Clifden is regarded as the capital of Connemara – the commercial centre for a huge tract of land and the surrounding islands as well. It has grown a lot in many ways in 40 years. Back then it was sleepy and quiet but with rather more shops than you’d expect in a village. Now it is bustling with tourists who arrive in coaches on roads, which are no longer single track with passing places. If they arrive by car, the chances are they’ll pay to park. There is a one-way system to help cope with summer levels of traffic. There are a couple of High Street supermarkets and, just off the centre there’s an ‘out of town’ development which has both an Aldi and a Lidl. We didn’t visit either. Many of the shops, particularly at the old station complex, are totally devoted to removing money from tourists. But Clifden remains a lovely little place.
We arrived in Clifden before it had woken up so all seems quiet. The green cross is where the chemist is where we asked for water back in 1971. It didn’t look to have changed much.
Moran must be a local name for a butcher, displaying a fine Hereford sign, had that name too.
The Alcock and Brown Hotel was brand spanking new in 1971. It attracted us for we had an evening meal there once. These days, we think twice before eating out reckoning that if we avoid the expense we can get more holidays. I’m not sure the Alcock and Brown Hotel would have attracted us in 2011 anyway. We had talked of a meal out, but it didn’t happen.
A market stall had reasonably local produce on sale. We had imported vegetables from the Locksands garden!
Attracting the tourists! Derval Joyce had a pretty sign and a brightly painted shop front.
The backdrop for much of our time in Connemara was the range of hills known as The Twelve Pins or The Twelve Bens. That’s a service bus down the street. There seemed to be a regular service between Galway and Westport – not using the most direct route.
Butchers seemed to abound in Ireland. Seamus Kelly claimed to be a butcher extraordinaire.
Maybe his hungry pig proved it.
Hmm! Maybe Old Guys Rule is very true. I think it is an American surfing tee shirt firm.
There are two churches in Clifden. This one rises up above Alcock and Brown.
The other church is up near the top of the town.
The dividing of the ways.
One way is Beach Road and the other is Sky Road.
We’ll go both ways later.
