Would it not be freezing in late October?
I went at that time last year and it wasn’t bad. 5 / 6 degrees during the day with lots of sun. But at night it got chilly alright but nothing that a warm coat and hat didnt fix.
Lots to do and see there. Great beer and food and at very reasonable prices.
[quote=“ChocolateMice”]I went at that time last year and it wasn’t bad. 5 / 6 degrees during the day with lots of sun. But at night it got chilly alright but nothing that a warm coat and hat didnt fix.
Lots to do and see there. Great beer and food and at very reasonable prices.[/quote]
There is also the positive of being able to fly from Shannon.
Anyone ever been to Rome? Any good?
[quote=“The Runt”]There is also the positive of being able to fly from Shannon.
Anyone ever been to Rome? Any good?[/quote]
Rome is a beautiful city, with, as you can imagine, shit loads to see. The Food is also top notch but it’s lacking a bit of nightlife. The vatican is worth going to see all on it’s own and that’s coming from a non believer! You can also go watch Rome’s no.1 team, Lazio, play in soccerball.
Can be expensive tho, and many places have tourist prices!
[quote=“ChocolateMice”]Rome is a beautiful city, with, as you can imagine, shit loads to see. The Food is also top notch but it’s lacking a bit of nightlife. The vatican is worth going to see all on it’s own and that’s coming from a non believer! You can also go watch Rome’s no.1 team, Lazio, play in soccerball.
Can be expensive tho, and many places have tourist prices![/quote]
Ya, the girlfriend is keen enough on Rome. It would be amazing to be in the city of the King of Rome - Paulo Di Canio.
:D:clap:
It would be cheaper in around that time tho as tourist season is over. I’d still go for Krakow over it, but clearly when you said ‘the girlfriend is keen on Rome’ you meant you dont really have a say in matters.
It would be cheaper in around that time tho as tourist season is over. I’d still go for Krakow over it, but clearly when you said ‘the girlfriend is keen on Rome’ you meant you dont really have a say in matters.[/quote]
Well she would be open to persuasion if I could find a suitably impressive alternative destination and Krakow was on a list of places she’d like to go so you never know.
[quote=“The Runt”]There is also the positive of being able to fly from Shannon.
Anyone ever been to Rome? Any good?[/quote]
Rome is the greatest city in the world- there is a man there that billions around the world are devoted to - the Pope lives there too
im off to the old country next week
Forza italia
only a mong of the highest order would bring a bird to krakow ahead of Rome
[quote=“The Runt”]Myself and herself. 4 to 5 days away towards the end of October.
Any recommendations for a destination?
Paris, Venice, Barcelona and London have already been done.[/quote]
Berlin is the place, Runt. Great city, tonnes to see, great beer, locals friendly. Shouldn’t be too cold then either.
Hannibal knows his stuff
[quote=“artfoley”]actually while the destination is lyon said question will be popped on the lakeshore of annecy, one of the most beautiful places in the world and also where we spent our first holiday together
there is some romance left in this bitter husk 
http://naturalpatriot.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/annecy.jpg[/quote]
This thread needs some testimonials to go along with the positives on Berlin and Wexford Town.
Art, how was the lake ?
I’ve been to Rome, Berlin and Krakow in the past couple of years, Rome several times in my life.
Krakow - For the lads i would think, went on stag there and it was great. Beautiful women, lovely city and the people are friendlier than Warsaw. Don’t worry about the weather, it might be cool, but it rarely rains, i was there in October time as well.
Rome - You could go there with anyone, as mentioned above the nightlife isn’t “Unreal”, but you can still party if you really want to. March, April, May, Aeptember, October are best months. Weather is savage, but its not as crowded. i could walk through Rome a couple of times a year and never get bored.
Berlin - The king of European cities, i can’t say enough about the place. Its so chilled out, the people are fantastic(not really German to be honest), the concerts, museums, the food…everything is great. The cost of things are good as well, i got the impression that you could live there for feck all once you got the run of the place. There is so much to do and see, and when you get out of the city there is some lovely places to go. Nightlife is brilliant, drink is reasonable (chaeper than Cork anyway), nightclubs are mostly free. You can do pretty much anything you want, legal or illegal, as long as you don’t take the piss.
I went there twice, once on a stag, perfect. Once with a bird, perfect.
[quote=“caoimhaoin”]
Rome - …you can still party if you really want to…[/quote]
MAC would love it so.
only a couple more weeks til I’m off:pint:
Cant wait to cheer on Stevie ireland in South Africa
[quote=“The Runt”]Myself and herself. 4 to 5 days away towards the end of October.
Any recommendations for a destination?
Paris, Venice, Barcelona and London have already been done.[/quote]
Where did you decide on in the end runt
[quote=“caoimhaoin”]I’ve been to Rome, Berlin and Krakow in the past couple of years, Rome several times in my life.
Krakow - For the lads i would think, went on stag there and it was great. Beautiful women, lovely city and the people are friendlier than Warsaw. Don’t worry about the weather, it might be cool, but it rarely rains, i was there in October time as well.
Rome - You could go there with anyone, as mentioned above the nightlife isn’t “Unreal”, but you can still party if you really want to. March, April, May, Aeptember, October are best months. Weather is savage, but its not as crowded. i could walk through Rome a couple of times a year and never get bored.
Berlin - The king of European cities, i can’t say enough about the place. Its so chilled out, the people are fantastic(not really German to be honest), the concerts, museums, the food…everything is great. The cost of things are good as well, i got the impression that you could live there for feck all once you got the run of the place. There is so much to do and see, and when you get out of the city there is some lovely places to go. Nightlife is brilliant, drink is reasonable (chaeper than Cork anyway), nightclubs are mostly free. You can do pretty much anything you want, legal or illegal, as long as you don’t take the piss.
I went there twice, once on a stag, perfect. Once with a bird, perfect.[/quote]
no one gives a fuck what you think so shove your travel tips up your ethnocentric hole
cocktake is rattled.
Around Wexford Town
The Irish National Heritage Park (tel 053-912 0733; Ferrycarrig; adult/under 13yr/13-16yr/family incl 90min guided tour 8/4/6.50/20; open 9.30am-6.30pm Apr-Sep, 9.30am-5.30pm Oct-Mar) successfully squashes 9000 years of Irish history, up to the Normans, into an entertaining and informative visit. Costumed actors guide you past a recreated Neolithic farmstead, stone circle, ring fort, monastery, crannog (lake settlement on an artifical island), Viking shipyard and Norman castle, while sound effects and smoking fires add to the realism.
The park is 3.5km northwest of Wexford town on the N11. A taxi from Wexford town costs about 7.
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve
The Slobs may not sound inspiring (the name derives from the Irish slab, meaning ‘mud, mire or a soft-fleshed person’), but this swathe of low-lying land reclaimed from the sea certainly inspires awe among birdwatchers. Each winter, it’s home to one-third of the world’s population of Greenland white-fronted geese - some 10,000 in total. Winter is also a good time to spot the brent goose from Arctic Canada. Throughout the year you’ll see numerous species of wader and wildfowl.
The Wexford Wildfowl Reserve (tel 053-912 3129; North Slob; admission free, guided tours on request; hour 9am-6pm mid-Apr-Sep, 10am-5pm Oct-mid-Apr), which protects the birds’ feeding grounds, has an observation tower, assorted hides and a visitor centre with detailed exhibits. From Wexford, head north for 3km on the R741 towards Dublin and take the signposted right-hand turn; the visitor centre is another 2km along the lane.
Curracloe
The opening carnage of Saving Private Ryan (1997) wasn’t filmed in Normandy, but here at Curracloe’s 11km-long, Blue Flag-rated beach - one of a string of deserted beaches north of Wexford town. Many of the birds found at the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve can also be seen at Curracloe’s Raven Nature Reserve. It’s signposted 13km northeast of Wexford (from Wexford, take the R741). If you’re discreet you can pitch a tent in the sheltered dunes.
A 30-minute walk from the beach, Hotel Curracloe (tel 053-913 7308; www.hotelcurracloe.com; single 40-45, double 70-80) is a small family-run hotel with a staid but snug interior, a restaurant, and traditional sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Rosslare Strand
Kelly’s Resort Hotel (tel 053-913 2114; www.kellys.ie; single 77-95, double 154-190, full board per person 127-154) Established in 1895 and run by the fourth generation of the same family, this seaside family resort is an Irish institution. While the service remains delightfully old-fashioned and personal, the property has been thoroughly modernised, with bright, contemporary rooms and every conceivable facility: tennis, crazy golf, snooker, table tennis, badminton, yoga, croquet, restaurants, bars, and a pampering SeaSpa.
Kilmore Quay
Dotted with thatched cottages, Kilmore Quay is a small, working fishing village whose harbour is the jumping-off point for Ireland’s largest bird sanctuary, the Saltee Islands, which are clearly visible out to sea.
Mussel in on the four-day Seafood Festival (tel 053-912 9918) in mid-July for music, dancing and, of course, tastings.
To charter a boat for sea angling, contact Kilmore Quay Boat Charters (tel 053-912 9704).
Sailing Ireland (tel 053-913 9163; www.sailingireland.ie) offers five-day live-aboard courses (from 750 per person) and skippered boat charters (per boat 300/550 per half-day/day).
Sandy beaches stretch northwest and northeast from Forlorn Point (Crossfarnoge). There are some signposted walking trails behind the peaceful dunes, circled by serenading skylarks. Look out for St Patrick’s Bridge causeway, which stretches towards Little Saltee. A Dutch trawler ran aground there in 2006.
Wrecks like the SS Isolde and Ardmore, both dating back to the 1940s, and extraordinary marine life keep divers occupied. Contact Wexford Sub Aqua Club (www.divewexford.org) for advice.
About 9km north of Kilmore Quay, Ballycross Apple Farm (tel 053-913 5160; www.ballycross.com; Bridgetown) sells its apples, apple juices, chutneys and jams direct to the public and also bakes yummy waffles. It’s open from 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday during apple season (variously mid-August to March).
Hotels & Restaurants
Mill Road Farm (tel 053-912 9633; www.millroadfarm.com; R739; single/double 45/70; hclosed late Dec; p) About 2km northeast of Kilmore Quay on the R739, this working dairy farm offers simple rooms and breakfasts featuring homemade bread and free-range eggs.
Hotel Saltees (tel 053-912 9601; www.hotelsaltees.ie; Kilmore Quay; single/double 80/140; p) Although rooms here are typical motel-style, they’re generously sized and enlivened by painterly canvases and fresh colours. Its restaurant, Le Saffron, is open for dinner from Friday to Sunday and for Sunday lunch, and sticks to well-cooked surf and turf classics, with a handful of vegetarian options (mains 17 to 28).
Silver Fox Seafood Restaurant (tel 053-912 9888; Kilmore Quay; mains 18-32; open noon-9.30pm Jun-Aug, 5-9.30pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-2.30pm & 5-9.30pm Sun Sep-May) Inside a brown-painted building just back from the quay, the Silver Fox’s fresh-from-the-ocean offerings include a potato-crusted fisherman’s pie filled with prawns, monkfish, salmon and cod in Pernod cream sauce, while land-based options include guinea fowl and wok-fried egg noodles.
Kehoe’s (tel 053-912 9830; Kilmore Quay) Decorated with nautical equipment, right down to the beer garden built from a trawler mast and boom, this inviting pub has regular live music at weekends.
Saltee Islands
Once the haunt of privateers, smugglers and ‘dyvars pyrates’, the Saltee Islands (www.salteeislands.info) now have a peaceful existence as one of Europe’s most important bird sanctuaries. Over 375 recorded species make their home here, 4km offshore from Kilmore Quay, principally the gannet, guillemot, cormorant, kittiwake, puffin, aux, and the Manx shearwater. The best time to visit is the spring and early-summer nesting season. The birds leave once the chicks can fly, and by early August it’s eerily quiet.
The two islands, the 90-hectare Great Saltee, and the 40-hectare Little Saltee, feature some of Europe’s oldest rocks, dating back over 2000 million years, and were inhabited as long ago as 3500 to 2000 BC. From the 13th century until the dissolution of the monasteries, they were the property of Tintern Abbey, after which various owners were granted the land.
Two of the Wexford rebel leaders, Bagenal Harvey and John Colclough, hid here after the failed 1798 Rising. They were betrayed by a paid informer, tracked down in a six-hour manhunt, taken to Wexford, hanged, and their heads stuck on spikes.
Boats make the trip from Kilmore Quay harbour, but docking depends on the wind direction and is often impossible. Contact local boatmen such as Declan Bates (tel 053-912 9684, 087 252 9736; day trip 25), who also runs a 1 & 12-hour trip around the islands (20).
Hook Head & Around
The journey from Fethard to Hook Head takes in a hypnotic stretch of horizon, with few houses between the flat, open fields on the tapering peninsula. Views extend across Waterford Harbour and, on a clear day, as far as the Comeragh and Galtee Mountains.
On its southern tip, Hook Head is capped by the world’s oldest working lighthouse (tel 051-397 055; adult/child 6/3.50 incl guided tour; open 9.30am-6pm Jun-Aug, 9.30am-5.30pm May & Sep, 9.30am-5pm Nov-Feb, closed mid-late Dec), staffed until 1996. It’s said that monks lit a beacon on the head from the 5th century and that the first Viking invaders were so happy to have a guiding light that they left them alone. In the early 13th century, William Marshal erected a more permanent structure, which has remained largely unchanged. Traces of the lighthouse keepers’ lives remain inside the black-and-white-striped tower. Access is by half-hour guided tour. The visitor centre has a decent cafe/restaurant.
There are brilliant, blustery walks on both sides of the head, but be aware of freak waves and numerous blowholes on the western side of the peninsula. The rocks around the lighthouse are Carboniferous limestone, rich in fossils. Search carefully and you may find 350-million-year-old shells and tiny disclike pieces of crinoids, a type of starfish. A good place to hunt is Patrick’s Bay, on the southeast of the peninsula. Hook Head visitor centre has a free map of the area’s accessible beaches. At low tide, there’s a good walk between Grange and Carnivan beaches, past caves, rock pools and Baginbun Head, which, surmounted by the 19th-century Martello tower, is where the Normans first landed (1169) for their conquest of Ireland. It’s a good vantage point for birdwatching: over 200 species have been recorded passing through. You might even spot dolphins or whales in the estuary, particularly between December and February.
Caves, crevasses and gullies are part of the underwater scenery at diving sites out from the inlet under the lighthouse and from the rocks at the southwestern corner of the head, with a maximum depth of 15m. If it’s too rough, try Churchtown, 1km north of the point on the western side of the peninsula. The rocks south of Slade Harbour are another popular area. Contact Ray Forlong at the Hook Sub Aqua Club (tel 087 678 1636; rfurlong@bolandcars.ie) for advice.
About 5km northeast of the Hook Head lighthouse, ghostly Loftus Hall (closed to the public), built by the Marquis of Ely in the 1870s, gazes across the estuary at Dunmore East. The English-owned Loftus estate once covered much of the peninsula.
About 3km further on, turning left at a small roundabout brings you to the village of Slade, where the most activity is in the swirl of seagulls above the ruined castle and harbour.
Driving from Hook Head towards Duncannon brings you past the ruins of a fortified medieval church. In 1172, Henry II granted land hereabouts to the Knights Templar; they made nearby Templetown their headquarters and built various churches. The 13th-century structure they built here was later added to by the Knights Hospitaller and the Loftus estate. On the ground to the left of the church, a stone slab bears a Templar seal: a lamb and crucifix.
Across the street from the church, the roadside pub Templar’s Inn (tel 051-397 162; Templetown; mains 10-22; restaurant 12.30-9pm Mar-Oct, noon-8pm Thu-Sun Nov-Mar, pub noon-late daily), opens to a panoramic outdoor terrace overlooking the church, fields and ocean beyond. Inside, the dark-timber interior looks like a wayfarers’ tavern, but is a cosy place for a steak or seafood. Owner Nancy is a fount of info on the area.
Just beyond Templetown en route to Duncannon are two small, delightfully secluded beaches: Dollar Bay and Booley Bay.
Duncannon & Around
The small, laidback holiday town of Duncannon slopes down to a sandy beach that’s transformed into a surrealist canvas during July’s Duncannon International Sand Sculpting Festival (www.visitduncannon.com).
To the west of the village, star-shaped Duncannon Fort (tel 051-389 454; www.duncannonfort.com; adult/child/family 5/3/12; open 9.30am-5.30pm Jun-mid-Sep, rest of yr by appointment) was used as a set for The Count of Monte Cristo starring Richard Harris and Guy Pearce (2001). The fort was built in 1588 to stave off a feared attack by the Spanish Armada, and later used by the Irish army as a WWI training base. There’s a small maritime museum and a cafe; guided tours (included in admission) depart at 11am and 3pm. A military re-enactment weekend takes place here over the June bank holiday.
About 4km northwest of Duncannon is pretty Ballyhack, from where a car ferry travels to Passage East in County Waterford (see p000Three Things You Didn’t Know About Waterford/Southeast County Waterford/Getting There & Away/Ferry). It’s dominated by the 15th-century Ballyhack Castle (tel 051-389 468; admission free; h10am-6pm mid-Jun-mid-Sep), a Knights Hospitallers tower house, containing a small exhibition on the Crusades.
Beside the R733, some 9km north of Duncannon, the ruined Dunbrody Abbey (tel 051-388 603; www.dunbrodyabbey.com; Campile; adult/child 2/1; open 11am-5pm mid-May-mid-Sep) is a remarkably intact Cistercian abbey founded by Strongbow in 1170 and completed in 1220. The adjoining Dunbrody Abbey Visitor Centre (adult/child 6/3) provides access to the ruins of Dunbrody Castle, a craft shop, a museum with a huge doll’s house, a pitch and putt, and a yew-hedge maze made up of over 1500 trees.
Hotels & Restaurants
Aldridge Lodge Restaurant & Guesthouse (tel 051-389 116; www.aldridgelodge.com; Duncannon; s 55, d 100-110; open dinner Tue-Sun Jul & Aug, Wed-Sun Sep-Jun). In a wind-blown spot on open fields above Duncannon, Aldridge takes a bit of finding, but it’s worth it for its elegant, contemporary guestrooms and fresh local seafood like Hook Head crab claws or Kilmore cod (dinner 38.50). Two caveats: call ahead for periodic closures and kids under seven aren’t allowed. Heading out of Duncannon village towards Hook Lighthouse, turn right at Wallace’s Mobile Homes; it’s 500m ahead on your left.
Glendine Country House (tel 051-389 500; www.glendinehouse.com; Arthurstown; single/double from 60/120) This vine-covered 1830s-built former dower house is wonderfully homey. Bay windows overlook the estuary and grounds populated by deer, cattle and sheep. The Crosbie family lay on organic fare and home-baked treats such as cream teas.
Squigl Restaurant & Roche’s Bar (tel 051-389 188; Quay Rd, Duncannon; bar food 6.50-14.50, restaurant mains 19.50-23.50; bar food 10.30am-10pm, restaurant dinner Wed-Sat Feb-Easter, Tue-Sun Easter-Dec) Local produce is the mainstay of Squigl, where dishes range from honey-glazed ham to spring lamb (bookings essential). The same kitchen serves Roche’s Bar next door, which is adorned with vintage advertising posters and seamen’s knots. Trad sessions take place on Friday, Saturday and, during summer, midweek.
Dunbrody Country House Hotel, Restaurant & Cookery School (tel 051-389 600; www.dunbrodyhouse.com; Arthurstown; 2-/3-course restaurant meal 52/65, tasting menu with paired wines 80) Chef Kevin Dundon’s spa hotel (single/double room from 145/240), in a period-decorated 1830s Georgian manor on 300-acre grounds, is the stuff of foodies’ fantasies, with a gourmet restaurant and cookery school (1-/2-day courses 175/320 excluding accommodation).
New Ross & Dunbrody Famine Ship
Emigres’ sorrowful yet often-inspiring stories are brought to life by actors during a 30-minute tour of the Dunbrody Heritage Ship (tel 051-425 239; www.dunbrody.com; The Quay; adult/child 7.50/4.50; h10am-6pm Apr-Sep, 10am-5pm Oct-Mar), a full-scale replica 1845 Famine ship (also known as a ‘coffin ship’, due to the number of passengers who didn’t survive the journey). Prior to the tour, a 10-minute film gives you background on the original three-masted barque and the construction of the new one. Admission includes access to the onsite database of Irish emigration to America from 1845 to 1875, containing over two million records.
By the time you’re reading this, New Ross’ answer to France’s Bayeux tapestry is due to have opened across the Quay from the Dunbrody Heritage Ship. The Ros Tapestry (tel 051-445 396; www.rosexpo.ie; The Quay) will weave together the story of the Normans’ influence on Ireland via fifteen panels created by volunteer embroiderers, and incorporate a cafe and craft shop.
Two- and three-hour cruises on the Galley River Cruising Restaurant (tel 051-421 723; www.rivercruises.ie; North Quay; cruise & tea/lunch/dinner from 12/25/40; 12.30pm, 3pm & 7pm May-Oct) drift slowly up the River Barrow, past rolling fields and peaceful farmlands. You can enjoy the ride over a cuppa or local fare like Wexford lamb or poached salmon, followed by local strawberries and cream.
WATERFORD
Dungarvan
With its pastel-shaded buildings ringing the picturesque bay where the River Colligan meets the sea, Dungarvan resembles Galway in miniature. St Garvan founded a monastery here in the 7th century, but most of the centre dates from the early 19th century when the duke of Devonshire rebuilt the streets around Grattan Sq. Overlooking the bay are a dramatic ruined castle and an Augustinian abbey, as well as lively pubs. The Waterford county town, Dungarvan is also becoming a foodie haven, with outstanding restaurants, a state-of-the-art cookery school, and the annual Waterford Festival of Food.
The colourful 18th-century Davitt’s Quay is an idyllic spot to grab a pint and watch the boats sail in.
A major renovation project is returning Dungarvan Castle (tel 058-48144; admission free; 10am-6pm Jun-Sep) to its former Norman glory. Once inhabited by King John’s constable Thomas Fitz Anthony, the oldest part of the complex is the unusual 12th-century shell keep, built to defend the mouth of the river. The 18th-century British army barracks house a visitor centre with various exhibits. Admission is by guided tour.
Near Dungarvan, back towards Tramore, is Clonea Strand, a beautiful patch of pristine beach.
Hotels & Restaurants
Powersfield House (tel 058-45594; www.powersfield.com; Ballinamuck West; single 60-70, double 100-110) Energetic mother, chef and cookery instructor Eunice Power lives in one half of this Georgian home with her family, and has opened four beautifully decorated rooms in the other for guests. Breakfast is a veritable feast of Eunice’s jams, chutneys and other delicacies from her garden, as are her three-course evening meals (25 to 35, by arrangement). It’s a five-minute drive north of town on the road to Clonmel.
Tannery Townhouse, Cookery School & Restaurant (tel 058-45420; www.tannery.ie; Church St; single 60-80, double 100-120; hFeb-Dec; restaurant & cookery school 10 Quay St; mains 18-29; open 12.30-2.30pm Tue-Fri & Sun, 6.30-9.30pm Tue-Sat, 6.30-9pm Sun Jul & Aug) An old leather tannery now houses this innovative restaurant, where Paul Flynn creates seasonally changing dishes like quail and foie gras pie or pan-fried potato gnocchi with red wine butter, followed by roasted fruits with cinnamon custard or warm chocolate mousse with violets. Everything is served so beautifully that it’s almost - almost - a shame to eat it. Looking like a futuristic kitchen showroom, Flynn’s cookery school (demonstration/class including meal from 60/150) adjoins a fruit, vegetable and herb garden. Some courses include foraging for ingredients, while market gardening classes (from 95) with fun-loving horticulturalist Tim Yorke cover soil preparation, seed germination, bed maintenance and more.
Breads, cheeses, chocolate, and hot food to eat on the spot are available at Dungarvan’s weekly farmers market (www.dungarvanfarmersmarket.com; Grattan Sq; 9am-2pm Thu).
Ardmore
The seaside village of Ardmore may look pretty but insignificant, but it’s claimed that St Declan set up shop here between 350 and 420. This brought Christianity to southeast Ireland long before St Patrick arrived from Britain. Today’s visitors come mainly for its beautiful strand, water sports, and superb places to eat and/or sleep.
Tourist info is available at Ardmore Pottery (tel 024-94152; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 2-6pm Sun May-Oct, by appointment Sat & Sun Nov-Apr).
In a striking position on a hill above town, the ruins of St Declan’s Church stand on the site of St Declan’s original monastery alongside a cone-roofed, 29m-high, 12th-century round tower, one of the best examples of these structures in Ireland.
Pilgrims once washed in St Declan’s Well, located in front of the ruins of Dysert Church, behind the new hotel development above Ardmore Pottery. A 5km, cobweb-banishing cliff walk leads from the well. On the one-hour round trip you’ll pass the wreck of a crane ship that was blown ashore in 1987 on its way from Liverpool to Malta.
At the southern end of the beach is St Declan’s Stone, different geologically to other rocks in the area. It was perhaps brought by glacier from the Comeragh Mountains, but according to legend, St Declan’s bell, which he is often pictured with in his hand, drifted across the sea from Wales on the stone after his servant forgot to pack it. He decreed that wherever the stone came to rest would be the place of his resurrection.
The 94km St Declan’s Way mostly traces an old pilgrimage route from Ardmore to the Rock of Cashel (County Tipperary) via Lismore. Catholic pilgrims walk along it on St Declan’s Day (24 July).
Sleeping & Eating
Newtown Farm Guesthouse (tel 024-94143; Grange; www.newtownfarm.com; single/double 53/80) Fresh eggs, homemade scones, local cheeses and smoked salmon are on the breakfast menu at this stylish B&B on a working sheep farm. Coming from Dungarvan on the N25, go past the Ardmore turn-off and take the next left 1km further on, from where it’s 100m up the road.
Highly recommended, maybe my favourite hotel in Ireland: Cliff House Hotel (tel 024-87800; www.thecliffhousehotel.com; rooms 225-265, suites 300-450; closed Jan) Built into the cliff-face, all guestrooms at this ultra-contemporary new edifice overlook the bay, and most have balconies or terraces. Some suites even have two-person floor-to-ceiling glass showers (strategically frosted in places) so you don’t miss those sea views. There are also sea views from the indoor swimming pool, outdoor Jacuzzi and spa, the bar (meals 18.50 to 28.50) and the restaurant (menu 62.50). Staff can organise sea kayaking, canoeing, scuba diving, fly- and deep-sea fishing and rock climbing. Seasonal closures can vary.
Olde Forge (tel 024-94750; Main St; dishes 5-20; noon-9pm May-Sep) Quality not quantity is true of the variety at this seasonally opening cafe. There are only four or five dishes on the menu at any one time, such as gourmet-style fish and chips.
White Horses (tel 024-94040; Main St; lunch mains 8-13, dinner mains 13-24; 11am-4pm & 6-11pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, 6-10pm Fri, 11am-4pm & 6-11pm Sat, noon-4pm Sun Oct-Dec & mid-Feb-Apr) Energetically run by three sisters, this smashing bistro serves nourishing fare like fresh seafood chowder or fried brie with tomato chutney on plates handmade in the village. Kids can order half-portions from the adult menu if they fancy something more adventurous than burgers.
There is a small supermarket attached to the post office.
Cappoquin & Around
Slinking up a steep hillside, the small market town of Cappoquin sits at the foot of the rounded, heathery Knockmealdown Mountains. To the west lies the picturesque Blackwater Valley, where traces of the earliest Irish peoples have been discovered, dating back over 9000 years.
The Dromana Drive to Cappoquin from Villierstown (An Baile Nua), 6km south, traces the River Blackwater through the Dromana Forest. At the bridge over the River Finisk is a remarkable Hindu-Gothic gate, inspired by the Brighton Pavilion in England and unique to Ireland.
Permits for the area’s excellent fishing are available from Titelines (tel 058-54152; Main St, Cappoquin) tackle shop.
The beautiful Mt Melleray Cistercian Abbey (tel 058-54404; admission free; 7am-8pm) is a fully functioning monastery with 28 Trappist monks, but welcomes visitors wishing ‘to take time for quiet contemplation’. The abbey was founded in 1832 by 64 monks who were expelled from a monastery near Melleray in Brittany, France. There are tearooms (closed Monday) and a heritage centre. It’s signposted 6km north from Cappoquin in the Knockmealdown foothills.
Turn right off the road to Mt Melleray for the forest walks and picnic spots at Glenshelane Park.
Cappoquin House and Gardens (tel 058-54004; house & garden 10, garden only 5; h9am-1pm Mon-Sat May-Jul, by appointment rest of yr) is a magnificent 1779-built Georgian mansion and 5 acres of formal gardens overlooking the River Blackwater. It’s the private residence of the Keane family who’ve lived here for 200 years. The entrance to the house is just north of the centre of Cappoquin; look for a set of huge black iron gates.
Richmond House (tel 058-54278; www.richmondhouse.net; N72; single 95-140, double 150-240; restaurant dinner nightly Apr-May, Tue-Sat Oct-Mar), which dates back even further to 1704, was built by the Earl of Cork, and is set on 14 acres of woodlands. All the same, its nine guestrooms - furnished with countrified plaids, prints and mahogany - are cosy rather than imposing, and service is genuinely friendly. Nonguests are welcome at its restaurant, where local produce includes West Waterford lamb and Helvick monkfish (mains 25 to 40, five-course menu 58).
Barron’s Bakery (tel 058-54045; The Square; dishes 2.60-7.50, 8.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat) has used the same Scotch brick ovens since 1887. Sandwiches, light meals and a mouth-watering selection of cakes and buns baked on the premises are available in its spearmint-green-painted cafe, while its breads are also sold in shops and markets throughout the area.
Lismore
Today, Lismore’s enormous 19th-century castle seems out of proportion to this quiet, elegant town on the River Blackwater. Most of its existing buildings date from the early 19th century, but Lismore once had over 20 churches - many of which were destroyed during 9th- and 10th-century Viking raids. Over the centuries, statesmen and luminaries have streamed through Lismore, the location of a great monastic university founded by St Carthage in the 7th century. King Alfred of Wessex attended the university, Henry II visited the papal legate Bishop Christian O’Conarchy (Gilla Crist Ua Connairche) here in 1171, and even Fred Astaire dropped by when his sister Adele married into the Cavendish family, who own the castle.
‘One of the neatest and prettiest edifices I have seen’, commented William Thackeray in 1842 about the striking St Carthage’s cathedral (1679). And that was before the addition of the Edward Burne-Jones stained-glass window, which features all the Pre-Raphaelite hallmarks: an effeminate knight and a pensive maiden against a sensuous background of deep-blue velvet and intertwining flowers. Justice, with sword and scales, and Humility, holding a lamb, honour Francis Currey, who helped to relieve the suffering of the poor during the Famine. Among the cathedral’s oddities and wonders are some noteworthy tombs, including the elaborately carved MacGrath family crypt dating from 1557 and fossils in the pulpit.
From the Cappoquin road there are stunning glimpses of the riverside Lismore Castle, which is closed to day-trippers but available for groups to hire. You can visit the 3 hectares of gardens (tel 058-54424; www.lismorecastle.com; adult/child 8/4; h11am-4.45pm mid-Mar-Sep), thought to be the oldest in Ireland, divided into the walled Jacobean upper garden and less formal lower garden. There are brilliant herbaceous borders, magnolias and camellias, and a splendid yew walk where Edmund Spenser is said to have written The Faerie Queen. The contemporary sculptures dotting the gardens have been joined by a contemporary art gallery (tel 058-54061; www.lismorecastlearts.ie) in the west wing of the castle.
The original castle was erected by Prince John, lord of Ireland, in 1185. After a stint as the local bishop’s residence, it was presented to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1589 along with 200 sq km of the surrounding countryside. He later sold it to the earl of Cork, Richard Boyle, whose son Robert, known as the ‘father of modern chemistry’ for devising Boyle’s Law, was born here.
Most of the current castle was constructed in the early 19th century. During its rebuilding, workmen discovered the 15th-century Book of Lismore and 12th-century Lismore Crozier, both in the National Museum in Dublin. The book not only documents Irish saints’ lives, but also has an account of Marco Polo’s voyages. The castle is owned by Peregrine Cavendish, 12th duke of Devonshire.
Beechcroft B&B (tel 058-54273; beechcroftbandb@eircom.net; Deerpark Rd; d with/without bathroom from 70/60; p) Homey touches at this central B&B just off East Main St include electric blankets.
Glencairn Inn & Pastis Bistro (tel 058-56232; www.glencairninn.com; Glencairn, Lismore; single/double 60/95; restaurant dinner Thu-Sat, lunch Sun, inn & restaurant closed mid-Nov-mid-Jan) Painted the colour of churned butter, this south-of-France-style county inn has four rooms with brass beds, French cuisine like pear and Roquefort salad, and steak-frites with whiskey-peppercorn sauce (mains 22 to 29), and a quintessentially Provencal petanque pitch. Follow the signposts 4km west of town.
Lismore House Hotel (tel 058-72966; www.lismorehousehotel.com; Main St; r 99-139) Directly opposite the heritage centre, Ireland’s oldest purpose-made hotel was built in 1797 by the duke of Devonshire. He’d still recognise the exterior, but inside rooms have had a contemporary makeover with sleek dark timber furniture and cream-and-gold fabrics. Breakfast costs extra. You’ll often get astounding room rates online (as low as 29 midwinter). The onsite restaurant offers meals from 12.50 to 23.
Saffron (tel 058-53778; Main St; mains 8-15; lunch & dinner) Low lighting and plum-coloured walls give this impressive Indian restaurant an intimate, classy ambience. The spicy chickpea chana massala is highly recommended.
Foley’s (tel 058-53671; Main St; mains 10-24; 9am-9pm) This inviting traditional pub serves excellent steaks, fish and homemade burgers in its interior replete with peacock wallpaper, leather-backed benches and an open fire, or in the floodlit beer garden out back.
O’Brien’s Chophouse (tel 058-53810; www.obrienchophouse.ie; Main St; mains 13.50-23.50; 10:30am-10pm Mon-Sat, from 11:30am Sun), This new restaurant in an old Victorian pub serves locally sourced dishes, including, yes, chops. They also offer traditional Sunday roasts from noon to 5pm.
Northern County Waterford
Some of the most scenic parts of County Waterford are in the north around Ballymacarbry and in the Nire Valley, which runs between the Comeragh and Monavullagh Mountains. While not as rugged as the west of Ireland, with which it shares the same 370-million-year-old red sandstone, this mountain scenery has a stark beauty and doesn’t attract much tourist traffic. It’s also a great area to catch traditional music and dancing.
Rolling hills and woodland stuffed with megalithic remains make the county’s north a superb area for walkers. The Comeragh Mountains, where there are ridges to trace and loughs to circle, are named after their many coums (valleys, often of glacial origin). Coumshingaun and Coum Iarthair - next to Crotty’s Lough, and named after an outlaw who lay low in a cave there - are some of Ireland’s finest.
Stop for a pint and panino in Melody’s Nire View (tel 052-36169; Ballymacarbry), where the genial folk have info on local walks and activities.
Otherwise make sure you’re around for the Nire Valley Walking Festival (tel 052 36134), which takes place on the second weekend in October, with guided walks for all, and traditional music in the pubs.
The East Munster Way walking trail covers some 70km between Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary and the northern slopes of the Knockmealdown Mountains. Access is at Fourmilewater, about 10km northwest of Ballymacarbry.
From March to September, the Rivers Nire and Suir are great for fishing. Permits (from 30 per day) can be arranged through Hanora’s Cottage or the fly-fishing centre (tel 052-36765; www.flyfishingireland.com; Clonanav, Ballymacarbry), which also has a school and guesthouse, and leads guided trips.
Hotels
Glasha Farmhouse B&B (tel 052-36108; www.glashafarmhouse.com; Ballymacarbry; single 50-60, double 60-120; restaurant dinner Mon-Sat by reservation) Olive O’Gorman takes meticulous pride in maintaining the plaid- and brocade-decorated bedrooms at her working dairy farm. Some wonderful loop walks fan out around the farm; afterwards, reward yourself with dinner served by candlelight (25 to 45), and breakfast served in a glass conservatory. The farm is signposted 2km northwest of Ballymacarbry.
Hanora’s Cottage (tel 052-36134; www.hanorascottage.com; Nire Valley, Ballymacarbry; single/double incl packed lunch 95, double 170; hrestaurant dinner Mon-Sat) This 19th-century ancestral home next to Nire Church houses one of the best B&Bs in the country. All 10 rooms have Jacuzzis (try for one overlooking the River Nire swirling under the stone bridge out front). You won’t be disturbed by the pattering of little feet as kids aren’t permitted. Everything in the gourmet restaurant, even the crackers, is made on the premises and gluten-free meals are a specialty (dinner 40 to 50). Take the road east from Ballymacarbry, opposite Melody’s; it’s signposted 5km further on.