Itinerary
August 16-27, 2012
(12 days / 11 nights)
Day 1 Thursday 16th August
Collection from Dublin airport and drive to
hotel base in Kells – (1 hr drive) for 4 nights
Introductions followed by dinner at the hotel
Day 2 Friday 17th August
Today we visit the Bru na Boinne visitor center to
learn about Newgrange and Knowth cairns, Ireland’s most
famous Neolithic sites. We will be guided inside Newgrange known as a
passage tomb but also a place of initiation and spiritual rites of
passage. It is aligned such that the midwinter solstice sunrise creates a beam of light that extends deep inside the passage to the central
chambers.
Lunch at the visitors centre.
Knowth has the finest Neolithic stone carvings in
Europe that decorate most of the kerbstones around the base of the
cairn.
Free choice dinner not included
Day 3 Saturday 18th August
Visit to Tara the ancient capital of
Leinster and the ancient seat of the high kings
of Ireland when Tara replaced Uisneach as the seat of power. There is
a complex of sites at Tara including Grainne’s
(Sun Goddess) Mound, the Mound of Hostages, the Stone of Destiny and
Teach Cormaic.
Lunch in the café at
Tara followed by a visit to the holy well there.
Afternoon visit to Fourknocks cairn.
We are able to get the key to enter this underground chamber which
has wonderful acoustics and is a perfect place for toning and
soundwork.
Dinner at the hotel
Day 4 Sunday 19th August
After lunch a climb up to the hilltop cairns of Loughcrew is rewarded with panoramic views of seventeen counties. The old name
for Loughcrew was Slieve na Caillighe, Gaelic for
Mountain of the Witch. We can gain access into Cairn T which has
elaborately carved and decorated stones in its inner recesses and the Hag’s Chair set into the northern side of the kerb.
Return to Kells for lunch and personal time to see the High Crosses of Kells (ancient carved stone crosses), visit Kells Abbey or the Heritage Centre, view the copy of the fabulous illuminated manuscript The Book of Kells or to have some free time.
Free choice dinner not included
Day 5 Monday 20th August
Today we move hotel to Carrick-on-Shannon
(2 hrs drive) for 2 nights
Free afternoon to explore this fascinating town or
take a cruise on the River Shannon
Dinner at the hotel
Day 6 Tuesday 21st August
Just ½ hr drive from our hotel is the
visitors’ centre of Cruachain Ai where we will be told the
legends and history of Ireland. In ancient lore the kingdom of
Connacht (or Connaught) was ruled from a ritual center at
Cruachain. This large complex of ancient sites allows us to
experience the variety of structures from the Neolithic age including
the low hill or mound of Rath Cruachain, the coronation site
of the kings of Connaught and a male or solar energy site. Oweynagat
- the Cave of the Cats or the entrance into the Underworld is a
place of the goddess.
Free choice dinner not included
Day 7 Wednesday 22nd August
Today we have a long drive as we head to County
Kerry in the southwest in the province of Munster to our hotel in
Killarney (5hrs) for 3 nights.
We will stop for lunch en route
Free time to explore Killarney, famed for its
unequalled beauty and its busy streets of shops, pubs and
restaurants. This is an ideal place to experience ‘the craic’
of listening to traditional Irish music played by locals in one of
the town’s many pubs.
Dinner at the hotel
Day 8 Thursday 23rd August
Killarney is at the entrance to a peninsula
of outstanding natural beauty with Dingle Bay to the north,
the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Bantry Bay to the
south. At the eastern end near Killarney is Lough Leane and
Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, a mountain range containing the
highest peak in Ireland. The Ring of Kerry is a circular road
around the peninsula allowing us to experience the breathtaking
views. Halfway around the 100 mile circuit we will stop to take a
local boat over to Skellig Michael eight miles off shore.
This small island was an isolated monastic community possibly as
early as the 5th century. The cluster of stone beehive
huts on this rocky island peak are reached by six hundred slate steps
rising from sea level, an arduous climb made worthwhile by the
stunning views and the feeling of sheer power of the place. It is a
power centre of the Apollo and Athena earth energy currents which run
southeast across Europe connecting Ireland energetically to energy
vortexes all across mainland Europe.
Free choice dinner not included
Day 9 Friday 24th August
(1 ½ hrs drive) Today we visit the charming
fishing port of Dingle from where some pilgrims in the past
started their journey on the Camino pilgrimage to Compostella de
Santiago in Spain. Today many pilgrims come to Dingle to see Fungie
the wild dolphin who lives in the waters of the bay. We will take a
boat ride into the harbour to see him come and play alongside the
boat.
Free time to explore Dingle.
Dinner at the hotel
Day 10 Saturday 25th August
Move to Woodenbridge, to Ireland’s
oldest inn (5 hrs drive) for 2 nights. This journey takes us across
the south of Ireland
Free choice dinner not included
Day 11 Sunday 26th August
On our last full day
we visit the former monastic site of Glendalough
which means ‘Glen of the two lakes'. This is a valley of
great natural beauty and serenity surrounded by the Wicklow
Mountains. There are various buildings from over a thousand year
period including a spectacular round tower; an interpretation centre
explains this rich history.
On our way back we will visit Ireland's oldest working woolen mill at Avoca. We will see the traditional looms in action before browsing their
shop and tearooms.
Farewell dinner
Day 12 Monday 27th August
To Dublin airport (1 hr) for flights home or private time in Dublin
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