Having been brought up on the coast I am always drawn to it for a day out but I have never really hankered to live coastal again, there are however two places that I could easily live, both in the beautiful county of Sligo. One is Lissadel, but it is close to Sligo town with quite a lot of new buildings and a lot of holiday homes.
The next headland is Mullaghmore a few miles on towards Donegal. Again it has a lot of holiday homes, but to me it still retains the feeling of a small coastal village, plus it has one of the best restaurants in the West of Ireland.
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| Fresh from the sea. |
Ethna's, renowned for seafood, all locally caught, she also serves some chicken dishes, the chicken is Organic as are the salads, produced by Tattie Hoaker Organic farm just five k away from the restaurant.
The food is simple delicious, and to us not expensive for Ireland, in fact the prices are on a par to a good class restaurant in Spain. However the wine is expensive. However it was a birthday celebration for Simon who has now reached the official retirement age.
Yes, I would want to live here, even if it does only have a shop that is only open during the tourist season.
The harbour is lovely, and quaint.
The fishermen still go out to catch a few fish
and the small fishing boats go out for the daily catch.
It is a sheltered harbour, surrounded by mountains and the views are outstanding.
At one time it was a thriving farming community, farmed in a sustainable way, the only things these people had to buy were tea, sugar and tobacco. Now most of the land is unused apart from a few sheep and a few cattle, yet it is good land, and a mild climate.
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| Wild Thyme. |
A variety of wild plants grow here including sea thrift and wild thyme.
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| Classiebawn Castle shadowed by Benbulben. |
It also has a castle, Classiebawn Castle, built by Lord Palmerston in the 19th century, it is now owned by an Irish person, the first time the estate has been owned by an Irish person since the lands were seized from the O'Conor's of Sligo in the 17th century.
It is also known for the assassination in 1979 of Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Directly behind Mullaghmore are the Dartry Mountains,
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| Benbulben. |
with Ben Bulben being the most famous and possible the most photographed mountain in Ireland.
It's a stunning area.
The garden is looking good and at last the first roses are now in bloom, the outside strawberries will be ready soon as well as the gooseberries.
Cauliflowers are now beginning to form their curds, we have already harvested the first one, I just hope they don't come all together.
We live in a beautiful country Anne. I wish my Cauliflowers were like yours. What's the secret?
ReplyDeleteYes I agree Dave, Ireland is a beautiful country.
DeleteCauliflowers, make sure the soil is warm enough and plant the young plants deep, up to the first set of true leaves, cauliflowers don't like to be checked by temperature so do well in a tunnel or with a cloche outside. They like fertile soil, they are greedy plants.
Happy birthday to Simon. You've certainly sold these places to me, they look absolutely beautiful. I sometimes wish I lived by the coast, but then my favourite place is the Yorkshire Dales, green as far as the eye can see, and I'm a Yorkshire lass through and through.
ReplyDeleteI love watching escape to the county, especially when they feature Yorkshire, I have never been there! In fact there are few places that I have been in the UK, the great north south divide I guess, I really only know the west and south of England having been brought up in Dorset. I'm too old to go traveling now so I guess I will never get to know my homeland except through TV programs.
DeleteAlso my favorite show Anne. My, it certainly is beautiful and i'd love an extended holiday in a quiet village in Ireland. What a pity i dont eat seafood. Everything about it, the boats, the jetties, etc enthrall me but i just dont want to eat it. Im a great fishing companion, you get to go home with all the catch. Thanks for the blog adventure.
ReplyDeleteI love seafood, I could give up meat with no problem even though we produce much of our own meat, but given the choice it would be seafood every time.
DeleteI like Escape to the Country as it takes me to places I know I will never get to.
Happy birthday Simon! Dinner looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteIreland is high on the list of places to go if we ever take a break.
I think you would love it, it is very much like Galicia. Dinner was super, and actually the main course, the seafood was cheaper than we have paid in Spain! The wine however is far more expensive, it was a decent Rioja but it was 25euros!!
DeleteWow! What a beautiful place, the castle with Benbulben in the background is a gorgeous photo. The sea food looks delicious. Belated happy birthday wishes to Simon! xxx Lauren x
ReplyDeleteAs you know we both love Co. Sligo.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. If we ever consider moving......
ReplyDeleteYes, Ireland is very beautify and the west coast is very similar to the N.W of Spain, plus properties are cheaper!
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