5 or 8 Day Celtic West of Ireland Tour
Including: Walking in Kerry, Dingle - Mount Brandon - Clare - Doolin - Cliffs of Moher - The Burren - Galway - Connemara- Sligo - Benbulbin. Price: 5 Day Tour €535, 8 Day Tour €835 Accomm: Guesthouse + Hotel |
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| Dates 2010 | April 19th - 26th |
June 16th - 20th |
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July 15th - 22nd |
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Aug 9th - 16th |
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The West of Ireland is a true treasure to explore with its wonderful lakes, mountains, sea shores and inhabited islands. This part of the country is also steeped in folklore, history and fine Irish music. We will visit ancient monuments such as Ogham stones, stone circles, Dolmens and other evidence of this Island’s rich and curious past.
Day 1:Travel to Dingle Co. Kerry
You have the option to arrive at Dublin or Shannon Airport and take a bus or train to Dingle. We will supply you with the necessary timetables and information to get you safely to your first accommodation. A bus will leave Dublin @10am on the morning of this tour also.
Dingle in Co. Kerry this is a fantastic small fishing port at the very southern tip of Ireland. When we reach Dingle and you settle in to your accommodation in the heart of Dingle town called the Lantern Townhouse. We will then go for dinner in one of Dingle’s fine restaurants or bars and relax for the rest of the evening. Dingle is well known for being one of the livliest towns in the region with live irish music in most pubs, craft shops, cafes and seafood restaurants.
As they say "Some land touches the heart but Dingle touches the soul"
Day 2: Mt Brandon 952m
Walk type: moderate - hard approx 5hrs.
To day we will walk Mt Brandon, named after Saint Brandon " the navigator" who is chiefly renowned for his legendary journey to The Isle of the Blessed (also called Tír na nÓg). This one of the best mountain walks in Ireland and the views are incredible in all directions, to the south are the Blasket and Skellig Islands and the whole southern coast of Kerry is visible incuding the mcgillicuddy reeks 
which are the highest mountain range in Ireland. On the way back we will stop in Tome Crean's South Pole pub for a refreshing pint. Tom Crean is a very famous explorer and went on expedition to the South Pole with Shackleton and Scott. The book an "Unsung Hero" about Tom Crean is well worth a read and may help you enjoy the Dingle Peninsula even more..
Day 3: Dingle Co. Kerry and travel to Doolin.
Walk type: easy - moderate
We will stay in Dingle for the day and do a short walk in the area, the old green road which comes along Conor pass and back into the town.
We may then visit one of Dingle's highlights "Funghi" the bottlenose dolphin, which has been living in Dingle Bay since 1983 and you can book a boat trip to see him or even hire a wet suit and swim with Funghi. In the afternoon we will travel to Doolin in County Clare and we will be staying in the Doolin Activity Lodge for the next two nights.
Day 4: Doolin Co. Clare
Walk type: easyDoolin is a small coastal town known for it's Irish music and wonderful scenery. Doolin is very close to the Aran Islands and also resides one of the most incredible places to walk or visit in the west of Ireland " The Burren". The Burren is a limestone karst whose flora are internationally famous, The bloody cranesbill, mountain avens and sping gentians are among the many plants from the Arctic, Alps and Mediterranean which grow here..
We will also visit the Cliff's of Moher. The Cliffs are 214m high at the highest point and range for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. O'Brien's Tower stands proudly on a headland of the majestic Cliffs. From the Cliffs one can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, as well as The Twelve Pins, the Maum Turk Mountains in Connemara and Loop Head to the South.
Day 5: Clifden, Connemara Co. Galway
Walk type: easy - moderate 4hrsToda we will travel to Connemara which is the area that "the Quiet Man" and "the Field" where both filmed in and when you visit the place it will not be difficult to understand why. We will staying in some very unique accommodation Dan O'Hara's Homestead near the small fishing village of Clifden. This area holds a special place in anyone's heart that has visited here and it captures the idea of Ireland that many visitors to Ireland have of what they would expect with small cottages, beautiful landscapes and undisturbed beauty.
Today we will also walk down what is known as a "famine road". These were built during the great famine
1845-1849 as a relief efford to reward the people with food for their labour, alot of the time the starving people died building these roads. The road is seldom used and is still a great marvel of civil engineering in the area. Along the walk you will see the remains of many old famine villages and "lazy beds" these are potatoe ridges where people tried to grow food. This a fantastc easy walk along Ireland's only fjord with wonderful views of Mweelrea mountain on the opposite side in Co. Mayo.
Day 6: Kylemore Abbey and Diamond Hill
Walk type: easy 3hrs.Today we visit the Kylemore Abbey and walk Diamond Hill. Beside Letterfrack in the Connemara national Park sits Diamond Hill. It is a 7km loop walk with an ascent of 400m but from it's summit you get commanding views of the Connemara mountains and it's coastline. You can aslo clearly see Kylemore , the oldest of the Irish Benedictine abbeys on a lakeside which is infamous with the area of Connemara.
We will then make our way on up to Yeat's Country, County Sligo.
Day 7: County Sligo and Benbulbin.
Ben Bulbin (Binn Ghulbain) moderate walk
Walk type: moderate approx 4hrs
Sligo, one of the most scenically beautiful counties in Ireland offers endless opportunities to walkers. The mountainous landscape, the boglands, endless stretches of sandy beaches and forests.
Ben Bulbin, an area immortalized by W.B. Yeats, is one of a group of Plateaus to the east of Sligo town. This walk also takes in the top-hatted profile of Kings Mountain also known as Finn McCool's table. We will be staying at the foot of this wonderful mountain in the Yeat's Lodge in Drumcliffe
| We will also visit the grave of W.B. Yeat's at Drumcliff. | "Cast a cold eye On life, on death. Horseman, pass by!" |
Day 8: County Sligo Yeat's Country.
Today we will do a walk along one of Sligo's many great beaches.
We will also visit Lissadell house The childhood home of Countess Constance Markievicz, patriot and first woman to be elected to the House of Commons at Westminster.
“ I do wish your lot had the decency to shoot me.” – Countess Markievicz, to the officer at Kilmainham Jail who had just informed her she was not to be executed for the part she had played in the 1916 rising on account of her sex.
Then we say goodbye to the West and head back for Dublin.
- Transport to and from Locations.
- 4/7 nights accommodation that's approved by the Irish Tourist Board.
- Luggage transfer each day.
- Numerous guided walks and visit places of interest in the West of Ireland.
- Plenty of local knowledge.
Price: 5 Day Tour €535, 8 Day Tour €835
Price Includes.
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