Extreme Ireland Adventures
We are delighted to partner with Extreme Ireland to offer you a private group tour to the scenic West of Ireland. With a passion for the Irish landscape and heritage they will make your visit to Ireland truly memorable in many ways.
Day 1 – Monday 23rd May 2016
We depart from The Double Tree Hotel then head out to the west of Ireland, where you will see the Irish countryside with its rolling hills and green pastures. As we drive through the midlands, keep an eye out for tower houses/castles on the way, built by the Irish gentry and Normans alike, serving as cold, damp places of refuge in times of uncertainty. Also notice the lie of the land – see how it changes as you travel across the country: The more west you go, the wilder it gets – welcome to the wild, wild West! We will be driving through County Clare, stopping at the coastal town of Kinvara for a break. This quaint village on Galway Bay with a fisherman’s harbour hosts Galway Hooker boats with their signature red sails, which were once used to transport turf around the west coast. Dunguaire Castle (once home to the poet and writer Oliver Saint John Gogarty) can be viewed across the bay, beautifully nestled on its own tiny headland surrounded by water.
We will also visit a Fairy ringfort, the Poulnabrone dolmen (a Neolithic portal tomb that is 700 years older than the Pyramids!), and the High Crosses used by the monks to teach the pagan Irish the way of salvation hundreds of years ago. We will then stop for lunch in Doolin town, famous for its traditional music. In the afternoon we will visit the Cliffs of Moher. The spectacular Cliffs of Moher is a 200 meter high, 8 kilometer long ridge of cliffs jutting out into the ocean. Spend your time wandering along the cliff edge, looking over to the Gaelic speaking islands of Aran. The adjacent interpretive centre explores different elements of the mighty Cliffs: ocean, rock, nature and man. The virtual reality cliff face adventure movie called “the Ledge Experience” is not to be missed.
On the way to Galway city, where we will overnight, we will drive the scenic Black head coastal route through an area known as the Burren. Walking on wild remote limestone features in the Burren, The dry stone walls, on the one side, and the wild Atlantic Ocean on the other, leave a lasting impression of this rugged but fertile coastline. We overnight in Galway – the City of Tribes so called due to the 14 families or tribes that controlled the medieval town. Learn about the Claddagh ring – representing love, loyalty, and friendship- still being worn today to indicate if someone is already in a relationship, or available for courting.
Overnight Accommodation: Connaught Hotel Galway – www.theconnacht.ie
Day 2 – Tuesday 24th May 2016
We depart from our hotel to drive through scenic Connemara, made famous in the Michel Sardou song, “Les lacs de Connemara”, and take you through the glaciated Inagh Valley with reflections of the Twelve Bens (mountain peaks) on the dark lakes, Scottish blackhead sheep grazing along the road, and logs of cut turf that is being dried for the fireplace neatly stacked around the countryside. On the way we will tell you about turf cutting, the Gaelic still being spoken in this Gaeltacht area, and the rural traditions still being practised today.
We will visit Kylemore Abbey, situated breathtakingly on a lake in the heart of Connemara, was built in the 1870’s by industrialist Mitchel Henry for his wife Margaret, who sadly died shortly after its completion. It took 100 men 4 years to complete this magnificent granite and limestone castle, which was to become a monastery to an order of Benedictine nuns that had lost their abbey in Ypres, Belgium during the First World War. Today it is a landmark site, boasting a walled Garden, the Abbey, a Gothic church and mausoleum, all of which are a reminder of the stately homes that once formed the main source of income and prestige to entire communities. We will enjoy lunch here.
Drive through the scenic Kilary fjord, (the only fjord in the Republic) and picturesque Cong, home to the “Quiet Man” before heading back to Dublin for around 17.00pm.
Price: €225 per person sharing.
Price: €250 per individual person participating.
Minimum Number required to operate this private tour is 16 people. The tour will be available to book when registration is live.
