So today I had figured out that my friend Guy was nearby. I knew his family had an estate in Ireland, but was never sure where it was, but after seeing a social media post I realised he was just up the road. So contacted him and arranged to pop by in the morning. His partners family were very welcoming, and it was lovely to see friendly faces and be in a relaxed family environment, reminded me of Christmas. We had a cuppa and Guy showed me round the house, then we went on a walk round the grounds. The weather was drizzly, but fine for a wander. The grounds are beautiful woodlands, very natural, with fantastic views of the mountains.
After another cuppa and feeding the kids, I said my goodbyes and headed in the direction of Clifden. I wasn’t sure what to find there or if I’d stop. Once there I noticed a Lidl, which might prove useful. I drove around the town, and it looked very pleasant, and even saw a notice for a music festival this weekend, but the events didn’t suit my timings, and the weather was getting worse and I didn’t really need anything worth walking the streets in the rain for. So popped to Lidl, got a few supplies, and headed for my next proposed stop, Kylemore Abbey.
When I arrived, the wind was picking up further and the van was very rocky, but I headed to get a ticket. I was getting blown around and I didn’t especially feel too warm in my layers, so was pleased once I made it inside the abbey itself. Its very much geared to tourists and has been updated inside the first part of the building to accommodate the exhibition. The abbey was first built as a castle by Mitchell Henry after he came to the area with his wife Margaret for their honeymoon. They loved the area so much that he promised to build her a castle here, and so he did. When he inherited his father’s fortune he quit his medical career and moved to Kylemore. They lived a lavish life, developing the gardens to grow their own food, including 21 glass houses which provided luxuries the like of royalty would only eat, such as bananas, pineapples, figs, oranges. But along with their privileged life they also cared for people, being able to provide over 300 jobs because of Kylemore, so they brought employment to the area, which the local people were appreciative of. Unfortunately, Margaret died suddenly when on holiday in Egypt with the family at the age of 45. In her memory Mitchell had a neo-gothic church built in the grounds.
Kylemore was bought by Duke of Manchester, who owned it for a few years, but it was then taken on by the Benedictine nuns from Brussels. They had originated in Ireland but relocated to Belgium during the 1600’s and maintained a happy life there. It was with the escalation of World War I that they needed to relocate again and eventually ended up at Kylemore. They had traditionally lived an isolated life of prayer and work, with the teachings ‘Ora et Labora’ (pray and work), within the confines of the abbey, but now opened it up to the community. Turning their hand to teaching, they began a girl’s school there, which proved very successful over the years, taking on British and national students, including 2 Indian princesses. The school ended in the 1990’s and now the nuns run the abbey to welcome community involvement and make goods which are sold there.
It’s a fascinating story, but with it still being used, there is not much that is original. Displays are created to imply its previous use, and although some of the artifacts are obviously original, it is hard to tell how much of the display is and can leave you lacking a connection to the place.
I continued to look around the grounds, but unfortunately it wasn’t the best day for it. I was blown around like a hooley. I persevered, as I’d paid the money for it, but it would have been so much nicer in good weather. The grounds would have been splendid in their heyday when first created by Mitchell, but after his tenure the gardens went into disrepair and improvements only began in the 60’s.
After having enough of the rain and wind I took shelter in the van and set off to find my next britstop. The weather got worse and had a dowse of hail, but eventually made it to Joes cottage, an easy park up.