On arrival I was warmly greeted by Geraldine and given a very thorough tour of the cottage. Geraldine’s place is beautifully situated on the shore of Kylemore Lough. The cottage is kept very spic and span and is well equipped and spacious. In advance I was a little concerned about the parking space by the road but it was easy to tuck my car in well away from the traffic. Although the road the cottage is on is the main one through this part of Connemara in May at least it wasn’t too busy during the day and had almost zero traffic at night.
The cottage is a well situated base for trips around the area and of course Kylemore Abbey is less than a mile away. I like Lettergesh Beach (though it almost disappears at high tide). The other side of Clifden is the spot where Alcock and Brown crash landed after the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic by plane in 1919. At the same site some years earlier Marconi set up the first transatlantic wireless station which was a huge undertaking for its day. The Alcock and Brown marker and the few remains of the transmitter site can be reached on a 1 mile path from the side of the main road south of Clifden. There are numerous information boards - and, in May, many larks on the ground and singing overhead - at the site.
From in front of the cottage see if you can spot the tiny stick figures of the hikers on top of Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park. Diamond Hill is the mountain at the right hand end of the loch.
And if you get a clear night check out the starry skies - the cottage is in a very dark site.
The cottage is great. I hope to be back sometime soon.