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OUGHTERARD |
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If you're heading for the dramatic walking country of the mountains,
or if you plan to base yourself at Clifden, the road to take from Galway
is the N59 through Oughterard. It makes the easiest hitch and the most
pleasant cycle ride from Galway, avoiding the boring strip development
down to Spiddal and taking you instead along the shore of island-flecked
Lough Corrib , past crumbling ruins. These include the main sixteenth-century
O'Flaherty fortress of Aughnanure Castle , two miles south of Oughterard
(mid-June to mid-Sept daily 9.30am-6.30pm; £2/2.54). A six-storey tower
house standing on a rock island surrounded by a fast-flowing stream,
Aughnanure was one of the strongest fortresses in the country at the
time of Cromwell's blockade of Galway during 1652-54.
OUGHTERARD ( Uachtar Árd , "Upper Height") itself is a small town
serving fishing-based tourism, from where you can rent boats on the
lough or take a trip to the uninhabited island of Inchagoill (boat trip
lasts 1hr 30min and costs around £8/10.16; you can book at the tourist
office tel 091/552808 or call Corrib Cruises in Cong tel 092/46029). The
island is a magical place, with a couple of evocative ruined churches:
St Patrick's and the twelfth-century Teampall na Naomh (Church of the
Saints), which has interesting carvings and a superb Romanesque doorway.
Approached from the east, Oughterard can beguile you into thinking that
Connemara is going to be a populated, thriving, developed place, but
arriving from the west, it seems a lush, green oasis, the beech trees
that line the banks of the river sumptuous and luxuriant after the
barren wilds of the bog.
The town's tourist office is on Main St (April-Sept daily 9am-6pm;
Oct-March Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm; tel 091/552808). There's no shortage of
B&Bs in both the centre and the surrounding areas: the popular Jolly
Lodger , on Bridge St (tel 091/552682; £40-55/50.79-69.84) is the best
option in the centre of town, while on the banks of the Owenriff River
is Deirdre Forde's pleasant and comfortable Camillaun (tel 091/552678;
£40-55/50.79-69.84). To enjoy the impressive countryside, however, it is
preferable to stay in one of the fine houses outside the town, and the
best of these include: the elegant Waterfall Lodge (tel 091/552168;
£40-55/50.79-69.84), which has private fishing in the grounds and does
good child reductions, and Lakeland Country House (tel 091/552121;
£40-55/50.79-69.84) just over a mile out of town in Portacarron on the
lake shore. There are three fine hotels in Oughterard: Connemara Gateway
Hotel (tel 091/552328, sinnot@iol.ie ; £110-130/139.67-165.07), which is
cosy and welcoming despite its size; the Corrib House (tel 091/552329;
£70-90/88.88-114.28) whose somewhat basic rooms are more than made up by
its warm welcome and open turf fires; and the excellent Currarevagh
House (tel 091/552312; over £130/165.07) set in lush woodland on the
Lough Corrib shore. The town's hostel Canrawer House , signposted from
the Clifden end of the main street (tel 091/552388; canrawer@indigo.ie
), is popular with fishermen and travellers alike and is of an
impressively high standard; the rooms have en-suite bathrooms, the large
well-equipped kitchen is immaculate and the hostel has one of the few
Internet points in the area charging £1/1.27 for ten minutes.
The best place for breakfast is the Village Rest on Main Street, a café
by day and popular, reasonably priced restaurant by night; a few doors
up on Main Street is O' Fatharta's which has a similar menu. For an
evening meal it's worth trying the excellent restaurant beside River Run
Lodge (tel 091/552697); to get there follow Camp Street to the end, turn
left over the bridge and the restaurant is on the right.
Oughterard is the starting point of the Western Way (approximately 31
miles), which follows the lough shore northwest, heads through the Maam
Turks a couple of miles north of Maam and winds up in Leenane.
Alternatively, if you want a quick route north, there's a ferry
(£12/15.24 return ) to Cong in County Mayo twice daily during summer.
The main N59 road then takes you through the hamlets of MAAM CROSS (
Crois Mám ), where there's a craft shop, petrol station and a pub which
serves rather uninspiring food all day, and RECESS , where all you will
find is Joyce's bar and shop. Five miles further west, close in under
the rugged peaks of the Twelve Bens, is Ben Lettery An Óige hostel ,
Binn Leitrí Ballinafad (tel 095/51136), a cosy haven run by friendly
wardens, with a well-stocked shop; its location makes it one of the best
spots from which to strike off into the mountains. The nearby castle of
Ballynahinch was once the home of the land-owning Martin family and is
now a hotel with a bar - and food - open to non-residents (tel
095/31006, www.commerce.ie/ballynahinch/ ; over £130/165.07). On
Ballynahinch lake are the remains of an old O'Flahertie castle, known as
Martin's Prison after the use it was put to by Ballynahinch's most
famous son, Dick Martin - aka Humanity Dick (1754-1834). The story
behind the name is that Richard Martin, originally dubbed "Hairtrigger
Dick" because of his duelling prowess, spent his adult life campaigning
for animal rights, and any tenant he caught causing suffering to animals
was thrown into jail in the castle. Dick was known to have fought duels
on behalf of threatened animals, and when asked why he did so replied:
"Sir, an ox cannot hold a pistol." More constructively, he pushed
various acts through parliament protecting farm animals from
maltreatment and was instrumental in founding the RSPCA.
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