Dublin, Ashford Castle and Adare Manor, joined by private car and three helicopter flights.
Eight nights in three great Irish houses, met at the aircraft door in Dublin and flown home from Shannon. Two nights in the city, then three each on Lough Corrib and at Adare, with Connemara, the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher seen from the air. At Ashford, a day in the rooms and tunnels of the Guinness family, with their historian and with Lord Ardilaun's great-great-nephew.
01
Days 1 to 3 · two nights
Met at the aircraft and driven into the city. A private guided day around Dublin with a tasting of rare whiskeys, and, after hours, a private tour of the Old Library at Trinity College and the Book of Kells. A whiskey specialist can meet you in Malahide for the 25-minute boat to Lambay, a private island shaped by Sir Edwin Lutyens, for a whiskey tasting and Ireland's only wild wallabies. Then a day in the Wicklow Mountains and the monastic valley of Glendalough. At the National Gallery of Ireland, a private tour can be arranged with the museum's former director, a specialist in the Vikings, on their influence in Ireland. Dinner one evening at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, in the hotel, which holds a two-MICHELIN-star rating.
Where you stay
The Merrion is four restored Georgian townhouses in the centre of Dublin, opposite Government Buildings, with 142 bedrooms and suites. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is in the house, alongside The Garden Room, The Cellar Bar and the small No. 23 cocktail bar, and there is an 18-metre pool, spa and gym.
02
Days 3 to 6 · three nights
West by private car, with a private visit and lunch at the Irish National Stud and its Japanese Gardens, laid out between 1906 and 1910 by Tassa Eida and his son Minoru. A helicopter over Connemara and a hosted day in the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, a private dinner in the castle's wine cellar, and a day for falconry, riding, fishing or golf. If you wish, the Guinness Legacy Experience: the drawing rooms, the underground tunnels and the Billiards Room with the historian Dr Kevin Egan, then afternoon tea with Charles Plunket, great-great-nephew of Lord Ardilaun.
Where you stay
Ashford Castle has stood on the shore of Lough Corrib at Cong for more than 800 years, and was once home to the Guinness family. Its 83 rooms and suites include a boathouse over the lake, and the 350-acre estate is set up for falconry, riding, fishing, shooting and golf.
03
Days 6 to 9 · three nights
By helicopter from Ashford over the Cliffs of Moher, stopping on the Aran Islands; on Inis Oírr a private guide shows you the island's pubs, crafts and culture, and lunch is lobster caught that day, served in an islander's home. A day on the estate, where Magnus Éirí, Joseph Walsh's 12-metre sculpture of bronze, oak and gold, now stands in the parkland, and a private day on a yacht on the Shannon lakes from Killaloe, landing by water at private islands, castles and homes and tasting local artisan food and drink along the way, then Shannon Airport for home.
Where you stay
Adare Manor stands in Adare village in County Limerick, about half an hour from Shannon Airport, among medieval ruins, walled gardens and woodland paths. The house was the life's work of two generations of the Dunraven Earls, and the estate holds a championship golf course, a spa and The Oak Room restaurant.
A full day at Ashford with the historian Dr Kevin Egan through drawing rooms, underground tunnels and the Billiards Room, with afternoon tea alongside Charles Plunket, great-great-nephew of Lord Ardilaun; up to six guests.
From Malahide, 25 minutes by boat with a whiskey specialist to Lambay, a private island shaped by Sir Edwin Lutyens, for a whiskey tasting and Ireland's only wild wallabies.
Wine dinners and tastings in 16th-century passages beneath Ashford Castle, once a coal bunker and servants' walkway.
Private themed tours of the working stud, its stallions and foaling unit, can be booked ahead, with the Japanese Gardens of 1906 to 1910.
A private tour of the National Gallery of Ireland led by the museum's former director, a specialist in the Vikings, on Viking influence in Ireland.
A day aboard a yacht from Killaloe, reaching private islands, castles and homes by water, meeting locals and tasting artisan food and drink on the way.
Subject to availability.
This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.
Most travel is bought. This is designed.
Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.
The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.
Four nights on Lough Corrib, then a private jet to the Highlands for four more.
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12 nights · Ireland
