26th – 29th August 2024
Our Farewell Summer Tour heads North-West to explore the beautiful counties of Sligo, Donegal and Fermanagh. With the four-star Sligo Park Hotel as the perfect base, this is an action-packed tour which explores the magnificent scenery and rich culture of this beautiful part of Ireland.
Make memories that will last a lifetime at sights such as Mullaghmore, Tullynally Castle, Lissadell House, Drumcliffe, Belleek Pottery, Donegal Castle and Carrowmore Megalithic Tombs …we’ve selected the very best for you to enjoy this summer.
Please note this tour requires quite a degree of walking – sensible shoes a must!
For further information or to book this tour, please telephone Geraldine: 00 353 (0)64 6630267, or Email: tours@goldenireland.ie
Monday, 26th August
Luxury Coach transfer from Dublin City Centre to Sligo. Our first stop will be to beautiful Tullynally Castle & Gardens in County Westmeath. The Castle will open especially for our Golden Ireland guests. Although Tullynally Castle is still lived in as a family home by the Pakenhams, you can enjoy a special guided tour of the historic Great Hall, Dining room, Drawing Room and Library as well as the Victorian Servants’ Quarters. The Pakenhams, later Earls of Longford, have lived at Tullynally for over 370 years. Through turbulent and peaceful times, it has been a family home.
After a private tour and refreshments in the Castle’s tea rooms, enjoy some time in Tullynally Gardens. There are over 12 acres of garden in all, divided between walled gardens, extensive woodland gardens and 2 ornamental lakes. Much of the present layout dates from the early 1800s, but the current owner, Thomas Pakenham, and his late wife Valerie, have gardened here for over 50 years and added many new features.
After visiting Tullynally Castle & Gardens, it’s time to head for Sligo and check-in at the four star Sligo Park Hotel.
Hotel Accommodation:
Sligo Park Hotel, Pearse Road, Sligo.
Enjoy three nights of luxury accommodation in one of Sligo’s top hotels. Sligo Park Hotel is delighted to be included in Trip Advisor list of Ireland’s Top 25 hotels. Located on the Wild Atlantic Way, just on the edge of Sligo Town, in the Heart of Yeats’ Country, the four-star Sligo Park Hotel is set in quiet parkland and surrounded by some of the most scenic countryside in Ireland, ranging from the majestic Benbulben to the Wild Atlantic Way.
Hotel facilities include 136 bright and spacious bedrooms, each with complimentary unlimited 1GB high-speed WI-FI access, delicious dining options at both Hazelwood Restaurant and Jack B’s Bar and a Leisure Club which includes a fitness studio, hi-tech gymnasium, tennis courts and a 16 meter heated pool, Jacuzzi, Sauna, Steam room and a muscle relaxing plunge pool.
Three Nights Bed and Breakfast and Three Evening Meals plus Complimentary Tea/Coffee and Scones on Arrival.
Tuesday, 27th August
Your coach awaits to explore neighbouring Donegal. En route, you will stop at Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre. Belleek is situated on the edge of Northern Ireland in the beautiful County of Fermanagh.
Established in 1857, Belleek Pottery holds a very special place in Ireland’s cultural and commercial heritage. Enjoy a guided tour followed by a morning coffee break in Belleek Tea Rooms.
Next stop is Donegal Town and a visit to the 15th Century Donegal Castle. It was built by Red Hugh O’Donnell as his personal fortress. English captain Sir Basil Brooke became the castle’s new lord in 1616 and as part of a massive programme of improvements, Brooke built a handsome manor house beside the tower. The building complex fell into ruin in the twentieth century, but was brought back to its former glory in the 1990s. Your Guide will take you on a journey back in time through the three levels of the 15th Century Tower House.
Afterwards, enjoy free time in Donegal Town before heading off on your next adventure!
No trip to Sligo would be complete without witnessing the breathtaking scenery of Mullaghmore. Jutting out of Sligo’s northern edge, close to the county’s border with Donegal, the small peninsula of Mullaghmore sits dramatically out into the North Atlantic. Known for its surfing and dramatic scenery, few images of Mullaghmore, and for that matter Sligo, will fail to include Classiebawn Castle.
Building of the castle was begun by the British statesman, the 3rd Vicount Palmerstown in the mid 19th century and was once the residence of Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Wednesday, 28th August
The first stop of the day will be at Carrowmore Megalithic Tombs, the oldest and the densest concentration of Neolithic tombs in Ireland. These are among the reasons the site has been placed on Ireland’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites, together with the other monuments that comprise ‘The Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo’.
The site is located near Sligo town on the Cúil Íorra Peninsula, at the heart of Neolithic north-west Ireland. Remains of over 35 passage tombs are found here, constructed almost 6,000 years ago. Appropriate footwear is required for your guided tour of the site.
Following a Guided Tour of Carrowmore, it’s time to discover nearby Drumcliffe Church. William Butler Yeats chose this peaceful churchyard at Drumcliff in County Sligo as his final resting place, with its stunning location at the foot of Benbulben Mountain. The graveyard includes the remains of a round tower and a high cross, constructed in the 11th when there was a Christian monastery on the site.
The poet, W.B. Yeats always maintained that Sligo was the domain and landscape of his poetic imagination. His love for County Sligo inspired many of his poems which became world-renowned.
From ” The Lake Isle of Innisfree” to “Under BenBulben,” Yeats called Sligo ‘The Land of Heart’s Desire.’
Tread softly in the footsteps of the poet on the final stop of the day at the iconic Lissadell House.
When Lissadell House was built in the 1830’s by Robert Gore-Booth, Yeats’s great-grandfather was the rector of nearby Drumcliff. As a child, Yeats together with his brother would frequently visit Lissadell House to play cricket matches or enjoy horse riding, and as a young man he befriended the Gore-Booth sisters Constance and Eva. The Yeats Gallery exhibition was officially opened in August 2010 by Canadian poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen.
There is so much history to discover on a guided tour of Lissadell House which was the childhood home of Countess Markievicz. Lissadell on the shores of the Atlantic, undertook a huge programme of restoration by Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy who bought the house in 2003. Lissadell has been transformed and is now a world-class tourist destination, offering visitors an insight into Ireland’s heritage, literature horticulture and the historic foundation of the nation’s State.
Thursday, 29th August
Return Coach to Dublin.
Tour Costs
€510 pps
€600 Single Occupancy
(Limited Availability)
Includes:
– Private Luxury Coach Transfer To and From Dublin
– 3 Nights B&B and Three Dinners & Tea/Coffee and Scones on arrival at the 4-star Sligo Park Hotel.
– Evening entertainment on one Evening.
– Guided Tour of Tullynally Castle.
– Guided Tour of Belleek Pottery and Visitor Centre.
– Guided Tour of Donegal Castle.
– Scenic Drive of Mullaghmore Head.
– Guided Tour of Lissadell House.
– Guided Tour of Drumcliffe Church and W.B. Yeats Grave.
– Guided Tour of Carrowmore Megalithic Tombs.
– Approved Tourist Guide of Ireland to accompany you for three day’s excursions.
For further information and to book this tour, please email Geraldine: tours@goldenireland.ie
Tel: 00 353 (0)64 6630267
