Ireland has the finest range of peatlands in Europe. They were formed following the last ice age, ten thousand years ago. The retreating ice sheet left the centre of Ireland covered by shallow lakes. Over the tens of centuries lakeside vegetation grew, died, and partly decomposed. The cycle changed...
Only thirty minutes South from Dublin is one of our favourite places to visit here at Ireland and Scotland Luxury Tours. You find yourself amongst some of the most spectacular landscapes in Ireland. The diversity of County Wicklow’s scenery has led to it being referred to as...
The first positive evidence of human settlement in Ireland is to be found in a variety of burial grounds. Some of this date back to 6000 BC! These are in the form of “court cairns”, “passage graves”, “gallery graves”, and “portal dolmens”. In a pasture near Carlow...
Dublin is clustered around the banks of the river Liffey, with the Wicklow Mountains to the South, and the hill peninsula of Howth to the North. At Ireland and Scotland Luxury Tours we choose comfortable and centrally located hotels for our clients. While they are more expensive...
Built in 1701 for Archbishops Narcissus Marsh, this is the oldest public library in Ireland. It was designed by Sir William Robinson, architect of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. To the rear of the library are wired alcoves where readers who wanted to read any of the...
This vast estate, lying in the South of Mohill, was the ancestral seat of the Clements family, Earls of Leitrim. The baronial-style house, constructed in 1832 and full of hunting trophies and grandiose furniture, is of less interest than the grounds. These extend across 100...
A pretty 20-minute walk west of the city centre leads to the restored City Gaol, complete with its furnished cells. The exhibition and audio-visual display trace the lives of individual inmates imprisoned here during the 19th and 20th centuries. Conditions were miserable and, for punishment...
Founded in 1707, St Ann’s striking Romanesque façade was added by the architects Deane and Woodward in 1868. The best view of the façade is from Grafton Street, looking down Anne Street South. Inside the church are many colourful stained-glass windows that date back to...
Rathlin Island is situated off the north coast of Ireland, and is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland. Rathlin has long had associations with both Ireland and Scotland due to where it is situated, and it once lay at the heart of the...
Well before you reach Cashel, the rock that bears its name appears on the skyline, rearing up from the landscape in a series of limestone ridges and topped by the serenely beautiful Cathedral of St Patrick. The cathedral’s roofless chancel and nave is 93ft long...