Enniskillen (Inis Ceitleann, Ceithle’s Island) the capital of County Fermanagh illustrates very well the long, neat, narrow street of the Northern Irish agricultural town. It stands on the winding River Erne between Upper and Lower Lough Erne. At this strategic bridge head the Maguires, turbulent...
Louth, the smallest of the Irish counties, lying between the Boyne Estuary and Carlingford Lough, bulks largely in Irish history, for it was always a border country and debatable land. It guarded the Gap of the North, the pass that runs from the plains of...
West of Sligo town – which, except on the seaward side, is surrounded by mountains – the most striking feature of the landscape is the kill of Knocknarea (1,078 feet). On the south-west of the hill is the Glen of Knocknarea, a deep cleft nearly...
The quiet coastal road which climbs up from the bay and village of Cushendun has its little hair-raising hills and hairpin drops leading to the most surprising landscape in Antrim, or indeed, in Ireland. To come unexpectedly upon lovely Murlough Bay with its high green...
Around AD440 St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland settled in this valley, where the rushing sound of the Bonet’s rapids and waterfalls fills the air. During the following 17 years he founded a Church, Monastery, and Nunnery, but little is left of the ancient ruins...
A few miles of east of the Glencoe proper is the base station for the Glencoe Mountain Resort where commercial skiing in Scotland first began back in 1956. The Lodge Café Bar has comfy sofas where you can soak up the view through the floor-to-ceiling...
Although only 3 miles long, this little island off the coast of Galway has quite varied landscapes. Across the middle is a broad saddle of pasture, divided by stone walls and dotted with conical haystacks. The eastern side has beaches of fine white sand and...
Cawdor The 14th century home of the Thanes of Cawdor, Cawdor Castle is reputedly the castle of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and was the scene of Duncan’s murder in the play – a bit of poetic licence from the bard, since the central tower dates from the 14th...
One of Ireland’s most sumptuous houses, Ballyfin was built in 1826 by the 9th baronet Sir Charles Coote to replace a former, plainer dwelling. Most of the architectural and design work was done by Richard Morrison, a pupil of James Gandon. The sober exterior of the...
Northern Islands The group of windswept islands north of mainland provides a refuge for migrating birds and a nesting group for seabirds; there are several RSPB reserves. Some of the islands are also rich in archaeological sites, but it’s the beautiful scenery, with beautiful white sand beaches...