Kylemore Forest
Hey guys!
Quick question: Do you enjoy night life?
Dia dhuit!
Hello and welcome to more tales of Ireland!
Today I'll be talking about:
KYLEMORE GARDENS AND FOREST
If you haven't already read my previous post on Kylemore Abbey, go check it out!
I explain the history of the estate and tell a wonderful and heartbreaking love story between the two original owners, Mitchell and Margaret.
After exploring the castle and church, we headed down the green trail leading us deeper into the forest.
Soon we found The Ironing Stone or The Giant's Wishing Stone.
This large, upside-down kite shaped rock sits on one side of the trail and on the other is a huge hand, rising up from the earth.
Legend says if you stand with your back to the stone and throw a pebble over it, you will be granted a wish.
Of course we all had to try it, and it was much harder than it looked! The first time I tried, my pebble landed on my head.
But second times the charm!
All of our pebbles made it over and we all got our wishes!
In the middle of the forest was a beautiful Victorian walled garden. If I didn't know it was there, I could have walked right past it!
It was very well hidden in the dense trees and it felt like a secret.
There were a couple green houses in the garden and I snuck a grape from one of them.
It was very sour.
Very sour.
A darling cottage for the Groundskeeper was tucked into the corner of the garden.
It had teal trim and a matching teal bench! Lauren loved it. We went into the cottage and on the wall was the best painting I have ever seen.
The Celebrated Bulldog "DICK STONE"
Just look at his face.
It is amazing.
We left the garden and entered back into the forest!
This time it was darker and colder than before, and the trees created a canopy that barley let in the light!
We followed the path and I'm pretty sure we saw some fairy houses!
Because it rains so often in Ireland and it's so humid, everything grows like crazy!
That includes mushrooms.
I love mushrooms.
And in Ireland, they get HUGE.
I personally find plants super interesting and there were so many neat plants and trees to look at!
From mossy holes in trunks that look like passage ways, to actual passage ways, to white climbing vines, there were so many things to take pictures of!
And I took a lot of pictures!
But we were getting tired, and decided to wrap it up.
We finished up our time in the forest and garden and said goodbye!
I had a wonderful time and I loved hearing the stories tied to the estate and castle!
Later that night, we stopped in Galway to get dinner and to see a little night life!
The twisting, narrow, cobblestone streets were full of musicians and performers. We stopped and danced for a while to the awesome music!
There was a Hurling game there that night, so there were a lot of people!
Lauren and I were hit on by a few men who were obviously very drunk.
They said they liked Lauren's yellow rain boots.
We stayed in the city until it got dark and then headed back to our B&B!
So there you have it! The rest of our day at Kylemore as well as a little time in Galway!
Let me know in the comments what you think of plants! I'd love to hear your favorites!
Thanks so much!
- Desert Hare
