Day 1 - arrive Edinburgh
EDINBURGH
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Nights 1,2 & 3
'Edinburgh,' said the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, 'is what Paris ought to be'. Its magnificent architecture shifts from the lofty tenements and narrow closes of its medieval Old Town as they tumble down the spine of the Royal Mile, to the grace and geometric precision of the Georgian New Town. Above it all, in its towering splendour, stands the Castle.
Every step is a revelation - an alleyway which reveals an ancient courtyard, or a wynd which opens up a new panorama. And yet within this sweeping elegance is a compact city, a bustling city, above all a city which rewards every visitor.
Unbeknownst to most visitors, the city is located in a now dormant volcanic region, whose peaks offer outstanding views for energetic climbers.
In Edinburgh's historic timeline, Old Town represents its medieval origins with the initial settlement running downhill from Edinburgh Castle, a walled compound housing royal apartments and a military fortress, to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, a monarch's official Scottish residence. When Old Town's residential neighborhood devolved into a slum, the city planners laid out New Town in the elegant Georgian style of the late 18th century. A lovely vale of greensward called Princes Street Gardens separates the two towns, and several bridges span the shallow valley.
Beyond the city, the Lothian countryside provides a beautiful setting for the rich gems of the capital. This is an area steeped in history, filled with castles, great houses and battle sites. It's also the ancient home of the game of golf and you can find some of the great links and parkland courses of the world here. On one day take an exploration of the ancient Kingdom of Fife, visiting Prince William's alma mater at St Andrews (as well as the golfers' Mecca). Not only does Fife have charming fishing villages but also is the home of the Earl and Countess of Dundee - it might be possible to arrange a private tea with the Countess.
Leith harbor is just three miles from central Edinburgh. Its main attraction, the former Royal Yacht Britannia, is sited next to the Ocean Terminal, a multi-story complex of 60 shops and numerous restaurants. A tour of the yacht reveals the Royals' enviably comfortable, but hardly opulent, lifestyle at sea from the early 1950s until 1998, when the decommissioned royal vessel became too expensive to maintain.
Suggested accommodation The Balmoral or The Howard
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Day 4 Fly from Edinburgh to Dublin
DUBLIN
Nights 4,5 & 6
Dublin has long been a centre of art and culture. Stroll through the elegant Georgian streets of Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares, shop in the elegant emporiums of Grafton Street and Powerscourt Townhouse, explore the collections of the National Museum and National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and many fine small private collections. The range of art and artefacts is enormous, and you will have no problem spending many hours enthralled.. The city is over a thousand years old, and many of the towns and settlements that surround it are equally ancient. Successive centuries have left their distinctive overlays of character and architecture which means that Dublin has a wealth of historically significant and fascinating sights to explore such as Dublin Castle, where the Normans ruled from the 12th Century, St Patrick's Cathedral, of which Jonathan Swift was Dean, and Trinity College, famous for The Book of Kells and for its alumni who include Oscar Wilde and Oliver Goldsmith. And no visit to Dublin could be complete without visiting either the Old Whiskey Distillery or the Guinness Storehouse!
Overnight at The Merrion. A historic 58 hotel close to Dublin's main pedestrian shopping street, Grafton Street and close to the museums, galleries and Trinity College.
If you decide to explore outside Dublin there is lots to see - To the North of the city is Newbridge House, a Georgian manor with a delightful farmyard, and the haunted Malahide Castle, which is also home to a huge model railway and collection of dolls' houses. The valley of the River Boyne, where the world famous Brugh na Boyne monuments (Newgrange, Knowth & Dowth) have stood for over 5,000 years, is about 1 hour. Nearby are the early Christian sites of Mellifont Abbey and Monasterboice. Following the Boyne towards its source you could visit the Hill of Tara, ancient seat of Ireland's High Kings, and Trim with is great castle. On the way back to Dublin is Castletown, the largest Palladian stately home in Ireland.
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To the south is Glendalough, the 6th century monastic
establishment of St Kevin in the Wicklow Mountains and the estate of Powerscourt
House and Gardens. Powerscourt
gardens are a magnificent combination of the aristocratic themes of
French and Italian formal gardening with an impressive arboretum and an
entirely unexpected Japanese garden hidden in a valley in the 40 acres of
splendour.. With ornamental lakes,
splendid statuary and herbaceous borders, the gardens create a stunning setting
for the shell of Sir Richard Castle's imposing Palladian mansion
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| Cashel | Blarney | Cahir |
Cork Nights 7 and 8
Your route to Cork brings you to Cashel, a limestone outcrop rising from the plain and crowned by the cathedral and round tower. Sheltering at its foot is Bru Boru, a entertainment of Irish music and dance. The next town that you pass, Cahir, has a huge castle in a fine state of repair, and from there you could divert over the Vee, climbing high up into the Knockmealdown mountains (watch out for the sheep & the monster of Bay Lough!) and coming down into Lismore whose castle was for many years home to Fred Astaire's sister Adele. From Lismore follow the Blackwater to Fermoy pausing to visit the Barry mausoleum at Castlelyons on the way into Cork.
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You could spend a week exploring the Cork area and still not have seen all the highlights. The bells of Shandon, The English Market, St Finbarre's Cathedral & The Crawford Gallery are a few of the highlights of the city. Blarney Castle, with its eloquent stone is a short drive to the north. The town of Kinsale, gourmet capital of Ireland, is a place to spend a day. The Old Head golf course, south of Kinsale, is uniquely challenging being surrounded by cliffs that fall steeply down to the sea. East is Fota Island, with its wonderful gardens, historic house and wildlife park. Cobh Heritage Centre with its tales of emigration to America. Barryscourt Castle. and the Midleton Whiskey Distillery
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| Midleton | Cobh | Kinsale |
Kerry Nights 9,10 & 11
Touring to the west you will find brightly painted villages, mad folk museums, amazing sub tropical gardens and host of craft workers, farmhouse cheese producers and enchanting cafes, bars and restaurants. As you carry on down the coast the golden beaches begin to disappear. By the time you reach Mizen Head the seascape is as wild as anywhere in the world with the Fastnet light flashing its warning in the distance. Bantry House is an essential stop. The house, with its "staircase to heaven" gardens is a wonderful example of a landlord's home and has a stunning collection put together by the 2nd Earl of Bantry who did well at Napoleon III's bargain basement sale at Versailles.
Derrynane House
From Kenmare you'll almost certainly want to explore one of the three famous peninsulas of Kerry - The Ring Of Beara, The Ring of Kerry and The Dingle Peninsuala. Each takes a full day of over 100 miles of stunning seaside with the mountains always beside you. Kerry is a land of contrasts - velvet green golf courses, empty golden beaches, rugged cliffs, exotic gardens, wild scenery, unchanged since the ice age, hidden communes of artists and writers, stone age monuments, and fish filled rivers and lakes. When going around the Ring of Kerry be sure to visit St Flanans Bay where the the wild fuchsia carpets the countryside and the Skellig Chocolate Company for the best chocolate in the world. A very spiritual place is the shrine in the slate quarry on Valentia island - take the car ferry from Cahirciveen and rejoin the mainland by the bridge to Ballinskelligs. Daniel O'Connell, the famous politician was born at Cahirciveen, and lived at Derrynane House, just beyond Waterville. The O'Connells are the most important of the Kerry septs, and controlled much of the western area from Killorglin to Sneem
On the Dingle Peninsula do explore the early Christian beehive huts and visit Louis Mulcahy's pottery. Fungi the dolphin is another must in Dingle - a wild dolphin who shows off for the fishermen. And if you seek complete tranquillity then explore the Ring of Beara, whose roads are too narrow for the tour buses so it has remained far wilder than the other peninsulas. Overnight in the Park Hotel in Kenmare
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| Ring of Kerry | Kenmare |
Adare Manor Nights 12 & 13
From Kenmare to Adare a very pretty village and well worth exploring. There are three abbeys here as well as the Desmond Castle and the Trent Jones golf course surrounding the neo-gothick Adare Manor
Limerick is a busy city and has several major attractions - the Hunt Museum in the 18th century customs house, King John's Castle, St Mary's Cathedral and the Georgian House on Pery Square. After Limerick head out towards Shannon, stopping off at Bunratty Castle and folk park on the way. You could also see Cratloe Woods house. Dating from the 17th Century, this is the only example of an Irish longhouse which is still lived in by a family. The house is steeped in history and features works of art, curios and in the yard horse drawn farm machinery and a pets corner. The primeval Garranon Oak Wood, which provided the timbers for Westminster Hall in London, also forms part of the estate.
To explore the Burren properly you need Tim Robinson's Folding Landscape map. Be sure to see Dysert O'Dea near Corofin, the sulphur Spa at Lisdoonvarna, St Bridget's Well at the Cliffs of Moher, the Doolin Craft Gallery, the internationally renowned karst limestone habitat of the Burren, with its orchids, gentians and ragged robin, and stop for a drink in Kinvara, home of the Galway Hooker and of King Guaire the Generous, whose right arm was longer than his left from so much giving. If you stay on the main road through Gort then Coole Park with its autograph tree and Thoor Ballylee, home of the poet WB Yeats are interesting stops. At Kilcolgan, where the roads rejoin, take a moment to explore the Turlough down a laneway opposite the blind poet's graveyard and then stop for refreshments at Morans of the Weir, a thatched oyster bar patronised by John Wayne & Noel Coward.
But do remember these are just suggestions - like a menu, if you try and do it all then you will get indigestion! Your driver guide is the jeweller who will turn this rough diamond into a sparkling gem.
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| Cliffs of Moher |
The Burren |
Day 14
Depart Shannon
STRICTLY VACATIONS
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