| Index Page | Page 201 |
ACHILL
The valley, though apparently fed by one stream, has a low watershed a little west of Lough Tawnyard, whose waters flow east into the Erriff, while another stream falls west into Dhu Lough.
We now debouch on to the open space between the Dhu Lough and Delphi. Dhu Lodge (18 m., Captain Houston) is charmingly placed among trees on the right overlooking the lough. North-wards the hills on both sides fall oil rapidly in height.
A horse track along the east side of the lough leads into a road to Westport, but we do not recommend the route.
Delphi, a plain little mansion embowered in lovely timber-fir, birch, oak, ash, etc. – lies a mile south of Dhu Lodge, and on the shore of a smaller lake, between the line slopes.
Hence the road leads (1 ½ m.) down the valley to Bundorra on Killary Harbour, beyond which there is nothing more than a horse-track along the north side of the bay.
Westport to Achill Island.Rail to Achill Sound in progress (1891).
Distances : Newport, 8 m. ; Mulrany, 18 ½ m. ; Achill Sound, 27 m. ; Dugort, 37 m. English miles.
Mail-cars : from Westport, 6 a.m.; from Dugort, 10.30 a.m., about 10 hrs.;
single fares : Newport 1s., Mulrany 3s, Achill sound 4s 6d, Dugort 8s.
Private cars : 6d, 8d, 10d, 1s per English miles, for 1,2,3,4 passengers. Drivers fee 2d per miles irrespective of number of passengers.
N.B. – You can usually make a bargain in the town for a considerable reduction on these fares. Some car-drivers are satisfied with the above rates for Irish miles, 11 = 14 English. Distances in “round figures” find favour in Westport.
This is a line drive in good weather ; you could hardly find one more exposed in a foul sou-wester. The first few miles are commonplace, but after crossing the Rossow River, you get views of Clew Bay. Newport (8 m. ; Deverell’s Hotel, very fair) is a little port at the N.E. corner of the bay, and unless you are a fisherman, and have leave for Lough Beltra (6 m. N.E. – grand sport with white trout, July to Sept.) it will not detain you.
The road on to Mulrany is the pleasantest part of the journey, and affords splendid views, left, over Glow Bay, dotted with islands near at hand, to the mountains of Murrisk dominated by the superb cone of Croagh Patrick. At Burrishoole bridge (across the out-flow from Lough Furnace and Feeagh), 10m., is Carrighooley Castle, a plain square tower, and, more to the left, the ruins of Burrishoole Abbey, a Dominican friary, of the 15th cent. The latter was founded by the Burkes, one of whom, Sir Richard Burke (” Richard-in-iron”), was the second husband of Grace O’Malley, the sea-queen of the West, temp. Elizabeth. The marriage was “for a year, certain,” and the story goes that she used the time to get possession of the family strongholds, one of which was Carrighooley.
| << Previous Page | Next Page >> |