Our Hobbit Hole!
23 September 2018
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat; it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
From Lisdoonvarna we drove a bit frantically up to County Mayo. There were lots to see along the way, as we passed by Kinvarra and Dunguaire Castle, The Burren, Galway city, and The Fields of Athenry, just to name a few. But we wouldn’t have time for that today. Our next stop was in farm country outside of Castlebar, we wanted to get there before sunset, and we were still two counties to the south. We hopped on the M17 highway and started moving!
I was extremely excited for this stop. For a very long time now, since I first read The Hobbit when I was young, I have been a big J.R.R. Tolkien fan. I’ve read all the books (a few of them multiple times now), saw the movies, and daydreamed of that world for countless hours. Middle Earth is my happy place. While I may not be able to transport myself to the land of hobbits and elves, surely staying a few nights in a handmade hobbit-hole is the next best thing!
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look... but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
We approached the rural area just to the west of Castlebar, down a small road that led to a hard to find turn onto an extremely rural path. You know the roads that have the little strip of grass growing down the middle and the two narrow trails for your tires? Yeah, it was one of those roads! Hugged tight on either side by the brush and full of twists and hills, the narrow road wound its way back past farms and fields. We were really hoping that no one would come down the other way, I'd have no idea where to pull off! Eventually we came upon Mayo Glamping and were greeted by Stephen, the guy who built the entire place adjacent to the family farm. It was great to hear about his passion and the work it took to see his vision through. He took us over to our spot…
And there it was, our own hobbit hole!
We chose the one on the end with the green door of course, because if I'm staying in a hobbit hole, I'm staying in Bag End! It was amazing, a hole in a hill with a round green door, a pretty stone front, and a green grassy roof. Perfect! It was a plain white room inside, not the ornate elegance of Bag End, because unfortunately we do actually live in the real world. It was still a warm, cozy room with a nice bed, and the room was actually just one of the many amazing things about the place!
There were three hobbit holes along one strip, a railway car room at one end, then across the way there were three A-frame cabins. It was a campground technically, so the bathrooms and shower were off on their own. There was a separate bathroom with a compost toilet built as the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. Seriously - this place was nerd camping heaven! Around the back there was a patio with a wood burning brick pizza oven and a dining room with full kitchen setup. Further in the back was a wood fired sauna and an outdoor patio bar with a hot tub attached! Unfortunately, the end of September has gotten pretty cold here and we were the only ones at the camp for now, so we weren't going to use the outdoor stuff as much as we would have liked, and we didn't even bring bathing suits for the hot tub. We could imagine that in season it would be so much fun to just hang out here!
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
We drove into Castlebar to get groceries from Tesco. We have the kitchen tonight, and we know we have a full kitchen at the next stop also, so we picked up enough for a few meals. After all, not only is it fun to check out the local differences in a grocery market, it saves us a good bit of money on the trip too, which helps us afford the next trip! We got back to the camp, and the drive down that crazy road was so much more intense after dark. We went easy with dinner tonight: frozen Chicken Kiev cooked up in the wood-fired pizza oven, a nice carrot soup, and ended the meal by sharing a Galway Hooker. Hey- get your mind out of the gutter, it's a beer!
We settled back in to our hobbit hole, getting cozy under the blankets from the cold night outside, with dreams of Bilbo Baggins and all of our own adventures that lie ahead!
One of the best things about staying in a place with a full kitchen is the ability to just whip up a quick breakfast before heading out for the day. So the next morning we made scrambled eggs with some of that amazing Burren Smokehouse salmon, pork sausages we found that were similar to the ones we had on Inis Oirr, and a side of yogurt and fruit. Hearty and filling, and quick too... hobbit worthy for sure!
Channeling our inner Bilbo Baggins, we had our big breakfast at our hobbit hole and then headed out for the day’s adventure along the Wild Atlantic Way!
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
