A Wander Around Galway City
In August 2018, there was a somewhat clandestine trip to Galway that allowed me to visit parts of the counties of Clare and Galway. Details of those day trips are on my outdoors blog, while what you get here is an account of a stroll around Galway city on the evening that I arrived in the city.
This started out from my lodgings, themselves a thirty-minute walk from the city centre. However, my return to Eyre Square went by a more indirect course that took in Lough Atalia. Showers intruded on the whole venture sporadically, but there were spells of sunshine too, and the evening grew drier as time went on.
The weather was such that photographic activity around Eyre Square was limited, and I did not delay there. On the way to the Spanish Arch, it was easy to see what drew so many to Galway: its pub culture. My mission was different, and I continued to the shore again via the end of the Eglinton Canal. This is where everyone got a really wetting before things dried up for the rest of the time.
The Claddagh was what drew me out, so it was along the South Park's coastal front that I strolled after stopping by Nimmo's Pier. Others were playing team sports, while I opted for a simpler occupation of my time. There were views across Galway Bay towards the hills of North Clare. The amount of cloud cover in the sky did make photography a tricky endeavour, in that capturing any blue sky that was on offer often meant making the other details small in the frame.
The sight of Mutton Island was enough to lure me out along the causeway to Mutton Island. There is a lighthouse on there, but recreational activities were curtailed by there by a waste treatment plant located out there. Given that it otherwise would make a wonderful vantage point, that really is unfortunate. Still, it was a case of making the best of it, and others were walking out there as well. Sunshine may have been coming and going, but there was enough to delight an appreciative soul.
After returning to the mainland again, I continued to the edge of Salthill, a noted seaside destination. The Famine Ship Memorial really caught my eye in the evening sun before I retraced my steps while admiring any sunlit views.
From the Claddagh Basin, I followed the Eglinton Canal as far as the River Corrib, where I could see the peers of the Galway-Clifden railway without knowing what they were at the time. This must have been a dramatic crossing when the railway still operated. Though it really was a poverty relief scheme, it seems a real pity to have lost this train line. Economics and political upheaval ruined it, though, and the outcome is ours to bear.
On returning to University Road, I made for Galway Cathedral. It looks like an older structure than its mid-twentieth century origins would suggest. That was uncovered when I made a later visit to the building, only to learn that it no longer caters for the size of congregation that was envisaged for it. Before making my way from there to my hotel again, I caught a glimpse of what must have been good warehouses for the Eglinton Canal at some point.
The stroll that evening became the greatest extent of time that I would spend exploring Galway itself during my stay there. It also was when I met with the most sunshine as well. Looking back over my photos from that evening, I am surprised at how many came out as well as they did. There is plenty to think about for a return visit.
