Westport is a lovely little town. We cycled south through amazing passes to an abbey that used to be run by Benedictine nuns as an international girls school. Originally, the place was the summer estate of a wealthy English politician who built it as a gift to his wife. The place had 33 guest bedrooms. Of course, the kitchens were situated as far as possible from the dining room, so that guests would not be upset with the sounds and doors of cooking. Pity the poor servants who had to haul all of that food across the castle! The original owner's wife died young - she caught dysentery while on vacation in Egypt - so her husband built a miniature cathedral in her memory, but used angels instead of gargoyles for decoration.
We rode something called " the bog road" which was like a giant rocky swamp. The locals excavate peat from the swamp by digging trenches up to 5' deep, and then letting the stuff dry. It becomes very light, so then they bag it and sell it for fuel. We have been in a couple of pubs that were heated with peat stoves. The bogs are very atmospheric - they feel very remote, and we would cycle for a long time without seeing a vehicle or another person. We kind of expected to get attacked by dwarves or orcs. Or by out of work extras from The Game of Thrones.
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