One Small Thing: Killybegs and Around

Wednesday morning we packed up and left Letterkenny. The car was loaded down once again with all of our luggage. We headed to Ardara as Kim had visited there before and knew that there were a number of woolen mills and excellent shopping.

We stopped first at Triona Design. We were greeted by Carmel, who showed us to the looms and explained how cloth was made from the fleece stage to completion. Unfortunately, there were no weavers at work when we visited so we didn’t see the looms at work. As Carmel, was chatting, a beautiful coat caught my eye. It was blue, so no surprise that it did. My goals was to purchase a woolen sweater from Ireland, so although I knew that was what I wanted, Carmel set the coat aside for me as well.

I successfully, and easily, chose the sweater that I wanted. I then hummed and hawed over the coat. I tried it on and really liked it. Then I noticed that the same coat came in green. I tried it on. Loved it. It was a perfect fit. Glancing at the price, I immediately pulled the brakes on even thinking about the coat. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I had a party of people with me who were encouraging me to purchase the coat. The battle was real.

I did purchase the sweater. And a hat. And left it at that.

Kim and Arlyn also purchased sweaters for themselves. We left the shop happy but questioning how we were going to fit all of our purchased in an already overstuffed car and in suitcases that had no room for more.

We continued along the main street of Ardara and stopped in at Nancy’s Pub where I had Guinness Stew and Kim and I had our first Guinness while in Ireland.

Then it was off to more shops. I purchased a linen shirt and my first every Ness purchase, thanks to Kim’s guiding hand and her love of the company. Kim was in her element when she noticed the store that sold Ness products and enjoyed the thrill of selecting her newest Ness purse.

We travelled along to the river and Kim and Arlyn and Abby visited a store that sold locally created items.

By the time we were heading out of town, Kim and Arlyn had decided that they needed to head back to Triona’s and I had decided that I needed that coat! So off we went. I am now a proud owner of that coat. I am also questioning how all of my purchases will fit into my luggage. Good thing I bought a new purse to help me with that.

After our morning of shopping, we headed to our cottage just outside of Killybegs. This cottage was the exact ideal Irish cottage that you would imagine if asked to do so. It was a renovated barn with an addition on the long side of it. The cottage was littered with unique touches. There were a lot of homemade wooden items created by Sean, the owner of the cottage. Fires were burning in the fireplaces to greet us upon our arrival. We were all in heaven.

Kim and I headed out for a walk to the beach at Fintra Bay. About a 10 minute walk from the cottage, we were given instructions to head down the hill, through the holiday homes, past the potholes, climb over a bank and we would be there. Although inventive instructions, they proved to be accurate and we made it to the beach. It was fairly rainy by the time we made it to the beach, so we had a wee look around and then headed back to the cottage.

Kim and I then headed out to get groceries and grab pizza for dinner. After dinner we enjoyed a rousing game of scrabble and some tea. This capped off another great day in Ireland.

Thursday we planned to explore a small part of western Donegal. Kim and I had mapped out at loose route to follow. We started by heading east of Killybegs toward the town of Kilcar. We stopped in at a woolen mill (!) In Kilcar. This time, the gentleman at the front desk invited us to head upstairs to watch weavers at work. We all trudged up the stairs of the mill and into the room where there were a number of looms and three men working away on them. The first thing that you notice is the noise. Using the looms is loud work. It is also rather physical. The first gentleman explained a bit what he was doing on the loom. The second gentleman, left his loom and took us to a couple of different parts of the mill. He showed us the fleece room. Humongous bags of dyed fleece come into the mill ready for carding. He also took us to the part of the mill where a woman was preparing the wool for the men to weave. Huge spools were being organized in groups 10 threads and knotted to keep them in place. Different colours are used and sorted in order of the specific type of pattern on the cloth that the weaver desires to create. The entire process is fascinating. It was wonderful to see cloth being made locally and to see craftsmanship continues to be appreciated.

We continued our drive to the village of Teelin. We headed to the pier there to see if we could book an angling expedition. We were told to look for Paddy. Unfortunately, the pier was rather quiet and Paddy was nowhere to be seen.

So we were off to the big goal of the day: Slieve League. Everyone has heard of the famous Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. Slieve League is higher than Clilffs of Moher, they drop 600 metres into the sea and are the highest in Europe. We drove past the car park and made our way up winding roads to the farthest spot one could drive. The views were spectacular. We spent time admiring the ocean and the views. There are walking paths that lead up the cliffs even further. The paths are also lined with steps made of stone. We continued on a climb farther and farther up. We left Arlyn behind and continued. Then Calvin and I left Kim and Abby at the edge of one cliff and we continued climbing higher. Our views were spectacular and it was exhilerating to climb so high and look out over the expanse of the ocean.

After visiting Slieve League, we headed to the Cultural Centre at the base of the cliffs, which was really just a man who could provide information. We all hopped on wifi as our cottage, lovely as it was, did not have any internet or wifi! We received some information from the cultural leader (who I noticed was also working in the kitchen) and headed out to find the court tomb in the countryside.

The court tomb is a circular stone structure, a chamber tomb. It is megalithic and thought to be used as gallery graves and for rituals. Across the road from the court tomb was yet anther woolen mill. And of course, we had to visit.

Further on, we visited the Folk Village in Glencolumbkille. This village was the brainchild of Father McDyer in 1967. He noticed that the area was lacking in prosperity and wanted to keep people in Ireland and thought of a way to attract visitors. The Folk Village is made up of replicated thatched cottages of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are decked out appropriately for their time periods. Abby got a hold of the guide book and lead us around the village, reading to us about each of the homes and the daily lives of the inhabitants.

On our way back, we stopped by a farmer’s field which contained some dolmens, which are megalithic tombs. The generally have large flat stones laid across upright stones thought to be used as sites for burials. It is so interesting to see these ancient tombs and structures that are just standing in farmer’s fields with sheep and cattle grazing around them.

At home, we made a dinner and sat in the sitting room and enjoyed Titanic!

Friday morning, Calvin, Arlyn, and I drove down to the pier and Calvin got to do what he had been dreaming about and talking about since we landed in Ireland - go fishing. Calvin had found some fishing rods in our cottage. We all went to the tackle shop and we worked together to wind new line onto his rod. Calvin got some new lures and he enjoyed an hour or so of fishing off the pier. Calvin showed Arlyn and me one of the small fish that he caught. As we were chatting, Calvin told us that he caught about 10 more fish but didn’t bother to show us his haul.

We enjoyed lunch at home and then spent the afternoon at the beach on Fintra Bay. The tide was really far out and we were able to explore a bit in the pools that had been left behind from the last retreating tide. Irish beaches do not encourage a person to wear the same apparel as we do back home. I wore long pants, boots, wool socks, a hoodie, my raincoat, and a wool hat. I sat in a fold out chair and worked a bit on my blog.

Abby began digging and discovering. She found a beautiful wee starfish and then began her discovery of multiple sea urchins. After collecting a number of them, we placed them back in the shallow part of the water and marvelled at them as they slowly dug themselves back into the sand until they disappeared from sight. It was a really fascinating thing to witness.

Abby and Calvin ventured into the ocean a bit but definitely did not swim. It was just way too cold.

Our last evening in Killybegs, we ate out at the local hotel. I enjoyed some locally caught salmon and a beer from St. James’s Gate, Dublin! Once again, we have enjoyed a fantastic few days in this part in Ireland. We were all rather sad to see the end of our time in Killybegs and in our wonderful cottage. We were all, however, looking forward to our next stop, Ballycastle, which would be our last cottage in Ireland and the final stop in our 6 week adventure!

My new hat.