The Ballynahinch fishery
Seven beats and more than 70 casting piers on a river system once owned by the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, fished with the estate's ghillies from February to September.
Ireland Close to the Land
Farms, fjords and the Burren, up Ireland's west coast with local hosts.
- 12 nights
- Six stays
- Ireland
- Sustainable, farms, food, walking, riding
Twelve nights with a private driver-guide, from East Cork round the south-west and up the Atlantic coast to Connemara and the Burren. Organic farms, a cookery class at Ballymaloe, salmon pools on the Sheen and at Ballynahinch with a ghillie, a snorkel in Connemara, oysters on a fisherman's boat in Roundstone Bay, and Dromoland's history told by the castle's own historian.
- Length
- 12 nights
- Pace
- Six stays
- Style
- Sustainable, farms, food, walking, riding
- Route
- East Cork to Kenmare to County Limerick to Cong to Connemara to County Clare, for the Burren
- East CorkTwo nights
- KenmareTwo nights
- County LimerickTwo nights
- CongTwo nights
- ConnemaraTwo nights
- County Clare, for the BurrenTwo nights
01
Days 1 to 3 · two nights
East Cork
Met at Cork Airport and driven east. A day at the Ballymaloe estate learning how it farms and cooks, with a cookery class, and the Midleton whiskey distillery if you like. The cookery school's gardens are open all year, to walk alone or with a garden guide. Nearby, descendants of the founder of Jameson can welcome you into their historic family home and gardens on request, with refreshments and the family's own stories of the whiskey dynasty.
Where you stay
Castlemartyr Resort
Castlemartyr Resort spreads over 220 acres of East Cork woodland, where an 18th-century manor house stands beside the ruins of an 800-year-old castle. There are 110 rooms and suites, Terre for a tasting menu by Lewis Barker, an inland links golf course designed by Ron Kirby, and a spa.
02
Days 3 to 5 · two nights
Kenmare
With a driver-guide from here on. West through the towns of West Cork to Kenmare, and a day on an organic farm learning permaculture from the farmer. The lodge holds the fishing on the River Sheen, whose finest salmon pools lie just above the falls, with ghillies to guide you; June and July are the strongest months. On a Kerry farm, the farmer walks you out in wellies to Ireland's only buffalo herd, the milking parlour and the mozzarella dairy, to taste the cheeses made that morning, and a home-cooked lunch with the owners can follow. A private boat to the Skelligs can be arranged, to see the thousand-year-old steps and beehive huts of the monastic settlement on Skellig Michael. Or an afternoon making chocolate by hand at Lorge Chocolatier.
Where you stay
Sheen Falls Lodge
Sheen Falls Lodge looks over the Sheen River on one side and Kenmare Bay on the other, a five-minute drive from Kenmare. The estate is set up for fishing, falconry, horse riding and archery, dinner is at The Falls or The Stables Brasserie, and the Easanna Spa is on site.
03
Days 5 to 7 · two nights
County Limerick
North by way of Killarney National Park and the Ring of Kerry. A morning painting the Adare estate with a local artist, then private days around the Shannon lakes.
Where you stay
Adare Manor
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.
04
Days 7 to 9 · two nights
Cong
A plant-to-plate morning in the castle's kitchen garden, and a session with a marine biologist on the Connemara coast that ends with a snorkel. In the castle woods, a private hour flying a Harris hawk with Ireland's School of Falconry.
Where you stay
Ashford Castle
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.
05
Days 9 to 11 · two nights
Connemara
West into Connemara. A visit to a mussel and oyster farm on the fjord at Bundorragha Harbour, and walks on the estate's trails or a day on its salmon river with a ghillie, between February and September. Inland, on a hill farm, farmers work their sheepdogs across the mountains, a small producer pours sheep's-milk yoghurt and cheeses, and textile makers show how they spin, dye with plants and berries and weave the fleece by hand. From April to September, a fisherman's boat from Roundstone to the island of Inishlacken, watching for dolphins and seals, with oysters and a pint of Guinness on board or a lobster picnic on the sandbar.
Where you stay
Ballynahinch Castle
Ballynahinch Castle looks over its own salmon fishery from a private estate of 700 acres in the heart of Connemara, with the Twelve Bens behind. Woodland, rivers and walking trails run through the estate, dinner is in the Owenmore Restaurant, and there are the Fisherman's Pub and the Ranji Room.
06
Days 11 to 13 · two nights
County Clare, for the Burren
South to County Clare for a guided hike across the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. Or a foraging walk over the limestone for edible plants, wild herbs and seaweeds, behind the scenes at a traditional salmon smokehouse, and a private lunch at a craft brewery with Burren dishes paired to its beers. At Dromoland, the castle historian, Dr Jane O'Brien, leads a tour of the halls and gardens on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., or privately on request, before the flight home from Shannon.
Where you stay
Dromoland Castle
Dromoland Castle is a 16th-century castle in the heart of County Clare, surrounded by 500 acres of parkland and woodland, with a lineage traced to the High King Brian Ború. The estate offers hawk walks, rowing, fishing, clay pigeon shooting and archery, and the tasting menu draws on the Burren and the Wild Atlantic Way.
Arranged on request
Oysters off Inishlacken
From April to September, a fisherman's boat from Roundstone round the bay to Inishlacken, with freshly shucked oysters or a lobster picnic on the sandbar; it can be taken privately.
Dromoland with its historian
Dr Jane O'Brien, the castle historian, leads tours of the halls and gardens on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., and privately for up to six on request.
Skellig Michael by private boat
A private boat out to the Skelligs, to see the thousand-year-old steps and beehive huts of the monastic settlement on Skellig Michael.
Salmon on the Sheen
Sheen Falls Lodge holds the fishing on the River Sheen, with the Sheen, Flat, Sand and Weir pools just above the falls, and ghillies who can have the catch prepared or smoked by the kitchen.
A hill farm in Connemara
Farmers working their sheepdogs across the mountains, then sheep's-milk yoghurt and cheeses with a small artisan producer, and the textile makers who spin, dye with plants and berries and hand-weave the fleece.
Subject to availability.
Ways to make it yours
- Stay at Ballymaloe House itself, on the farm, in place of Castlemartyr.
- A day on the Beara Peninsula from Kenmare.
- An afternoon in Ballynahinch's walled garden, then the woodland saunas.
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.
Made around you
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.
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