Walking Boots Tours, Exploring the heart & sole of Ireland. Carefully choosen hiking, walking& special interest vacations tours throughout Ireland.
Back by popular demand in 2012...
'The Outdoor Classroom'
An Educational Tour in Ireland for Credits.
Exploring Irelands Nature, Celtic Culture & Archaeology.
With Maeve Kelly, Director of Walking Boots Tours,Ireland.
(B.A. Archaeology & Celtic Studies).
&
Marcie Hagge. Educator, Cedar Falls, Iowa, U.S.A.
Special Guest: Michael Gibbons, Ireland's bets known field archaeologist& Historian ( 2days)
Sponored by Viterbo.
Highlight:Visit & Overnight on Inishturk Island off Connemara.
Date: July 13th to 21st 2012...
Location: Doolin, Co. Clare, Aran Islands, Clifden, Inishturk & Ballycastle, Co. Mayo.
Tour Outline: Short presentations, visiting ancient archaeological sites, hiking the landscape,sharing the stories, the legends, exploring places off the beaten track, seeing a different Ireland.
NB: This tour will visit several island locations, each quite different in their own way, there will be more in depth lectures and discussions. Highlights will be archaeologist Michael Gibbons a wealth of knowledge,visiting Inishturk and it pilgrimage island near by and the wilds of Mayo staying in the beautiful Stella Maris, award winning guesthouse.
Tour Cost: 1,678 euro per person sharing.
Included: 8 nights B&B, lunches, 5 meals, ferries, entrances, all transport, local guides, services Maeve Kelly & Marcie Hagge, Michael Gibbons, assistant Louise Dillon.
Not Included: 3 meals, airfare,laundry, and gratuities to principal guide Maeve.
Itinerary:
Day 1(13th): Arrival to Shannon to be collected by Maeve & Louise. Drive to Ennis and out to visit the magnificent Cliffs of Moher. After this breath of fresh Atlantic air we will visit one of Maeves favourite sites in the Burren.
Lunch not included.
Overnight In Atlantic view Guesthouse in Doolin.
Evening Meal included.
Day 2(14th): After a hearty Irish breakfast Maeve will give us a short lecture on the history of the Aran islands. This morning we will take the ferry to Inishoirr the middle island of the Aran islands at 11.30am. This is a quiet very beautiful island where they still speak Irish as their first language. We will explore the many lanes and stunning coastal areas of the island and return to Doolin later in the day.
Overnight at Atlantic View in Doolin.
Evening meal not included (explore the pubs of Doolin)
Day 3(15th): We will leave Doolin after an early breakfast this morning and drive to Rossavel to meet the ferry at 10.15am to take us to visit Inishmore the largest of the Aran islands. From the Ferry port on the island we will walk along a lovely path in the centre of the island, taking a side road to see an ancient burial tomb, then we pass through an old village who had a famous island writer. This path leads us onto the cliff where we cross the limestone to visit the islands most spectacular site Dun Aeongus cliff fort.
We return on the 5pm ferry to the mainland.
Overnight in Clifden.
Evening meal not included (explore the many pubs & restaurants of Clifden)
Day 4 (16th):The next island we will visit and stay on is quite unique called Inishturk. Sitting majestically off the Connemara Coast further north of the Aran Islands. This island will give us a real flavor of Island life. We will be joined my well known Irish field archaeologist Michael Gibbons for the next two days.
Once we arrive on the island and find our guesthouses we will hike part of the island with Michael.
Overnight on Inishturk, (chance of music on the island & short lecture by Michael)
Evening meal included
Day 5 (17th):Weather permitting we will take a very special boat trip off this island to another even smaller island a place of pilgrimage still today called Caher island. To think a small group of Monks actually lived and worked here is incredible in our world of technology today. A wild and windswept place of spectacular beauty. If we cannot reach Caher we will explore Inishturk with Michael and do some seabird spotting.
Overnight on Inishturk.
Evening meal included.
Day 6 (18th):Sadly we leave our island home this morning, say farewell to Michael and continue our adventure north into the barren landscape of Mayo. Today is an easier day.
We will take a rest stop in the very colourful town of Westport or Newport for lunch.
Lunch not included in Westport.
Time to shop, rest and be a tourist!, river walk in Westport optional.!
Overnight in Ballycastle.
Evening meal included.
Day 7 (19th): Before we begin our hike this morning Maeve will give a short lecture on the earliest settlers in Ireland, was it really 'The Celts' ? Afterwards we will visit the Ceide Fields. This is a most unusual neolithic landscape found by an archaeologist Seamus Caulfield many years ago in the wildest bog landscape you can imagine and how on earth did he??
In the afternoon we will hike along a beautiful stretch of rugged coastline to a tiny fishing village.
Overnight in Ballycastle.
Evening meal not included, (drive to Ballina 20mins, to explore the restaurants there)
Day 8 (20th): Hike along the coast at Carrowteige.
"The
finest sustained coastal walk in western Ireland, with a profusion of
precipitous cliffs, crags, caves, chasms and islands along the remote
North Mayo coast".
(Lonely Planet Walking in Ireland 1999).
We will hike out to Benwee headland and if we have more energy we can also hike to Erris head on the Mullet peninsula right on the northwest tip of Mayo. Both hikes 2 to 2.5 hours.
Overnight in Ballycastle.
Evening meal included.
Day 9 (21st): Depart Ballycastle for Sligo town, drop off at Train station approx 10.30am for Dublin.
Or lunchtime arrival at Galway.
Costings: Max 14 = 1,560.
All accommodation,transport, 5 meals as noted, boat ferries, 6 lunches (2,3,,4,5,7,8,)entrances to sites,services of guides Maeve, Louise & Michael.
Not included:
Airfare,3 meals and lunches,alcohol at meals,gratuity to principal guide Maeve.
.JPG)
See you soon in Ireland...