How to fulfil a resolution with a difference...
AS always, in 2016, I have been asked by many readers about my trips to Kinvara, County Galway, including one this week from an ex-pat Glossopian who would like to spend a week by the Atlantic Seaboard, while back to see his folks.
‘We’ve always meant to go, and I’ve read all your articles about Ireland as your column gets forwarded to me; it’s my number one New Year’s Resolution.
‘Please can you tell us the best places to stay, eat, and drink, and of course watch some wildlife?’
The answer is obviously yes, and in no particular order, here is some of the information you will need to fulfil a resolution with a difference.
Firstly, you need to check out www. shamrockcottages.co.uk because the best way to experience ALL of the above criteria is to book a place of your own for one week.
Matthew Boyd, who has run the company for over 30 years, is a good friend of mine, and his cottages are mostly in amazing locations with stunning sea views, especially those on the West Coast; and by pure luck a number are on the newly-created Wild Atlantic Way, which runs from Donegal down to Cork, taking in some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Europe along the Way.
The idea of hiring a cottage is that it gives you a base and you will find everything you need literally on the doorstep. I’ve stayed in around 20 of Matthew’s properties and some of them several times but, book your own, take a punt in the dark, and discover your own Irish idyll, but do base your choice on the description of the cottage itself, the location and any other snippets Matthew whets your appetite with.
In my time, I’ve stayed in Rossadillisk, Omey Island, Mason Island, Mamm Cross, Newquay, Cleggan and Roundstone, all in Galway’s Province of Connemara, and all truly unforgettable.
The place names are a few clues for you but, my advice for your first visit, would be to book anywhere on the West Coast within view of the shore; then find your own seafood chowder, trad music bar, sunsets to break your heart, peregrines on the wing and whales to carry you back home with a pile of stories of your own to tell me and our readers.
Take Omey Island, getting there is an adventure in its own right, as you can only drive across the half-mile strand twice a day when the tide is out, and yes, we have been caught out and ended up with seaweed on the bonnet and a gull floating by the driver’s window; we did accidentally unearth human bones in the dunes, spotted a pod of minke whales from the highest part of the island and nearly get blown away ‘Kansas-style’ in a hurricane. And all of that in 24 hours, six Octobers ago.
Also watch this space, as I may be throwing open to the public one of our famous Kinvara tours to the amazing Cuckoo Fleadh in May and the Cruinniú na mBád in early August. In the meantime, give Matthew a ring on 01823 660126 and he will give you all the advice you need, or you can of course email me at sean.wood@talk21.com.
Finally, you must remember the Glossop Rugby Club, Galway breakfast. You need a sea view, a pint of Guinness, half-a-dozen oysters and soda bread with butter.
Savour the sea-scape, take a chew on the cheeky bi-valve on the way down, chomp into the bread and wash down with a mouthful of Arthur’s finest drop.
Then simply repeat the operation.