Athlone “at the heart of Ireland”
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| Birds-eye view |
It dawned on me, I’ve already posted a few random pictures of our tiny town, and the River Shannon area out my window, but have yet to talk about the city, or location, itself. It’s not very big, population of about 22,000 and there is only one bridge that crosses the river that connects the ‘westside’ and the ‘eastside’ of town. (The birds-eye view I borrowed from the internet, you can see 3 bridges. The top one is the motorway (freeway) the next one is a train trellis, and the bottom one is the bridge) We have a small castle which dates to the 12th century and the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to 900 A.D. What’s great about
Sean’s Bar is it not just a tourist attraction, it’s a favorite with the locals as well. Most buildings are colorfully painted, with flowers everywhere. We’ve counted 7 churches and 2 shopping malls. It’s a typical town with a main street barely big enough for two-way traffic and the sidewalks are no better. To avoid the traffic jams, there are a number of one-ways streets, which I continue to discover. In fact, in order to get to our apartment, we must drive here & back again on one-way roads. Along the banks of the river there are numerous parks and walking paths. We have only explored 3 of them so far. There is one movie theater and three funeral parlors. A couple of small medical centers – think the largest hospital is up the road in Roscommon. We have a train station that can connect all four corners of Ireland. North of the town is Lough (Lake) Ree, very popular with boat enthusiasts and a waterpark (in the water) at Hodson Bay. River Shannon, which splits the town in two runs about 225 miles; from Dowra, the most northern navigable point, to Limerick in the south where it joins up with the Atlantic. When originally built the bridge had a large swing gate for boats, but in 1846 they changed that and built a lock and weir (dam). We’ve been told the river floods in the winter, so it will be interesting to watch the weir disappear as the water rises. The loveliest part of Athlone is the people we’ve met so far – the locals.
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| John, the lock master from Wales showing us his boat, which he made himself |
Our very own personal banker, Paul. Beyond and above to get us all set up in Ireland.
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| Paul |
PHOTO ALBUM
Sean’s Bar is it not just a tourist attraction, it’s a favorite with the locals as well. Most buildings are colorfully painted, with flowers everywhere. We’ve counted 7 churches and 2 shopping malls. It’s a typical town with a main street barely big enough for two-way traffic and the sidewalks are no better. To avoid the traffic jams, there are a number of one-ways streets, which I continue to discover. In fact, in order to get to our apartment, we must drive here & back again on one-way roads. Along the banks of the river there are numerous parks and walking paths. We have only explored 3 of them so far. There is one movie theater and three funeral parlors. A couple of small medical centers – think the largest hospital is up the road in Roscommon. We have a train station that can connect all four corners of Ireland. North of the town is Lough (Lake) Ree, very popular with boat enthusiasts and a waterpark (in the water) at Hodson Bay. River Shannon, which splits the town in two runs about 225 miles; from Dowra, the most northern navigable point, to Limerick in the south where it joins up with the Atlantic. When originally built the bridge had a large swing gate for boats, but in 1846 they changed that and built a lock and weir (dam). We’ve been told the river floods in the winter, so it will be interesting to watch the weir disappear as the water rises. The loveliest part of Athlone is the people we’ve met so far – the locals.
What a great place! Looks like a perfect "home base". <3
ReplyDeleteA fine home base, indeed. =)
ReplyDelete