Wednesday, August 31 we drove to Cong and Ashford Castle, located in County Mayo and in the Connemara region. Cong is a nice village, but not quite what we were expecting. We went on a nice nature hike here were they have both native plants and trees, but also Coast Redwoods and Sequoias. We didn’t see the sequoias and the redwoods are very young, but unmistakably redwoods.

It was a beautiful day for a nature walk.

After having some lunch we drove to Ashford Castle. We could have walked, but our legs were sore from climbing the winding staircases at Bunratty and tomorrow we are bike riding. We had to pass a guard when we arrived and we told him we were there for a falconry appointment, as suggested by someone we met on the hike. it worked and he told us where to park. So far so good. After parking we approached the castle and there was another guard. We were only allowed to cross the bridge to take pictures. Ashford Castle is enormous. It’s a very expensive hotel now and I think it’s safe to say we won’t be staying there any time soon. Or ever most likely unless we win the lottery.

After dinner at the house we walked to a local beach.