Lovely photos – the snow covered ground and great lighting makes for some tremendous views.
I also flew into Sligo last year, just as things were opening up after COVID, hired a car and stayed for a couple of days to tour the area including Sligo town, the Glencar Waterfall, and Mullaghmore. The mountain scenery is quite unusual and dramatic. There’s not that much activity at the airport these days, with no commercial scheduled flights anymore and a good road to Knock airport not far away.
My write-up can be found here https://www.flyerdaviduk.com/2021/09/02/sligo-ireland/
Very nice flight. Looks like we should come over to Ireland next year again. 
Thanks for posting dublinpilot, very nice little trip report and its pics and jealous that I’m not able to see such lovely snow-covered fields over here..Your steed must also have performed nicely with these temps and just one aboard!
Keep them coming..
Thank you all for the nice words.
I assume these photos are not not edited at all, right
Correct. One or two were cropped slightly to remove the storm window from the photo. That’s all the editing I tend to do.
What are the circular things on the ground in the bottom of the first two photos?
I wasn’t 100%. Had to look up my breadcrumbs and Goolge Earth. Turns out they are race horse training courses (Gallops) at a stud farm belonging to Gordon Elliott Racing.
Gordon Elliott Racing
There is a close up photo of them on this page
Facilities
They were only in my photo by accident
Peter wrote:
And I recognise that wooden path – even though it may not have been the same one I walked up
Different location, but indeed a similar design 
Maybe one to try next time you visit!
Capitaine wrote:
Maybe only if you live near Dublin
This is a good point that probably highlights the point that everyone’s trip reports are valued. To me it’s the ‘same old – some old places’. But to others, living in different places they are far away and interesting. Everyone here who posts a trip report of their ‘backyard’ probably thinks it’s boring to others, but actually we are all interested in other people’s local area as it’s different to our own and interesting! So everyone should try to post a short report of some of their flights as they are always of interest to others in other places
boscomantico wrote:
why are these bog-standard licensed airports like Sligo or Kerry PPR
The honest truth is that I don’t know for a fact. There are lots of possibilities. One being that anyone can land anywhere with the landowners permission. Perhaps this is the method to get that permission? Another might be legal liability. Without PPR the operator is probably responsible for ensuring that the runway is always clear of obstructions during opening hours. If there is a problem or they decide not to open on a particular day, then they could be held legally liable for an accident that resulted from a runway obstruction. Perhaps? I don’t know.
The more likely answer is that as a small English speaking country with a very close historical and cultural ties to our large neighbour, historically we tend to look over at them and see how they did something, when trying to come up with systems ourselves. This is less true in recent decades, but still is true to a certain extent. I suspect this is the reason why it was set up that way and nobody sees any need to change. It suits the airport operators.
By the way, @dublinpilot, or @WilliamF, why are these bog-standard licensed airports like Sligo or Kerry PPR? Is it just because the license says that all pilots operating there must receive prior permission? What is the thinking behind it, if there is any? If you call them up on the radio without PPR, are they really going to turn you away for no good reason? Somehow, I would expect a little more pragmatism in Ireland than in the UK…
Sligo is a great spot (GPS Approaches, Lights, Good Food, Low Cost, Spouse Pleasing Location)
I know a few who have landed on the lawn at Kilronan Castle Hotel (photographed) in Fixed Wing microlights. Obviously, it’s easier to visit with floats or rotor blades!
Super nice report – thank you
I recognise a number of those places. And I recognise that wooden path – even though it may not have been the same one I walked up.
dublinpilot wrote
Nothing special in this report
Maybe only if you live near Dublin 😀
Thanks for this, and the photos, and the background reading. What are the circular things on the ground in the bottom of the first two photos?
A few amazing photos there, dublinpilot. Brilliant. My favourite is the very first one. I mena, who gets to see things like this? Ireland with frost/snow.
I assume these photos are not not edited at all, right? And they don’t need it, when the light is like this. The only extra mile that I would go is to straighten out the horizon on the airborne shots.
Lovely trip report, beautiful country
