This year, my dear man and I decided to spend our holidays in the country and go 'glamping'. Last week we spent 3 nights in a vintage, Father Ted kind of a caravan in a magical place called Teapot Lane. It is nestled under the beautiful Benbulben mountain, in the middle of a forest on the borders of Sligo and Donegal. You can also choose to stay in a thatched cottage, yurt or a tree house, which I hope to try next year!
In the morning you wake up to the sounds of birds, into serenity without any internet or distractions. An experience I whole-heartedly recommend - I only wish we had stayed longer!
Although the weather was really patchy, it really felt like we have prolonged our summer with this trip. This week was definitely a transition into fall with the first few leaves falling off the trees. We spent our time reading books wrapped in a cosy blanket, talking by a camp-fire, sipping tea and wine, picking up blackberries and exploring the surroundings. There is so much to see - sandy beaches, quaint towns, forest walks...
It felt overwhelming to walk these grounds and realise that this is the land that inspired the works of the great William Butler Yeats. His poetry was one of my the first connections I have made with Ireland a long time ago and definitely has played a huge part in my love affair with the place and my decision to move over. On the last day, we visited Glencar Waterfall, a place Yeats speaks of in The Stolen Child poem.
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.
I read through the poem again as we were driving and the feeling of escapism, magic and strong connection with the land as well as some of that beautiful sadness just came rushing over me.
Our last pit-stop before coming home to Galway, was the old Tuam Railway station, which is now a cafe. So pretty!
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