The Auld Sod, Plan 9

We went to our rooms to find numerous bottles of water. As luxurious as Ashford is, it still falls prey to the vagaries of the local water system. Every so often, we were told, the water in County Galway is invaded by a local bacteria. Recent tests showed it “might” be present and so the phrase of the day for our two day stay was “Don’t drink the water.” For the next two days, we drank and brushed our teeth with bottled water. After a nap and a shower (perfectly safe, apparently), we donned our Sunday best and headed to the dining room.

Like much of Ashford Castle, the main dining room is resplendent with mahogany. The walls are covered with carved mahogany panels rising from the floor to a height of about ten feet where it is topped with a basket weave molding. Above that to a final ceiling height of about 16 feet, the walls are covered with a warm cream colored wall paper with a delicate floral pattern. The flat ceiling is criss-crossed with a dark oak lattice work trim with crown molding. Three small alcoves, each accommodating three or four tables, adjoin the main room. These have lower arched ceilings finished with the floral wall paper. The floors are covered with thick and intricately patterned Persian rugs. Wall sconces illuminate beautiful artwork on the walls. Great arched windows with wonderful views illuminate the room during the day. At night, huge Waterford crystal chandeliers bathe the room in a soft white light tinged with rainbow hues.

Dinner matched the setting. Service personnel were dressed in white tie and white gloves. The menu was varied and consisted of five full courses and a post dessert treat of petit fours served with perfect French roast coffee. After dinner, we walked around the castle for a while and then headed off to bed (these multi-course dinners last about two and a half hours and we finished after ten o’clock). Back at our room, we found chocolates and a decanter of mead, a honey based dessert wine, for which Galway is famous. We slept like royalty.

Morning brought more overcast skies but no rain. Breakfast is served beginning at 7:30am. We wandered down stairs at 7:00am and found that the side table in the bar lounge was covered with tall sterling silver coffee urns and fine china at one end and a lovely selection of scones and pastries at the other. We sat with our coffee looking out past the garden fountain at several small boats on the lake. At 7:30am on the dot, the dining room opened. As with all our breakfasts on this trip, there were tables with assorted pastries, fruit, cereals, cheeses, and salami. Helpful service staff, clad in pure white, dispensed eggs, omelets, that wonderful Irish bacon, roast beef, and ham.

Way too many calories later, we boarded our coach and set out for Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore is located in the Connamara region of County Galway. This area is known for its wonderful lakes and rivers…and fjords. As we drove along the mountains, on either side of us got closer and more vertical. Rock formations similar to the Burren began to appear. Occasionally the rocks would move. The sheep in this area were the same size and color as the rocks. The sun broke through just as we saw a glimpse of blue. It was the tip of the fjord. The mountains hugged ever closer until the road was a notch carved into the mountain side which went directly down into the fjord. At a wide spot, a tiny village clung precipitously. Now we were well along the fjord which was about a mile wide. On the far side, a similar notched road made its way along. We stopped at an overlook, where we saw numerous lobster traps. The fjord is fairly deep. According to our tour guide, during World War II, Ireland was neutral and American and German submarines were in this fjord at the same time making repairs. The Americans, the Germans, and the Irish all knew what was going on but nobody said anything. The fjord continued to widen and then we saw it on the far shore, Kylemore Abbey, peaking out of a wooded hillside adjacent to a quiet lake set back from the fjord. The Abbey started out life as Kylemore Castle, built between 1867 and 1871 by Mitchell Henry. After the untimely death of his wife, Henry built a beautiful gothic church about a quarter mile away along the shores of the bay in 1877. In the other direction he constructed a wonderful formal garden. In 1920 Irish Benedictine nuns took possession of the property and established an abbey and a girls’ secondary school. We crossed a long bridge and we were there. A grove of trees in the parking lot blocked or view until we walked out onto a smaller bridge to the main grounds. The view was stunning. The lake was absolutely still so the abbey was perfectly mirrored in the water. The abbey is constructed of light gray granite with both round and square turrets. It sits atop a great granite wall about twenty feet above the height of the lake.

Having determined that the stone bridge was quite strong and stable (at least a half dozen coaches worth of tourists were standing on it at the same time taking an exponentially greater number of photos) we entered the visitors center/gift shop/snackbar passed through a turnstile and made our way to the abbey. The asphalt path is fairly wide and affords wonderful views of the abbey exterior and the forested hills directly above it.

Inside you are able to view only a small number of rooms which have been preserved/restored to their Victorian splendor. The remainder are still used by the nuns and students as classrooms and dormitories. The rooms you see are gorgeous.

You enter through a great gallery hall. Unlike the castles, the walls are covered with dark brown oat and the floor is oak in a stunning parquetry. Dark red drapery matches the dark red velvet chairs and a circular sofa in the room’s center.

Much lighter is the dining room. The walls are painted cream white and accented in pale sage green. All the furniture, including the dining table, the great side table (set in its own little alcove) and the accent chairs and table, are of matching dark mahogany. The chair cushions are red velvet. The rug is another Persian wonder with hints of gold and red on a mostly sage green back ground that perfectly matched the wall accents. At the end of the room is a great curving bay window with hunter green drapes pulled back and secured by golden cords.

Much lighter still is the drawing room which has been restored to match the splendor of the original with beautiful rosewood furniture upholstered in the finest silk tapestry. The walls are painted a very pale yellow with slightly darker accents and appliqué panels. Carved serving tables abound. Floor to 12 foot ceiling windows let the light stream in through gauzy white curtains framed by great gold drapes. The floor was covered with a light teal blue Persian rug with a gold floral border that explodes at each corner into a twist of gilded vines. Lighting was from very ornate gold leaf chandeliers with etched glass globes.

But my favorite room was the Community Room. This room houses artifacts of the nearly 100 years the Irish Benedictine Nuns have been here. The room is bright but formal. The walls are painted in a very pale golden yellow. Alternating wide and narrow panels are covered in a patterned gold leaf wallpaper. Each panel is edged in wood trim painted cream white. Near the ceiling, a delicate painted vine wends its way around the room. Two great roman columns painted cream white support the ceiling and, at the end of the room, a small white fireplace with a gold leaf detailed screen is topped by a huge mirror. The floor, in stark contrast, is the dark mahogany parquetry. On the walls are paintings of the nuns who have been Mother Abbess over the years. Sealed behind glass are a beautiful illuminated hymnal and several other religious books. Atop one case is a stunning five panel painting on wood (quinquetych?). We finished looking around and decided to explore outside. As we walked out to the edge of the great wall and looked down at the lake…the sun came out.

Next: More Kylemore and our trip to “Inishfree”