Highland folklore is filled with tales of strange creatures living in lochs and rivers, notably the kelpie (water horse) that lures unwary travellers to their doom. The use of the term 'monster', however, is a relatively recent phenomenon whose origins lie in an article published...
Rebels on their way back from the Battle of Carlow were ambushed in Hacketstown, and the bloody lighting between rebels and yeomanry continued until 250 rebels lay dead. Today, Hacketstown is a more peaceful place as a centre for walking in the Wicklow Mountains. The...
This prosperous market town straddles a tree-lined stretch of the River Blackwater on the main Cork - Dublin road. But crumbling barracks ruins mark Fermoy as a former British garrison. lt owes its origins to a farsighted Scots merchant, John Anderson, who bought the land...
Tobermory, the island’s main town, is a picturesque little fishing port and yachting centre with brightly painted houses arranged around 2 sheltered harbours, with a grid-patterned upper town as the setting for the children’s TV programme Balamory, the town swarms in summer with toddlers towing...
A step through a gateway at the southern end of this straggling town takes visitors back 800 years in an instant, into the stillness of a 13th-century Franciscan friary, which was plundered by Robert Bruce in 1317. Later, in 1541, the friary was suppressed, Only...
Tiny, charming Melrose is a polished village. This little enclave is a complete contrast with overbearing Galashiels, whose urban sprawl laps at its western edges. Sitting at the feet of the three heather-covered Eildon Hills, Melrose has a classic market square and its most famous...
With splendid views of the rugged Comeragh Mountains only a few miles to the south, Clonmel, whose Irish name means ‘honey meadow’, is one of Ireland’s most charming towns. It is Tipperary’s county town, with an intimate atmosphere within the remains of its old walls....
My husband and I have just returned from the most wonderful tour of Ireland ! Ireland Luxury Tours planned a trip for our anniversary and it was magical. We stayed at castles , we saw stunning coastline and scenery , and we ate like kings. They could not...
In a quiet pine glade on Shantemon Hill, five great boulders stand in a row on the emerald grass. Named after the legendary Irish giant-slayer Finn MacCool, or MacCumhaill, the stones are thought to have been erected during the Bronze Age (between 1750 and 500BC),...
My family and I planned our tour of Ireland through Ireland Luxury Tours this year. I didnt want to drive and we wanted somebody to take us to the "real Ireland" rather than the tourist hot spots. Maurice and his team created the most wonderful trip taking...