Glenveagh National Park - 17 May 2023

17 May 2023 - Glenveagh Castle & National Park

Borrowed Tintin’s camera last night and put some bread out for the birds - only managed to attract Jackdaws and sparrows!

Also zoomed in a bit this morning to show Inishkeel when the tide goes out!

As water was available, we topped up - old school - with a container and funnel!

Tintin drove today, lucky him; some on the lovely smooth surfaced N56! Drove to Dungloe, parked up whilst we decided what to do today.

Saw about the most ever wind turbines together, all bar one working.

Whenever I think the landscape looks barren, it’s usually because it’s blanket bog - could see some being cut today by hand, plus piles of peat being left out to dry.

Tintin wanted to go to the Glenveagh National Park, so we’ve deviated off the WAW and gone inland. About 90 minutes driving?

Had lunch in Dave before setting off on our bikes. Admission for both of us was €12 - one of the few perks of Tintin being over 65 - gets a reduced rate!  We cycled over 11.5 miles - most of it on a stony, bumpy path.

I’ll give you a very brief summary of the castle - but the information boards give you everything if you’re interested. We found it good to see something which is actually still furnished, as it’s not that old - usually castles we see are hundreds of years old, with only the masonry remaining!

In the 1850s this scenic area attracted the wealthy land speculator John George Adair, who bought the valley in 1857. Right away, he clashed with local tenants, whom he accused of stealing his sheep. After his managing agent was found murdered, he evicted all 244 of his bitter tenants - very controversial - and set about creating a hunting estate. Glenveagh Castle was finished in 1873. After his death, his widow added to the castle and introduced rhododendrons and rare red deer to the estate.

After her death, Harvard art professor Kingsley Porter bought the estate. He disappeared about 5 years later - thought to have drowned.

The last owner was Philadelphia millionaire Henry McIlhenny, who filled the mansion with great art and furniture while perfecting the lush surrounding gardens. He sold the land, but donated the castle to the Irish nation in 1981.

It did make me smile that the last owner would use a jockey’s chair to weigh guests on arrival and departure - as evidence of his good hospitality 😊

Many, many years ago when I was an aromatherapist, we did joke that we should have had a ‘weighing’ mat when people entered, then I could charge them according to their size! It obviously never happened!

Fancy having the funds to bring back the statues from Bali!

Notice the fading of the tartan in the music room.

The master bathroom is huge. The toilet is separate. Maybe it looks strange as it used to be Mrs Adair’s bedroom, which was then converted in the 1960s. Not too sure about so many mirrors around the bath 😉

Took a walk all around the gardens, through the orangery, walled garden and the Belgian walk, Italian terrace, Himalayan Garden, and the nice sounding Swiss walk, and Tuscan garden. Some of the smells from the flowers was lovely, really scented and sweet.

The lakeside swimming pool had boilers underneath it to keep it heated. What a beautiful setting for a swim!

Dean may have had an outing. It wasn’t until our way back looking for the nature trail that we found a small sign saying drone users needed a permit - oops. In fairness, all today we’ve said the sign posting is rubbish - even the receptionist said the same!

We rode out to the waterfall - but the lack of rain meant it didn’t look spectacular!

We spoke with men parked up with their truck. They’ve spent the day spraying the rhododendrons, trying to kill them off - as we’ve discovered before, they’re killing off native plants and aren’t wanted here. I think they look very pretty!

Tintin also thought he saw an eagle - the man confirmed there are a couple of nests high up on the other side of the lake.

We kept our eyes peeled for red deer, but didn’t see any. Might go for a wander at dusk tonight, or dawn tomorrow. If we don’t try, we’ll never know!

Was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.