If I was a romantic, I’d write an ode to the Munster Vales. If I was musical, I’d belt out a little ditty in homage to its beauty. Since I am but a jaded realist, I take photos; the verdant landscape replacing my bathroom wall as the backdrop but still – I linger.
Arriving in Deebert House Hotel on a Friday evening, my partner and I were given the kind of welcome that larger commercial hotels just don’t have. Developed on the site of an old mill which dates back to the 19th century, the menu serves some lovely local produce from Effin cheese to Denny O’Sullivan’s black pudding, and steaming Bantry Bay mussels.
The hotel overlooks the Ballyhoura mountains and bikes are available to rent at the trailhead for €40 each or €35 if part of a group. If you choose to bring your own bike as opposed to renting, the hotel will store and air them for you. It’s exhilarating watching the lycra legs pedalling by, especially from the smug vantage point of a pedestrian.
A short drive down the road brings you to Lough Gur and Grange, the site of Ireland’s largest stone circle. There we met Brian, its operations manager, whose charisma is so magnetic and knowledge of the area so extensive, that if the wind blew, my mouth would be agape forever.
The stone circle is rendered even more spectacular by Brian’s descriptions of the mossy, lichened stones, some engraved, some splitting tree roots. The many meanings ascribed onto this formation of rocks is fascinating and Brian regales us with possible explanations – religious, spiritual, and cultural.
Two stones in the circle align to coincide with the sunset of the Samhain harvest in November. The flame-haired Brian is a true seanchaí, you hang on his every word, most of which he accents with a flourish – an added ‘sch’ or ‘í’ sound woven seamlessly among his words.
Our local expert takes us around the area where legend has it that Gearóid Iarla, the third earl of Desmond rises from the underworld and rides a white horse around his homeland every seven years. A hill rises up from the bottom of Lough Gur. Called Suideachán Bean-tí, it is said to be the throne of Áine, the Celtic goddess of fertility and descendent of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the fairy tribe who inhabited Ireland in mythology.
The full Lough Gur tour takes approximately 2.5 hours but you can shave off ten minutes here and there if you have a bike or a car. It costs €20 per person with a minimum requirement booking of three people. No two tours are exactly the same, says Brian, as each one is tailored to the interests of the guests – whether that’s archaeology, history, mythology – ours focused heavily on folklore. Back at the visitor centre you can browse the artefacts gathered from every major period in Irish history, or simply sit by the lake and appreciate the swans and crannóg with a really good takeaway coffee from the Lakeshore Park kiosk.
The fresh country air builds up quite an appetite and we drove to the Glen of Aherlow to have a hearty lunch by a roaring fire at the Hunting Lodge bar at the Glen of Aherlow House Hotel which serves food from 1-8.45pm daily. The highlight was the Guinness and leek sausages with herb mash and caramelised onion gravy which will set you back €18.95 and will fill you for hours.
The picturesque valley is about 35k from Lough Gur, in western Tipperary between the Slievenamuck and Galtee Mountains. With two linear and 8 looped walks, it’s a wonderful option for those who enjoy nature at their own pace. We took the Christ the King walk, a relatively easy walk of about 5.6k round trip through the forest where we glimpsed the sight of a red squirrel dashing by. Each route clearly states the level of difficulty on the website, and on each map so you can pack a rucksack of provisions if you’re taking a longer, more difficult route.
We walked about thirty minutes to the Christ the King statue which was erected in the 1950s. It’s not exactly a rival for Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro but a nice punctuation to the walk – a reminder to stop and look at the valley below.
Cashel was our next stop and we stayed at Bailey’s Hotel, a Georgian building right in the town centre. Restaurant 42 is the in-house eatery with a vast menu from steak to seafood and vegetarian fare. The double room is quite compact but cosy and costs approximately €160 for two adults sharing.
The Rock of Cashel is one of those sites you visit as a child and don’t appreciate the natural beauty or history it holds. As an adult, it’s far more poignant standing on the same grounds where St Patrick plucked a shamrock to demonstrate the trinity or where the people of Cashel fled during an attack by Cromwell.
Cormac’s Chapel (built in the 12th century and altered in the 15th) has a fascinating history but can only hold a certain amount of people so the tours are limited. If you can, it’s well worth stepping inside the Romanesque chapel – especially to see the stone sarcophagus.
The culinary highlight of our Munster Vales tour was undoubtedly at Fuller’s Bistro in Lismore, helmed by local chef, Sandra Fuller who is passionate about sustainability and serving local produce. Collaborating with local artisan food makers, Sandra cooks up some themed nights like her recent sharing steaks evening with McGrath’s butchers. She rustles up an organic beetroot appetiser with local cheese, followed by a warm chicken salad – even the leaves are flavoursome.
Lismore is such a hidden gem – I often pass it on the way to Cork but it is well worth the stop. The Castle housed some very famous residents including Adele Astaire and Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of JFK. The only way to view the interior is through virtual reality headsets – it’s incredibly realistic – so much so that I reached out to touch some of the items.
Alice was our tour guide at the Lismore Heritage Centre and gave us a comprehensive history of the castle, from the Viking invasions to its time as a school for monks in the 18th century. A fun reprieve from the history of the building comes in the shape of the costume room – a place to horse around, try on wigs and costumes, role play, and get into character. Warning: you will take many photos.
The Robert Boyle escape room is a highlight for many visitors but is being re-decorated while we were there. Alice tells me it’s very popular for stags, hens, team building or groups who have to solve the puzzles to get out of the room.
To finish our weekend at Munster Vales, we stop by the river Blackwater for a boat trip with Blackwater Eco Tours which comes in at around €17.50 each per adult. We learn about the wildlife in the area and spot some otters, peregrine, and egrets as we leisurely motor down the river. You may have to share the tour with others but this actually made ours an even more fun experience as we were seeing it through the eyes of some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed toddlers.