We visited Kylemore abbey and were blown away by its beautifully restored period rooms. Talking tableaus educated us about the abbey’s history, it builder (a well-to-do gentleman who erected it for his wife), the tragedy of her death soon after its completion, and its use today as a convent and spirituality center. The Victorian walled garden with its beautiful English style formal plantings of flowers, vegetables and herbs, the delightfully restored garden buildings, and the wooded acres with nature walks and rock gardens will surprise you around every turn.
This 1,000-acre estate also contains a beautiful neo-Gothic church and mausoleum where Mitchell and Margaret Henry are buried. We fed the pigs at lunch and petted the beautiful Connemara ponies. Instead of driving, we took a tour coach right from our hotel. The views of the Burren with its greenery that stretches for miles made the trip so much more enjoyable.
