Tuesday, July 12
The local tourist information people were at the dock handing out maps of the town, so we took one and headed off to follow the suggested walking tour. First stop was the Killybegs Maritime & Heritage Centre, which was located in the carpet factory building where the world famous Donegal Carpets were made. After being shown a video of how the carpets were made (back in the 1970s when the demand was high), we were taken on a tour of the factory where the process was demonstrated using the looms that had been used for over 100 years. The detail and effort that went into each carpet was amazing, especially as some of the weavers started when they were only 10-12 years old!
There was also an exhibition on Killybegs other main industry, and that was fishing. This exhibition traced the history of fishing the local waters as well as the herring and mackerel curing business, along with the types of nets used and the size of the boats over the years. It is still one of Ireland's major fishing ports.
As we walked around we checked out some of the older buildings in town and a couple of their churches. We had lunch in one of the pubs and enjoyed our first pint of Guiness on Irish soil! We loved chatting to the locals and the slower pace of this small town, but again we found enough to keep us occupied.
About an hours sailing from Killybegs we passed the Slieve League cliffs, which are the highest sea cliffs in Europe at about 2000 feet! Very spectacular.
The local tourist information people were at the dock handing out maps of the town, so we took one and headed off to follow the suggested walking tour. First stop was the Killybegs Maritime & Heritage Centre, which was located in the carpet factory building where the world famous Donegal Carpets were made. After being shown a video of how the carpets were made (back in the 1970s when the demand was high), we were taken on a tour of the factory where the process was demonstrated using the looms that had been used for over 100 years. The detail and effort that went into each carpet was amazing, especially as some of the weavers started when they were only 10-12 years old!
There was also an exhibition on Killybegs other main industry, and that was fishing. This exhibition traced the history of fishing the local waters as well as the herring and mackerel curing business, along with the types of nets used and the size of the boats over the years. It is still one of Ireland's major fishing ports.
As we walked around we checked out some of the older buildings in town and a couple of their churches. We had lunch in one of the pubs and enjoyed our first pint of Guiness on Irish soil! We loved chatting to the locals and the slower pace of this small town, but again we found enough to keep us occupied.
About an hours sailing from Killybegs we passed the Slieve League cliffs, which are the highest sea cliffs in Europe at about 2000 feet! Very spectacular.
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