Kylemore Abbey:There's a touch of Hogwarts about Kylemore Abbey, the magnificent castle in Connemara, what with its remote location, the impressive turrets and stained glass, the Gothic church and the slightly spooky lake.
It’s open for visitors all year around but this weekend, to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of the castle’s builder Mitchell Henry, entry to the house and grounds are free. There will be a performance of a play in the Gothic church telling the romantic story of the house (4.30pm today, admission free) and there’s a lecture tomorrow at 3pm on Henry and his Kylemore project – but children might prefer to run around the Victorian walled gardens and the grounds which have been decorated for Christmas.
Henry, a Manchester cotton heir, and his bride honeymooned in Connemara in the 1850s and in 1867 as soon as he came into his inheritance, he bought 15,000 acres in Connemara and built Kylemore for the then significant sum of £18,000. In recent years Kylemore was a boarding school (very Hogwarts!) for girls but now its owners, the Benedictine community, run it as a tourist destination.
There’s a cafe, tea rooms and busy craft and food shop – the nuns’ Christmas puddings are popular as are their home-made soaps.
kylemoreabbeytourism.ie