To reach Kylemore Abbey in County Galway ...

... the winding road took us through the Connemara National Park (under 'West') with stunning views of undulating plains, mountains, ....

... and lakes like mirrors ...

... and there it was ... Kylemore Abbey ... sheltered by the slopes of the Twelve Bens ...

The castle was built as a present for his wife by Mitchell Henry (1826 - 1911), a Manchester tycoon and later a Galway MP. After the deaths of his wife and daughter, he left Kylemore and the castle was sold

It became an abbey when Benedictine nuns, fleeing from Ypres in Belgium during World War I, sought refuge there. The nuns now run the abbey as a girls' boarding and day school ....

It is a fascinating place ... I am going so split the post into three ... the abbey, the Gothic Church which is a short walk along a treelined road, and the Victorian Walled Garden which is reached either by walking the one mile, or catching a shuttle bus (we caught the bus ... as with all these amazing places we visited .. more time is needed )

There are only three reception rooms open to the public ... the drawing room ..

... the dining room ...

... and the Gallery Hall with floor to ceiling beautifully carved oak walls and oak floors ... in one corner there is a 'prayer request book' for Sunday Mass ...

Pottery patterned with fuschias - which grow in abundance here - is made by the nuns and is used in the restaurant as well as for sale in the gift shop ...


Do you see the small tower in amongst the trees on the left hand side? ... that's our next stop .. the Gothic Church