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ROUNDSTONE ( Cloch na Ron ) is a fishing village at the foot of the Errisbeg Mountain. Curving its back to the Atlantic, the quaint stone harbour looks across its sheltered waters to the magnificent Twelve Bens of Connemara. Fishing is the main source of income, along with an unobtrusive tourism that makes the most of the unique prettiness of the setting and the glorious beach at Gurteen Bay, one and a quarter miles away to the west. A huge sweep of white sand with lucid blue water, this is really very seductive. In recent years Roundstone has seen percussionists beating a path to the workshop of master bodhran maker, Malachy Kearns (May-Oct daily 9am-7pm, Nov-April Mon-Sat 9.30am-6pm; tel 095/35808; free) in the old Franciscan monastery on the edges of the village. The centre shows the techniques Malachy uses to stretch both the 18-inch birch drum frame and the treated goatskin which surrounds it; Malachy's drums are renowned for their perfect tone which produce the haunting, rolling rhythms that form the backdrop to Irish music. There is also a testing room where the uninitiated can happily clamour, while Malachy's wife paints delicate personalized Celtic ornamentations onto the skins of the drum. The centre also has a fine record shop, craft centre and coffee shop and is highly recommended. The village itself has several fine craftshops and galleries; look out for the exquisite linen clothes in Dalkey Design Shop or the raw naturalist paintings in the Ivy House Gallery which has a tea room attached. It's an easy couple of hours' walk from Roundstone up to the top of Errisbeg - follow the fuchsia-flooded lane up the side of O'Dowd's bar and then the track ahead. The views are panoramic: the frilly coast of isthmuses and islets runs out to the south, while the plain of bog to the north is vast and open, punctuated only by the irregular glinting surfaces of dozens of little lakes. It's through this wilderness that the bog road runs, the source of such superstition that some local people will not travel along it at night. Around the turn of the century, two old women, who lived in the road's only dwelling, robbed and murdered a traveller who'd taken refuge with them, and the road is considered to be haunted. From Errisbeg the view across the bog to the Connemara mountain ranges is tremendous. To the west, extensive beaches of white sand scoop their way north - Gurteen, Dog's Bay, Ballyconneely, Bunowen and the coral strand of Mannin Bay - each one echoing the beauty of the last. There's a campsite , the Gurteen Caravan Site beside the beach (closed Oct-Feb; tel 095/35882), with laundry facilities, a shop and a tennis court. Several places in the village do B&B - try Patricia Keane, Heather Glen (tel 095/35837, spkeane@tinet.ie ; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79), or Mrs C. Lowry, St Josephs (tel 095/35865, christinalowry@eircom.net ; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79). Vaughan's House Hotel (tel 095/35864; GBP90-110/?114.28-139.67) is also a good place to stay. If you don't want to stay in the village itself and feel like splashing out there are two exceptional hotels near the village of Cashel, about a fifteen-minute drive away towards Clifden. The first of these is Zetland House Hotel (tel 095/31111, www.connemara.net/zetland/ ; GBP110-130/?139.67-165.07), which also has a fine restaurant, but, if you want real indulgence, then follow in the footsteps of Charles de Gaulle and pamper yourself at the Cashel House Hotel (tel 095/31001, www.cashel-house-hotel.com ; over GBP130/?165.07), set in award-winning grounds and surely one of the finest places to stay in the country. For eating and drinking while in the village, try O'Dowd's which, as well as having a wonderful atmosphere, does fine bar food and has an excellent restaurant attached serving mostly seafood, and Vaughan's House Hotel which offers filling bar food. Popular bars are Connolly's, Vaughan's and The Hilltop bar, which has music every night (traditional on Fri & Sat) during the summer. You can buy Camping Gaz bottles and rent bikes from Michael Ferron's shop.
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