Kyle's Ireland Trip: Week Ten - Trip to WestPort and Croagh Patrick

Kylemore Abby

On our journey to West Port in Ireland we made a few brief stops along the way. One of the stops that we made was to Kylemore Abby. This is a beautiful estate in Connemara. The monastery was build on the grounds of the home previously owned by Mitchell Henry. The private home was transformed into the monastery in the 1900's by Benedictine Nuns.

View from Croagh Patrick

The second stop that we made was at Croagh Patrick. This is one of the mountains that Ireland has to offer. The main purpose for Croagh Patrick is strongly tied to religion. Many people climb to the top of Croagh Patrick each year to attend church. At certain times each year there is an influx of people that visit this religious mountain to attempt the climb. I was given the opportunity to climb it myself. The climb itself was a very long and slow going process. At the beginning of the climb when you first see the mountain it does not seem like it will be much of a problem. The challenge begins when you have made it past this first quarter of the climb. This is when the gradient of the climb begins to steepen and the further you go the steeper it seems to get, but do not fret because there as some nice flat spots along the way to caught your breathe. After you reach the halfway mark on the mountain yet another challenge presents itself. This challenge is tackling the smaller loose rocks along the steepest part of the mountain. The steepest part of the Croagh Patrick is last 100 yard to the top, which seem to be at a near vertical climb. After you finish this portion of the mountain you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the Irish countryside. Then you begin the final challenge of the mountain, which is to traverse back down the mountain. The time that I was able to complete my ascent and descent of Croagh Patrick, took around 3 hours. As everyone wander back into the bus after their climb we all sat with sore and tired legs to our final destination of West Port City.

Bridge along the Greenway

During the second day in West Port, Zayne and myself rented some bikes and rode them to the next town of New Port. We took the Great Western Greenway, which is a path that is only open to people walking or riding bikes through the countryside. The views that we say on this journey, were mostly of green pastures and lots of sheep grazing. The greenway trail that we took to New Port was roughly 14 miles round trip. As we finished our bike ride to New Port our day was pretty much over and we had to return back to our home away from home back in Spiddal.

More Travel Experiences to Come

Kyle Halsted