#TWNinIreland Day4 Castles, Tweed & the Big Festival for Halloween

Waking up on the morning of Halloween in a castle. I’m not sure how life gets cooler than this ?
Lough Eske is a dream. It’s in the middle of a forest close to the Bluestack Mountains about 8km from the town of Donegal.

The rooms reflect the timeless allure of Gaelic heritage, you feel like you’ve gone back in time but still have all the comfort of a modern world. It’s really quite the experience.

We had a lovely breakfast and chatted with the staff who work here. Sinead McGowan, sales manager at the castle, mentioned as a child she would play along the grounds of this castle. It was abandoned, trees growing through the window. Vines covering the walls. And now she has a wonderful career here. This castle was restored into a hotel 10 years ago. We explored and checked out the spa.
We then had a very fun task ! We were due to meet a local farmer. Patsy McNulty – what an Irish name !

We went to his farm, very close to the castle and watched him use his beautiful collie Fly to gather the sheep.

And yes the rumours are true. Too many sheep crossing the road will cause a traffic jam in Ireland.
We talked about Irish weather terms & I guessed to see if I could figure out their meanings !
Here’s a few:
-the sun is splitting rocks today
– it’s a very close day
– the days wild
– good day for a high stool

Can you think of what these may mean ?

I was able to get a few ! I then tried to pronounce some popular Irish names, I failed at most !

I love interacting with local people when I travel. “A day in the life” kind of style. Really adds to the travel experience.

We then were off to see Irish House on the Main Street in Donegal where we watched the making of traditional Irish tweed. Was awesome to get the behind the scenes treatment. Loved seeing the passion and talents of all the staff. I’m now a proud owner of a stunning green tweed Irish wrap. Can’t wait to wear that at home.

The day was packed! It’s Halloween after all so that meant we headed back to Derry-Londonderry and took in the festival !
What an incredible place to be on Halloween, it has been noted the best in the world.
The energy was over the top and we explored it all. Parade, fireworks, costumes ! I’ve never been to a Halloween event better than this.

We broadcasted live to Facebook and had a great response from our weather network community ! Was so much fun to share that with you. Last check we had 40+ thousand viewers!

If you are a Halloween lover this event should be on your bucket list. It’s good craic, as they would say in Ireland! Hundreds of years ago Halloween originated in Ireland. People used to have a big fire and that would represent the end of the harvest and the beginning of the winter.

It was great to share this event with Canadians. I had no idea it was such a production over here. It actually felt pretty exhilarating reporting in the streets of Ireland with so much action, pressures on!

The fireworks were the final touch of the night. They were launched from a boat in the middle of the River Foyle. People gathered along the waters edge and watched. We had  VIP treatment and got to see the show from the roof top of the city hotel ! That was super special.

It’s another late night ! As I look back at all we have conquered since Saturday, it’s wild ! We have the best team here and tomorrow we will wrap up this incredible adventure .