Sustainable Tourism?
There is a lot of talk these days about sustainable tourism – trying to find answers to the fact that everyone wants to go to the same few destinations – so that we find ourselves visiting a place that is full of other visitors. Not something that people like me – an introverted traveller – wants.
In Ireland – this is shown by the fact that other than Dublin, Galway has more tourists than anywhere else in the country. But like Dublin – most of the tourists flock to the city and not to the county. County Galway is a bit of a mixed beast. Rugged and untamed in the west – smoother and more clipped in the East. So, it was to the East of Galway that I elected to spend 3 weeks in April of 2019.
A place of locals ...
I booked a place in Newbridge – which caused some confusion when I was first looking at things to do. It seems that there are two places called Newbridge in Ireland and the other (in County Kildare) has one of the largest shopping malls in the country. NOT what I wanted to be around. But once that was sorted, I was able to see that it would be a pleasant drive from Donegal through Sligo to my new base.
I never met the owner of the cottage I stayed at. Her brother owned the farm behind my stay and her cousin owned the bungalow opposite (and helped me sort out the wi-fi when I first moved in.) Several people in the village seemed to know of my arrival and most of them shared the same surname as the owner. It was a local’s place. That said, everyone was friendly, although there was some curiosity as to why I should choose Newbridge as a place to base myself. Some thought I had made a mistake and that I’d confused Galway with Co. Kildare. For a short while I thought I had made a mistake as well; but I came to realise that part of wanting to travel was to re-invent myself, to live not just a new life without gambling, but several new lives. What would life in a rural backwater of Ireland be like?
Quiet. A car or tractor passing the cottage was an event. Occasionally I saw cousin Sean or his family or the old yellow labrador, but otherwise virtually no-one. More cattle and sheep than people. So, I hunkered down and began to fall in love with the place. Walks were accompanied by the noise of rooks cawing and water cascading from the numerous streams. The size and variety of trees took my breath away and I was forever walking down little tracks and finding tucked away houses, some occupied – many not. A short drive to the peat cutting fields showed me a surreal landscape, something which has lasted for decades but which isn’t seen in many other places.
It fulfilled all the needs I had. It was quiet, there was beautiful countryside (including woodland) for me to walk in, there were a couple of pubs nearby (one was also a petrol station, a hairdresser’s and a small shop – the ONLY shop in the village.) It was also near to a fast road that would take me to Galway City in one direction and to Roscommon or Athlone in the other. All my boxes were ticked.
If I wanted civilisation – then I only had to switch on the TV to watch the latest news from England and the chaos that was still going on there – whereas I could retreat to calm, calm, calm.
Hidden Dangers - Lyme Disease
And yet the calm did have some moments of panic … like the time I got lost in a forest. Some of the plantations were obviously commercial and whilst that meant that the tree cover was a little uniform, they were still pleasant places to explore – but beware of doing this without your phone or some other satnav – as I nearly found out to my cost when I completely lost my bearings and seriously thought I would have to spend the night there.
Another issue with being in rural anywhere in Europe – and further afield it seems is the issue of ticks.
Now I love going off the beaten track – and that is not just when I am looking for somewhere to visit, but also when I am out in the countryside. I’m the one who sees a path probably made by sheep or a highland goat (is there such a thing in Ireland) and follows it. I have often been rewarded for this by beautiful views – but there is a hidden danger of doing so – and that is the notorious tick.
One of the lovely sites within a two-hour drive of Newbridge is Coole Park. There in the car-park is a very comprehensive noticeboard outlining the dangers that ticks pose and how to guard against them. When I was there I noticed that people were doing the right things like tucking their trousers into their socks and often wearing light coloured clothing (something I had failed to do,) but I also noticed a few families with children where they were allowed to run around in sandals without any other protection at all.
My energy levels are not great at the best of times – and whilst my constant tiredness has never been fully explained (it came on suddenly when I was in my 20s – before Lyme Disease was first found in the UK in the early 1980s.) Life feeling constantly tired has often been a challenge. But having Lyme disease can be much worse than being fatigued… it can be a really debilitating condition that can affect people for most of their lives with both physical and cognitive issues. There is a link here to the Lyme Disease UK web page and to “Ticktalk Ireland” if you require more information.
Anyway, I had no problems at Coole Park – but did pull a few blighters off my clothes when I went walking later on my Irish journey – in woodland near to Connemara … So, the problem of ticks does exist in Ireland – and good on the Galway county authorities for bringing this to people’s attention.
Finally - Yeats and a disappointment
Coole Park is of course associated with the writings of WB Yeats – his “wild swans of Coole” is one of my favourite poems. As is, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” but the Isle of Innisfree is not somewhere I would recommend to visit. For a start, it is a pain to get to, around little single track roads – and when there, the illusion of it being somewhere you would want to keep bees and grow beans is lost as it is such a little isle and not even picturesque. It looked like one of those islands you see in the middle of a boating lake. One of the biggest disappointments of my trip.
But my stay in East Galway was overall a success. I loved getting out to the city of Athlone (I visited twice) and seeing the castle and taking a short trip on the river. Also, walking along a riverbank in County Roscommon, one of the most rural and least visited counties in Ireland. Or just heading a few miles up the road to Newbridge’s own Nature trail. Sadly neglected after it was made in the early 2000s partly because it was a school project and the school has since closed due to lack of numbers.
East Galway is in danger of losing people because of the lack of job opportunities and if tourism can help the cafes, pubs, restaurants and other businesses find custom – then it is another payoff from taking the road less travelled.
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Comments
Thank you Steev I really enjoyed reading about Galway. I have always wanted to go there as I had an art lecturer who came from Galway she was a real joy and inspiration. Maybe I will do one day.
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