March and April 2023, Week Twenty Two, Days Five-Seven.

Hello again everyone, I hope that this week is treating you well so far? I've been busy so far with my VO work, but today my health issues are flaring up and I am in considerable pain, so I'm trying to take it easy. In the meantime, I decided to try to catch up with this Blog a little more. I'd like to get Week Twenty-Two over with!

The Snug, part of the Talbot Hotel and Restaurant, Belmullet.

We were sad to leave our beautiful accommodation on the last day of our County Mayo trip, so decided to cheer ourselves up with another visit to the Talbot restaurant in Belmullet. On our first visit I had noticed The Snug, a small bar attached to the restaurant, and was happy to have another chance to see it. We enjoyed a pint of Guinness and a delicious late breakfast to fortify us for the road trip back to Inishowen. You can find out more about the Talbot Hotel and Seafood Restaurant HERE.

Last two pints of Guinness in County Mayo. For now!

Vegetarian and traditional Irish cooked breakfasts at the Talbot.

This was another wet day, so the views weren't quite as expansive as our trip south, but still beautiful, and we stopped in County Leitrim to see the Glencar Waterfall, made famous by William Butler Yeats in his poem ‘The Stolen Child’. It was very cold and wet at this point, but that meant that there weren't many people there, so we spent some time exploring the forest walk and enjoying the views of this impressive 50ft waterfall without any crowds to contend with.

Glencar Waterfall, County Leitrim.

Glencar Waterfall, County Leitrim.

Glencar Waterfall, County Leitrim.

I adored seeing the verdant growth and the way everything shines through the raindrops. It truly felt like a magical place, and I can see why Yeats was so drawn to it. Some of my favourite lines of poetry come from his poem The Stolen Child:

"Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand."

Hoping to be stolen by the faeries! Glencar Waterfall.

Forest Walk, Glencar Waterfall.

Forest Walk, Glencar Waterfall.

After our walk we warmed up a little at the TeaSHED Cafe, which also sells gifts, art, and some local specialty foods. Very much my kind of place! We had parked in the car park overlooking Glencar Lough, so we took our drinks to go, and sat enjoying the view of the mist and the hills framing the water. You can discover more about the waterfall and other things in the area HERE.

View across Glencar Lough.

After our full and fun-filled week, we had a quiet evening in, and a day of rest all Saturday. We loved what we saw of County Mayo, but it also felt good to be back in Inishowen and enjoying the familiar views from my own windows again. Gareth had to leave on the Sunday, and it is always sad to say goodbye, so I cheered myself up with some online retail therapy and booked my flights back to England at the end of April! It's good to have something to look forward to. ;-)