Underrated Favorites

stewh · Guru

Underrated Favorites

Geographer · Member

Hi Stewart...My wife and I are heading to Ireland in May as well...first time. From your travels...any suggestions for B&B's near (walking distance) pubs in "underrated" areas of the SW / W?

Thanks John

Michele Erdvig · Host

Stewart,

Are you spending three weeks in one place? You will know every byway for miles around! You must visit Glenveagh House, Gardens and National Park while in Donegal. It was fabulous last May.

Westport is a great town. West of there is Achill Island, which I really like. Sligo is a very underrated place with much to see and do in the area. All of Donegal is wonderful.

Are you going to Northern Ireland? You might consider taking one of your weeks away from Donegal and get a cottage up there. You won't regret it.

The towns in Co. Meath are not very memorable. Trim is okay and has a fab castle plus good proximity to Newgrange and Tara.

Michele

Michele Erdvig · Host

John,

Have you looked at my Lodgings page yet? Once you know where you want to stay I will be happy to help with some suggestions.

Michele

stewh · Guru

Hi John
One of my favorite Irish places is the beautiful Georgian town of Birr in Co. Offaly. Not really in the West but is very accessible. A few years ago we stayed at Spinners Townhouse which since closed and re-opened under new ownership
http://www.spinnerstownhouse.com/ . Although we have not stayed in either The Stables http://thestablesbirr.com/ and The Maltings Guesthouse look good and are well located near Birr Castle and close to good Pubs. My favorites in Birr are Craughwells and The Chestnut. Have a great trip.
Stewart

Mark D · Senior Member

My two favorite small towns are Oughterard, and The Rosses.
Both have amazing beauty, and are close enough to larger cities to make a nice home base. Westport is my favorite town, but you have already visited there.
Cheers!
Mark D.

stewh · Guru

Thanks Michele. We won't be spending 3 weeks in one place. Probably 1 week in Donegal centered in Ardara. Thanks for the suggestions. Sligo and Achill Island both look like good ideas. The form of this trip is not yet developed; we haven't yet worked out how much time in self-catering vs. B&B's or pre-booking vs. winging it. Our week in Co Donegal will probably be week 2 (self-catering). Glenveagh will certainly top my list of musts. Probably will not venture into N. Ireland on this trip. As things develop I'll be looking for more answers.
Stewart

stewh · Guru

Thanks Mark, just the sort of thing I am looking for. When you say 'The Rosses', are you talking about the area of Donegal or the village of Rosses Point in Sligo? Oughterard looks good, definitely a possibility. Even though we spent a couple of nights in Westport a few years ago it is certainly hard to resist when we are going to be in the neighborhood.This trip I'm trying to stay away from places that are our established favorites but I'm certain of some degree of failure in that attempt.
Stewart

Dude · Guru

Look at Rossnowlagh. Lovely beach, cliffs and an interesting friary nearby with a museum.

Mark D · Senior Member

Hello Stewh,

Yes, I mean Rosses Point. It was taken by the beautiful beaches. We stayed at the Yeats Country Hotel. The walks along the beach each morning is something I will always remember. We went in March, so we had to explore Sligo for restaurants. Loved Fiddlers Creek, and McHugh's Pub.
Powers Pub in Oughterard was our first taste of a authentic thatch roofed pub. Very realaxing. a little cafe called Yew Tree had the best scones we had while in Ireland.

-- Edited by Mark D at 23:07, 2008-01-12

Anchoress · Guru

Dude; glad Rossnowlagh pleased... an even more beautiful beach is just down the road at Murvagh... forest walks on one side and an empty, wide beach on the other. Donegal beaches are far, far better than Sligo..

Another beautiful place off the main Sligo to Donegal road is the Glenniff Horseshoe. I strayed into it once when looking for a shortcut... It is as the name says, a horseshoe, and so cut off. Wild and utterly Irish.

There are so many..

Ardara is interesting; the Heritage Centre cafe is good; they are friends of ours.
Best scones ever....

And there is nearby a waterfall and caves, and wild beaches.

But Donegal beats Sligo hollow... Always....

Blessings

-- Edited by Anchoress at 00:20, 2008-01-13

CowboyCraic · Guru

I can add Athenry to the mix, although it is in Co. Galway. It is a medieval heritage town just a short distance from Galway. If for nothing else, a lunch stop with a few hours to explore. There is Athenry Castle, North Gate, the Dominican Priory with the spectacular tomb of Lady Birmingham and teh Heritage Centre which is housed in the 13th (?) century St. Mary's Cathedral.

Other than the Abbey, which is fabulous, there is King House and Lough Key Forest Park in Boyle. You might want to venture further into County Roscommon and visit tehe Strokestown House Famine Museum & its gardens, which will be fabulous in May. Co. Roscommon has many interesting archeological sites. A visit to the interpretative centre at Rathcroghan And Glenballythomas Earthworks will give you some insight and provides you with a map of all of the archeological sites in the area.

As was mentioned, any where in Donegal is simply fabulous. The Slieve League Cliffs, especially in May, are breathtaking. Malin head is a must see in the spring months. Killybegs has a wonderful Maritime museum, which demonstrates via an audio visual the history of the fishing and the famous hand-knotting carpets. THe weaving loom they have there is fabulous!

Achill island is a treasure trove of history. I highly recommend taking some time to walk through the deserted village of Slievemore. It will give you a unique understanding of Achill in the times before modern conveniences. If you travel to Achill, don't forget the Tower at Kildavnet, which is a 15th (?) century Tower house used as a stronghold by Grace O'malley, the Pirate queen. Also in that area is the centuries old Church and cemetery. Achill is in Co. Mayo. In Co. Mayo you will also find a plethora of Stone Age tombs.Ceilde Fields is a very thorough examination of these tombs.

As you can probably tell, the Northwest is a favorite area. I think I could be there 6 months and not run out of places to explore. biggrin

Slan Beo (Take Care),

Bit

stewh · Guru

Thank you all. Bit, I am taking a close look at Achill; when we spent a couple of days in Westport a few years ago the weather was just not good enough to get there. Luckily it never rains in the pub. One of the things that makes Boyle interesting to me is a self-catering house that looks pretty cool.
http://reservations.goireland.com/affiliates/avlcheckprem.asp?PremisesCode=IWS0035101&affiliateid=81

Anchoress,The "horseshoe' drive is new to me, I am certain to see it. I will also be sure to have the scones at the Heritage Center during our week in Ardara.
Dude, thanks for Rossnowlagh recommendation. It's good to hear first hand. Mark, Rosses Point is definitely a strong possibility, might make a good center to tour from as well as a charming place to live for a week. Oughterard really looks like a good town. We spent a week in Connemara on our first trip to Ireland but didn't get to Oughterard, maybe a good place for a night

Michele, when my plans shape up I will be sure to look for more advice. We are flying in to Shannon but unfortunately out of Dublin. Thank you again for the great site and forum.

Stewart

Michele Erdvig · Host

Stewart,

There is certainly plenty for you to do while in Ireland. The Gleniff Horseshoe Drive is north of Sligo off the N15. If you are traveling north it will be a turning on your right. It is a lovely drive with close up looks at Sligo's famous mountains. Look closely and you can see Dermot and Grainne's cave high up on the mountainside. Creevykeel court tomb is nearby and signposted on the main road.

Michele

Dude · Guru

Rossnolagh is special to me, partly because of the tour guide who showed us around the Friary--our own Anchoress. Several of my favorite pictures are of various groupings of us, up on a little promontory, with the beach in the background.

I had forgotten the Horseshoe; we drove that in '93 on our first trip. We were such babes in the woods and spent one whole day driving around Co. Donegal when I now know I could spend a month there and not see all there is to see. Anchoress would call it Experiential Learning. Looking at my journal, we drove from Carrick-on-Shannon through Sligo, Donegal Town and Letterkenney, Dunfanaghy, Gweedore, Dungloe and Glenties, wrong turn and back to Ballybofey and then to spend the night at Rosses Point. Don't try this yourselves! Of course, we were much younger then and hadn't discovered the combined wisdom of this forum. aww

-- Edited by Dude at 23:52, 2008-01-14

CowboyCraic · Guru

There is a B&B on Achill, the Bervie, which garners high praise here by many of us on the forum. You might consider a stay there as part of your Achill experience.

Abbey Mews is a wonderful place. It is a pleasant walk from Boyle. At an easy pace, maybe ten minutes at most. Whilst in Boyle, make sure to visits Clarke's Seanchai Bar on Patrick street. Your hosts should be able to tell you when they are having Trad.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Wonderful suggestions from everyone. Keep them coming! I have a review of Bervie on my website: http://www.irelandyes.com/excerpt.html Read it now because it may be changing shortly.

Michele

Dude · Guru

Bervie may be changing, or the review? I wonder from time to time if John was really serious about selling out and getting a nine to five job! Oh, we did love Achill Island and the Bervie!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dude,

I will be changing the review. I love the Bervie too. It is so unique, cozy and welcoming. And that location! It is a rare find.

I will have my 2008 Emerald Awards online soon.

Michele

Anchoress · Guru

Dude; that was quite some drive....

One way to see Ireland....

We have done most of that on various days... Good roads most of them, except that coast road.

The one time I drove the Horseshoe was at dusk.. I had never heard of it, and had passed my turn , heading for near Carrick on Shannon, by mistake. So I was simply trying to cut across country, which, if you know the terrain, is worse than your drive... you cannt get from a to b in those mountains...

Just getting dark, and the wildest, bleakest, most isolated place.. It is a valley totally cut off from the rest of the world.

There were ruins, stark against the sky, and not a house in sight , just ruins.

A world apart. Enclosed .. surrounded by its own mountains.

I really must drive it again; I looked it up on the web when I got home. famous for its wild flowers etc. There just is never time for these things.

Blessings this night

Dude wrote:

Rossnolagh is special to me, partly because of the tour guide who showed us around the Friary--our own Anchoress. Several of my favorite pictures are of various groupings of us, up on a little promontory, with the beach in the background.

I had forgotten the Horseshoe; we drove that in '93 on our first trip. We were such babes in the woods and spent one whole day driving around Co. Donegal when I now know I could spend a month there and not see all there is to see. Anchoress would call it Experiential Learning. Looking at my journal, we drove from Carrick-on-Shannon through Sligo, Donegal Town and Letterkenney, Dunfanaghy, Gweedore, Dungloe and Glenties, wrong turn and back to Ballybofey and then to spend the night at Rosses Point. Don't try this yourselves! Of course, we were much younger then and hadn't discovered the combined wisdom of this forum.

-- Edited by Dude at 23:52, 2008-01-14