The mountainous region of Kylemore lies just to the north of the rugged Coonemara National Park much of which was once part of the Kylemore estate. The Kylemore valley is located approximately 5 kilometres east of the thriving village of Letterfrack which overlooks Barnaderg Bay on the Connemara coast of County Galway. Kylemore Pass accesses this beautiful, steep, wooded-valley which is complemented with broad lakes and lined with old oak-woods. Standing on the very edge of Pollacappul (Kylemore) Lake and surrounded by woodland is the picturesque Kylemore Abbey, home of the Benedictine nuns who established a school here in the 1920’s, and famous for its beautiful Gothic Church. The church was built by Mitchell Henry in memory of his beloved wife Margaret, and was designed to be a ‘cathedral in miniature’ with its interior supposedly based on that of the Chapel of St Stephen’s at Westminster. Home to Kylemore Pottery, Victorian walled gardens, tea rooms and restaurant, Kylemore Abbey also provides a visitors’ centre and retail shop where a range of products are made available.
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