Our day between Clifden and Oughterard was made up of three parts: driving the Sky Road west of Clifden; climbing Diamond Hill and paying a brief visit to Kylemore Abbey in the National Park; travelling through the Inagh Valley with its majestic views.

The Sky Road is an exhilarating 7ml circular drive west of Clifden, with a rugged beauty and stunning scenery overlooking the Atlantic.

Connemara National Park was opened in 1980 and encompasses some 2,957 hectares of rugged quartzite and schist terrain of north Connemara, stretching from sea level at Letterfrack to some of the peaks of the Twelve Bens mountains (Benbaun, Bencullagh, Benbrack and Muckanacht). The landscape is mantled by blanket bog and wet heath vegetation with characteristic and varied wildlife. The visitor centre gives access to a constructed walkway to the top of Diamond Hill, which affords fantastic views of Kylemore Abbey and the mountains, bays and islands all around.

Kylemore Abbey has been home to the Irish Benedictine nuns since 1920. The Benedictine nuns bought the house in 1920, having fled their convent in war-torn Belgium in 1914, where they ran a boarding school for girls for over 300 years. They re-established the school here and it is still very much alive today.

The Inagh Valley road wends its way through the majestic heather covered mountains and around the picturesque lakes. With the Twelve Bens on one side and the Maumturks on the other, the vista is ever-changing and there is a photo opportunity at every turn.

Scroll down to see the day's photographs

Travelling along the Sky Road the views soon start to impress . . .

and we find some curraghs nestled in a bay . . .

but this one has an outboard motor - not quite expected on a traditional craft . . .

taking the higher route . . .

gives us the opportunity . . .

to take in lots of . . .

spectacular views

The Connemara National Park visitor centre is set in an ideal location . . .

and the routes are clearly marked - ours being Upper Diamond Hill . . .

which we can see from the centre

As we climb we are soon able to look out to sea . . .

and get a closer view of the summit

Just short of the top we take advantage of a perfect spot to check out Kylemore Abbey and Pollacappul Lough . . .

as well as even better views out to sea

But from the summit itself . . .

we wonder which summits are the Twelve Bens . . .

We can now see Kylemore Lough . . .

and zoom in on Kylemore Abbey

Leaving the summit we spot interesting cloud formations . . .

before heading down the paved path . . .

still taking in the great views over the Twelve Bens

A last look back at Diamond Hill . . .

as we take advantage of the duck boards across the bogland . . .

making the walking very easy

We take in a brief visit to Kylemore Abbey . . .

but don't get any further than the visitor centre

Heading through the desolate Inagh Valley . . .

there are more views towards the Twelve Bens . . .

and take advantage of a very quite road . . .

to stop and record the views

Just before reaching Oughterard we locate the bridge used in the film 'The Quiet Man'

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