The Auld Sod, Iteration 8

We made our way out of the town of Galway and headed inland. Gradually the rolling fields with their ubiquitous stone walls were replaced with a more forested terrain…beautiful rolling hills covered in trees opening to velvet green pasture areas. I half expected to see medieval knights in full armor on magnificent steeds engaged in battle or, perhaps, Robin Hood eluding the Sheriff of Nottingham. The imagery wasn’t that far off. We rounded a corner and, exiting a complete canopy of trees, we saw a broad expanse of green, the golf course at Ashford, and beyond we could see Lough Corrib, Ireland’s second largest lake. And then we made a sweeping turn to the right and the 13th Century just popped up right before our eyes…Ashford Castle.

As I started to write this chapter of my journey, I got to the end of the previous paragraph and stopped, and sat, and had to think about how to describe Ashford. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then my mental images would fill several volumes. It is stunning. If you had never seen a castle but had read of Camelot and Ivanhoe and Galahad, the image you would likely conjure would be Ashford. It is a great stone edifice and it loomed up before us. It sits on the banks of the River Cong where the Cong empties into Lough Corrib. To get to the Castle, you cross the Cong over a stone bridge with great arched stone towers affixed with heavy green iron gates at each end. It gave the appearance of crossing a moat. Once across, you enter a beautiful courtyard which, on the day of our arrival, was littered with Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Mercedes, and one lonely BMW ( I guess they let the riff raff in). To the right was another smaller tower gate which led outside the castle’s low stone wall to a large expanse of grass with a large concrete circle. We thought this might be some ancient monument…until the helicopter landed, and several guests made their way in. Looking back to our left, we could see a tourist boat called The Spirit of Inisfree which can take you down the last few hundred yards of the Cong River and out into the lake. We walked toward the main entrance marveling at the great stone towers that seemed to be everywhere. As we approached two great oaken doors, two gentlemen in white tie and tails and white gloves, no less, opened the doors and welcomed us inside.

The interior of Ashford Castle can basically be summed up in one word…mahogany. The walls, the ceilings, the hand rails, the stairs, even the bulk of the custom furniture and nearly all the antiques were made of the finest mahogany. Much of it was intricately carved and all of it was beautifully stained and highly polished. This place created a big hole in a rainforest when it was being built. About the only things that weren’t mahogany were the great stone fireplaces. Large works of art and several great mirrors hung on the walls and the finest Persian rugs were under foot

We were escorted up to our room which, while beautiful, had an interior door to an adjoining room and we could hear the quiet conversation next door. Joan is a very light sleeper, and so she went off to see if anything could be done. I guarded the baggage and looked around. The large flat screen TV was on with a message welcoming Joan and I, by name, to Ashford Castle. Joan hadn’t been gone more that three minutes when the screen made a slight “boink” sound and went blank. Within seconds Joan had returned with new room keys. When we entered our new room (two doors down) this TV greeted us as well. The room was very comfortable with a sitting table and two large wingback chairs. It was painted in beautiful cream and rose colors with mahogany trim everywhere. We overlooked the entry courtyard and had a wonderful view of the entry bridge and the River Cong.

We left our bags and went exploring. Back downstairs we really began to take in our surroundings. The entry atrium opens to the right to the business/concierge area. This room had a stone fireplace and four small tables with chairs. If you had to wait for assistance (highly unlikely) you rested comfortably. A beautifully carved mahogany archway to the left led you to a long open hallway. Opposite the archway was a large open lounge, separated from the hallway by an ornately carved mahogany rail, with numerous overstuffed chairs and couches. To the left was a bar that looked as if it had been carved from a single piece of mahogany. The lounge had a vaulted ceiling covered with carved mahogany tiles. On the far side of the lounge, two story high windows overlooked the main garden. To the left of the bar, tucked in a corner was the magnificent dining room (more about this later). Stepping into the lounge we looked back and up to a second story overlook, the walls covered with photos of the famous visitors who have stayed here. We walked down the hall to a second room in which eight foot high china cabinets displayed historic serving pieces, china and crystal (Waterford, of course) which had been used by the castle over the centuries for state dinners. A little farther down the hall, I looked to my right and, to my delight, there was an inglenook. An inglenook is a small sitting area (nook) usually recessed into a main wall. This one was about six feet wide and four feet deep. On the back wall a small brick fireplace, to the sides, built-in mahogany benches with seating pads. What a lovely place to quietly sit and sip a cognac with your significant other. The hall ended in a second smaller dining area which was available for large private parties. The rain, which had been on again off again all day, had stopped and so we went out back to the main garden, known as the Terraced Garden.

The Terraced Garden is very large and formal, but simple. It is longer than a football field and half again as wide. The perimeter to the left is a 10 foot high stone wall which runs from the castle to a two story tall half circle stone tower rounded outward. The inward facing curvature was designed for defense by archers who could fire through small slits in the wall. Running the length of the garden, from the tower, is a smaller stone wall with a number of stairway passages through to Lough Corrib which glistens some 100 feet beyond. The interior of the walls are lined with roses. Walkways encircle the perimeter and lead to the center of the garden and a wonderful large fountain which sits in the middle of a 50 foot diameter reflecting pool. As you walk out of the castle, the view of the garden, fountain, and lake beyond, is both breathtaking and serene. We walked to the lake side of the garden and looked out. On a point, some 100 yards to our right, we saw a living breathing postcard picture. It was a fisherman, wearing a tweed hat and rain gear, sitting in an Adirondack chair, completely mindless of the rain. To the right were two paths. The smaller curving one led into a forested area along the lake. The larger straight one led to the other gardens (more later). At this point we turned around and looked back at the castle…it is HUGE!

Your initial view of Ashford is a tip of the iceberg experience. What you see is the end of the castle, and because of the angles of the walls you can’t see how big it is…and how diverse.

Time for a little history lesson. The castle was started in 1228 by the de Burgos Family after the defeat of the O’Connors of Connaught. In 1589, English Lord Bingham seizes power and adds a fortified enclave. In 1789, the Oranmore and Browne families add a French style chateau. In 1853 Sir Benjamin Lee Guiness adds two Victorian-style extensions. In 1868, Lord Arduilan (Guiness’s son) rebuilds the entire west wing. SO…from the first building there have been four extensions and a rebuild. And even without a blueprint it’s easy to see what’s what, as roof lines change from medieval turrets to Victorian peaked roofs. As you move from section, the size and shapes of the windows and their treatments change. The great commonality is the ivy creeping up the sides in hues of green and red, Mother Nature showing no preference as to style. And while one might expect that such a pedigree would yield an architectural nightmare, the fact is it is…beautiful! And if you look at the mixture of sizes and shapes of the buildings in almost every charming Irish town, Ashford may well be the most “Irish” of Ireland’s castles.

It started to rain again and we were tired. It was time for a nap and dinner was a few hours away.

Next: More Ashford and Kylemore Abbey

The Auld Sod, 7th Edition

We left the Cliffs of Moher and headed north along the west coast of Ireland. The amazing black limestone that creates the cliffs extends up the coast in dramatic fashion in an area known as the Burren. The Burren, from the Irish “bhoireann,” means stony place. And stony it is. As we drove along, suddenly all the topsoil and vegetation we had been seeing…stopped! We entered this otherworldly area that looked like a cross between a moonscape and a lava plain. As far as the eye could see there was flat black fractured rock. From the road to the sea the rock swept gently downward, the fractures growing in size and depth until it dropped straight off like a mini Cliffs of Moher. Across the road the rock swept gently upward to the base of a hill. The hill had eroded such that it looked like a series of giant stairs or the side of a Mayan pyramid. If you didn’t know what you were looking at you might think you were looking at a really beat up asphalt parking lot. Despite the lack of soil, flowers abound. Every crack was filled with tiny yellow and red and blue flowers. Tiny cypress plants mimicked massive trees…Nature’s Bonsai. Nearby were succulents usually found only in Mediterranean climates. The juxtaposition of the black rock and the colorful plants in every crack made it look like a vast black cloak sewn together with the most colorful of thread. After many pictures, we journeyed on.

The Burren goes on for miles. As we road along we spied a castle ruin sitting off to our left on the Burren cliffs above the ocean. We were told that the locals from Galway had taken over the place and turned it into a regional theater. We didn’t have time to stop but I can only imagine the experience of seeing a play in a venue like that.

The City of Galway rose in the distance. Galway is a seafaring town and we drove along next to the port with its dozens of fishing boats nearby and small freighters in the distance. We made a hard right turn and there, looming above the town, was the Galway Cathedral. Officially known as The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas, the cathedral sits on a small hill with its great green Renaissance dome towering 145 feet in the sky. Built between 1958 and 1965, it sits upon the site of the former city jail…redemption replaces incarceration. Built with attention to classical detail, this great stone church offers its visitors a virtual time machine experience. To look at this spotless edifice is to get an idea of what the other great churches in Ireland may have looked like in their youth. The Cathedral has four great rose windows and the walls are adorned with wonderful mosaics and the floor is inlayed with at least 10 different kinds of stone and marble. The pews are of carved mahogany stained a warm russet color. The aisles along side the nave are separated from the pews by a series of great stone arches. There are magnificent stained glass windows absolutely everywhere. The choir loft is unique. The choir and organist are on a mezzanine level looking down on the congregation. Directly above them on a separate level sit the pipes of the huge organ…stunning! The altar sits on a large raised area made of cream colored travertine. The access to the altar area is through wonderful sculptured gates made of polished brass. We took pictures, lit candles, and knelt and said a prayer. I know God is supposed to be everywhere, but I’ll bet he (she?) enjoys spending time here. You could make a day of this place.

Back on the coach everyone was eager to continue as we were now on our way to one of the highlights of our tour… Ashford Castle.

Next: Ashford Castle