Hello lovely readers, and happy Sunday. I hope you’re all keeping well and enjoying the sunshine if you’re in Ireland. It feels like ages since we’ve had rain, and while the last couple of days have been a little cooler, the blue skies have been very welcome.
I’ve spent the weekend at Lucy’s house in Roscommon. We’ve had great food, early morning exploring, and even better company. It felt like a proper little holiday.
We took a trip to Enniskillen, where there’s plenty happening at Erneside Shopping Centre under its new management. New additions already include Enniskinn and Skechers. Lucy treated me to lunch at Dollakis, a family-run Greek restaurant. We shared five mezze dishes between us, and it was still more than we could finish. If you’re planning to go, I’d recommend booking as it was packed by lunchtime. The food was unreal – and it’s well worth a visit.
The next morning we had breakfast at Benny’s Deli in Castlerea. I love this place for its pastries, breads and Irish produce. They also have a selection of gluten-free products, that they bake instore in their freezer. You can even watch the staff making apple tarts in the background.
Afterwards we walked around the demesne, a lovely riverside walk with a fairy village, musical instruments, and bird feeders. I’ve written about Castlerea before, so you can read that here. Lucy is doing Couch to 5K – I’m not, my knee wouldn’t be happy at all with that. I was thinking about a Couch to 5 cake idea though – that would be right up my street!
This morning I headed to Errit Lough for the loop walk. It’s short, scenic, and well worth doing if you’re nearby. Just put the Errit Kayak Club into your SatNav, otherwise you’ll end up at a random house by the lake – I know from experience!
From there I visited Ballyhaunis for the first time and discovered The Friarsground. It’s a peaceful riverside walk along the Dalgan River, with a playground and basketball court. The town is full of Mayo flags and bunting, with an “Up Mayo” display cut into the grass ahead of next weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Football Final.
Ballaghaderreen is flying plenty of Mayo colours too, so there’s definitely excitement building.
No trip to Ballaghaderreen is complete without a stop at Duffy’s SuperValu. I finally had my first whippy ice cream of the summer, which made my day. I also called to Genie’s coffee cart, which will be moving to Duffy’s at the end of the month. They only take cash for now, so it’s worth keeping that in mind.
We also stopped at Our Little Big Adventure, an honesty-box stall just outside Ballaghaderreen. We picked up some beautiful bread – the cheese and garlic buns were my favourite – and some lovely goat’s cheese. You can pay by cash or Revolut, and the baked goods are available at weekends.
So this week’s thoughts post turned into more of a food and exploring post – but I’m not complaining! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely week ahead.
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