Ireland day 0552. Monday 03 April 2023- Athlone and Belvedere
Commentary
(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).
Val had a day off work so we decided to make the most of it and visit somewhere new.
A quick look at the map reminded us we’d never visited the town of Athlone, which lies more or less at the absolute centre of Ireland – astride the River Shannon (which we also hadn’t explored properly). It only took 90 minutes to drive there, but when we arrived we found that our two main reasons for going – the art gallery and the castle – were both rather inconveniently closed on a Monday. Revealing a distinct over-reliance on spontaneity on our part. Still, we had a look in the church, which was impressive with its huge spires (it’s visible for miles around and is often mistaken for a cathedral) and a good wander round the town on both the western (Connaght) and eastern (Leinster) sides of the river.
It was pleasant enough but perhaps not looking quite its best on a grey windswept day like today. Still, the mighty river Shannon was indeed very impressive in size – I don’t think I’ve seen a river of this size anywhere in the British Isles before – and we did find a nice café to get some welcome hot refreshments half way round.
Once the parking meter ran out we decided not to linger in Athlone but instead to head over to nearby Mullingar, to have a look at the Belvedere stately home and estate. That turned out to be a absolute gem – a bit off the beaten track, so pretty quiet on a day like today – but stunning grounds with pathways, on the shores of Lough Ennell – which is huge in scale, in the same way that the Shannon seems to be. There was just time to have a look round the house, which has a fantastic terrace at the front (pictured at the top in the banner image), looking over the lough. Then a good look round the grounds and at the Jealous Wall folly – all of which is steeped in history, some of which is recorded in the picture notes below.
Then a quick drive back to Malahide via Mullingar (which looked quite nice as we passed through) and soup and toast for tea. A perfect, and unexpected, day out and sincere thanks once again to Val for doing all the driving
Today’s photos (click to enlarge)
Interactive map
(No map today)