A Sligo Sunday

Last weekend, with Denise as my host, we took a spontaneous trip in her car around North Sligo. We drove down lanes and along coastlines that neither of us had explored before.



First we checked out Shell’s latest venture ‘Shells Little Shop’, a creative haven where artisan foods and locally designed jewellery are merrily arranged alongside each other in their shiny new shop space. You could almost smell the paint!



I was trying my hardest not to be tempted by any of the many lovely things they have there. One of my favourite pieces was the Salt of the Earth jewellery range, designed and created in Strandhill, a hop skip and jump out the door! I believe the designer has a background in architecture, and the interesting geometric shapes and soothing pastel tones certainly allude to that.


After poking around a bit, and many ooohs and aaaahs later, we sat down to lunch. It's such a popular spot, especially on the weekends, there is typically a small waiting list for food during the day. I had wild mushrooms and scrambled eggs on toast (the bread is baked instore, would you expect anything less?) with a drizzle of truffle oil. They always have at least two vegetarian options available. If I'm in before 2pm I always ask for the veggie breakie (it’s off the menu, but you only have to request it).




Later we found ourselves climbing over gates and pulling faces at sheep (mostly me). We explored an old ruin near Raghly harbour. There’s some really unusual houses out that way, and its an area that’s popular with artists. I’m not at all surprised, its very calm out there, with a gentle pace of life, and an uninterrupted view of the changing blue sky. We had a different perspective of Benbulben from here (see first picture).




1 - Ardtarmon House (c. 1852), a beautiful country retreat and a B&B, 2 & 3 - exploring a mystery ruin near Raghly Harbour

This is just one of many potential Sligo Sundays! Fingers crossed for some more adventures soon!