West Country Pilgrim and travel insurance |
Page 1 of 4 William Butler Yeats poems have resounded through my life with increasing and clearer meaning as I grow older. And so, when given the opportunity to visit Pilgrimage. 2: a trip taken to visit a place of historic or sentimental interest or to participate in a specific event or for a definite purpose. The first sacred site on the itinerary was Yeats tower near forced the car to a crawl. Stone walls and hedges hemmed in the pastoral countryside. When I finally arrived in the car park, only a few other visitors roamed the grounds. However, an extensive gift shop abutted the tower, and although the thatched roof gave a sense of authenticity, nothing spells mediocrity like T-shirts and logo mugs. Nothing, that is, except an amateurish film devoted to the history of the place, a story I already knew. After buying a ticket, I sat for a while in the darkened theater alone, watching the documentary that was designed to precede my self-guided tour. But after a minute, I stood up in disgust and headed through the door into the tower itself. Immediately, I ascended the famous winding stair, which was narrow and cold. No memory of life existed in the strange house, the rooms austere and stony. On the battlements, I tried to feel the presence of the poet, but instead two small children scampered around, screaming. Their mother, a beautiful Irish woman, took my picture and apologized for her children. After lingering too long, I slowly made my way down the stairs, disquieted by my expectations. In one sense, the majestic, lonely tower beautifully exceeded my vision of a squat fort with adjoining buildings amidst the suburbs. But in another, it failed, stripped of any ! life by the very pilgrims that come here. The people who restored this place for us had only love for Yeats in their hearts. But their very act had transformed Thoor Ballylee into a tourist attraction and nothing more.
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