ACTIVITIES IN GALWAY

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By Jon Myles

Jon Myles visits the rugged Connemara coastline for a walking holiday and a magical experience.

It’s 11.30pm, you’ve just enjoyed a sumptuous meal, a couple of drinks in the hotel bar and are preparing for a six-mile walk round a rugged, deserted island off the beautiful coastline of Connemara.

So naturally the sensible thing to do is to head off to bed to make sure you’re well-rested for the rigours of the next day, isn’t it?
Well, no actually. Not while hotel owner Brian Hughes is happily hammering away at the keys of a genuine Steinway grand piano in the hotel bar surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd of fellow guests and locals.

Instead you stay up, enjoy the craic, chat away merrily to your new-found friends and then collapse into bed with a smile on your face.
And you STILL wake up feeling fresh, fortified and looking forward to donning the walking boots and heading off for that island.
For this is no ordinary holiday — and it starts off at no ordinary hotel.

In short we’re embarking on a walking tour of the beautiful Connemara coastline and some of the history-filled islands just a short ferry ride away.
But it’s more ... much more than that.

If you don’t fancy six-mile walks and are tempted to stop reading now — don’t. For this is one magical experience that will make you forget all the cares you had when you set-off for your holiday break.

Take the starting point for instance. The Abbeyglen Castle Hotel, perched on the picturesque Sky Road that heads out of the bustling town of Clifden some 90 minutes from Galway city.

Built by Clifden’s founder John D’Arcy in 1832 it is an architectural gem and commands fine views over the nearby harbour.
But its true secret lies within. Rarely due you find a hotel that combines pure luxury with a wonderful laid-back, soothing atmosphere that sees you totally relaxed within minutes of walking in the door.

Add to that a wonderful selection of dishes in the restaurant, the most immaculate en-suite rooms, a sauna plus manager Brian’s impromptu (but nightly) performances and you have the ingredients for total relaxation that not even the most exotic locations in the world can match.
Surely it can’t get any better? Wrong. It can, and it does.

For this is just the start of the Connemara Walking Safari — a little-known holiday experience whose fame has spread chiefly by word-of-mouth but which is praised to the heavens by everyone who has had the good luck to take part.

Next day the adventure really begins. After a hearty breakfast (individually cooked to order) Brian introduces guide Gerry MacCloskey — one of Ireland’s foremost archaeological experts and a walking encyclopaedia of Connemara’s landscape and history.

It is Brian who will guide you as you head for the islands of Inishturk, Inishbofin, Inishark and the stunning fjord of Killary harbour.

Itineraries vary depending on weather conditions and the length of the tour (five and seven-days are available) but in reality the exact route you take really doesn’t matter.

In a party of between four and 24 people you head off aboard a local ferry to the first port of call and then indulge in a leisurely walk around the island — stopping off for a lunch of salmon, sandwiches, fruit and all manner of local goodies on the beach before washing it down with a glass of wine and heading off again for the local guesthouse to wash, shower and change for the evening.

All the while Gerry is pointing out local landmarks and natural features and relating the history of the area as well as fielding a series of questions from the party.

“How do the islanders earn their living?”
“When was the island first inhabited?”
“What’s that over there?”
“How cold is it in winter?”
And then there’s the other comments.
“Wow. Isn’t it beautiful?
“This is amazing. Look at that over there.”
“Can we stay a bit longer?”

One day of this and you’ve forgotten newspapers, cars, work, whether you turned the lights off at home and, yes, even what day it is. Day two as you head over to the next island and you’ve forgotten what year it is.

Ask Brian what it does to people.
“We had a German industrialist here one time,” he recalls. “He was a man whose every waking hour was regimented by his diary.
“One day his wife came running towards me shouting: ‘Brian, Brian, my husband.’ I thought something had happened but then she said: ‘It’s my husband. He doesn’t know what day it is!’
“It gets people like that. You’re totally away from everything.”

Accommodation each evening is provided in local guesthouses where — as you can imagine — the welcome couldn’t be warmer.

Chose to relax by the fireside after a delicious meal or head down the local hostelry for a warming nightcap before retiring for the evening.

Each day is different — each island offering its own natural wonders, individual way of life and fascinating history.

Take Killary harbour. It’s a six-mile-long inlet which drives deep into the heart of Connemara and is Britain and Ireland’s only fjord.

The road that cuts along one side was built in 1846 during The Famine to give relief work to locals in return for food.

Man-made contours dot the landscape — a legacy of when the first inhabitants colonised the area and dug into the harsh landscape to provide the right environment for their crops.

Every so often you stumble upon a deserted stone cottage — still standing after almost 200 years but now just a handy shelter for the sheep that roam the hillsides.

The only crop from Killary harbour now are the mussels that are farmed in its deep waters — mussels that are a prized delicacy across the world.

Rain sometimes sweeps down as you walk but does anyone notice? Not with all this natural beauty laid out in front of you.

The final night sees a return to the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel for another night of luxury and Brian’s piano-playing.

Oh, and just in case your wondering, each day your luggage is taken ahead of you while you walk so it’s ready and waiting when you reach your final destination.

Even waterproof gear is provided. The only thing you have to provide is a pair of walking boots.

You could say it’s a holiday with a difference. But then you’d be wrong. It’s a holiday like no other — something everyone should experience at least once in their lives. And if you do, I’ll bet you’ll tell everyone you know.