A noted beauty-spot, the lake - Lough Pollacappul - with its Abbey behind, appears on many postcards. It is nestled at the base of Duchruach Mountain on the north shore of the lake.
The Abbey is actually a Victorian 'castle' built by a wealthy Liverpool cotton merchant, Mitchell Henry M. P. in 1868. It was taken over by a group of Benedictine nuns who moved there from Ypres during the First World War, and opened an exclusive boarding school for girls, which is still there. Kylemore Abbey is the only Irish home of the Benedictine Nuns. Parts of the Abbey are open to visitors; there is a craft shop and tea-room.
Like so much of Connemara, the area is noted for angling.
