an early start (in relative terms) getting away by 9:30. I remember backpacking with friends of ours who would be up, packed and having eaten breakfast before we were out of bed. Of course, our dogs at the time were a big factor in that regard. But I think about how they were ready to go an hour before us. At least they were gracious enough to never complain. 

Well, so far Nan hasn't complained about being second out of bed. But we were away in good time, after spending 10 minutes to get out of the seven car parking lot. REALLY tight, with a lot of an inch forward, an inch back. Other than the scenic route, which took as four and a half hours vs the hour an a half direct route, we had an easy day of it. Roads were for the most part an inch or two wider than some we have been on recently so it was a low stress day. 

Our big treat was arriving at our destination: Belleek Castle. I have wanted to stay at a castle for years and this was my big moment... to surprise Nan and stay at a castle that dated from 1836. Big but not many rooms by most hotel standards - a dozen, I think - it is nicely appointed and has a fabulous chef in the dining room. We also signed up for the castle tour which started 2o minutes after we arrived. To our amazement, the tour lasted an hour and a half, which included a family history of the owners, a tour of the historical artifacts that the current owner had collected over the years and which ghost we may encounter if we are out of our rooms past midnight.  

Belleek Castle as we drove into the grounds from the gate.

Our room.

Ceiling is about 12 feet high.

The lobby. 

The dining room.

As much fun as it is to be staying in a castle, the biggest surpise has been the fabulous meal we enjoyed. The restaurand had a Michelin rating from 2018 and though I don't think the chef is the same, it was still an excellent dinner. Nan had scallops followed by slowoasted lamb shank whereas I had mascarpone and brie mouse, er, moose, whatever, followed by sirloin that was as tender as the finest tenderloin. And a green vegetable! The second time on this trip!  

A tribute to the family dogs of the owner.

A mauseleum with the original owner of the castle. Ostensibly he had wanted to be buried with his horse though it was not confirmed that that had actually happened.

The castle is adjacent to the River Moy, not too many km from the open ocean. In the past, the river was an important source of salmon for locals though large commercial operations don't seem to exist around here anymore. Still, there was lots of evidence from the glory days of a robust fishery.

An ice house from around 1800 for the fishery.

A concrete boat which had been dragged up the river.

Lots of small fishing boats and moorages for others.