Wintering in the west
Malcolm Rogers looks at winter holidays in Ireland, has a wander
round Westport and contemplates a cruising holiday.
 By Malcolm
Rogers
The nights have fair drawn in and if you work in London or Manchester
you’ll be lucky if you see more than a couple of hours direct sunlight
in your average day — and that’s the minimum a human being
needs.
Of course I use the word sunlight advisedly. In a meteorologically-challenged
area such as these islands it’s more likely to be a smudge of light
peeping through the clouds — but basically as long as you’re
out in the fresh air that should do the trick.
As the temperatures drop your mind may turn to sunnier climes —
and there’s plenty to choose from. But there’s still a lot
to say for winter holidays in Ireland.
You could treat yourself to a pampering holiday in one of the multitude
of spas and health centres which have opened up over the last decade or
so.
These run from the spartan to the downright luxurious. You can slather
yourself with seaweed in Sligo, tone up your muscles in Tipperary or get
herbally massaged in Mayo. Or you can lie around pamper palaces right
across the country and indulge in an aromatic-therapeutic massage before
dinner.
You’ll struggle to keep the pounds off — but you’ll
smell beautiful.
On the subject of food you could just go the whole hog and head for food
festivals in Listowel or Kinsale or book yourself into a cookery class
at Ghan House in Carlingford, Belle Isle Fermanagh or the Ballymaloe House
in Cork.
The opportunities are endless: Rent a cottage in Tyrone (NI Rural Cottages)
and sit beside a turf fire while you schlooter wine and watch the candles
burn low. Or go on a pub crawl in Belfast, a city which boasts some of
the best inns in these islands.
If you want to be a bit more energetic, winter is an ideal time to sample
Ireland’s cycle trails. Many say this is the only way to see Ireland
— you travel at a reasonable lick but you’re still in touch
with the countryside.
Hill-walking is my own favourite diversion (well, one of three, actually)
but you don’t have to expend that amount of energy — a gentle
cruise down the Shannon in the winter can be magical.
Alternatively you can test your wits against the brown trout of Lough
Erne or brace the south-westerlies on Valentia Island and go hunting for
mackerel.
You can take the kids pony-trekking up the Mournes or learn to surf off
the coast of Donegal. The water isn’t that much colder in the winter
than in the summer and anyway you wear a wet suit. I’m heading up
to the north-west next week so I’ll report back in the coming issues.
Walking at night is an unalloyed pleasure in Ireland. A recent study showed
that the west and south-west of Ireland are still amongst the least light-polluted
areas in Europe. But things are changing.
It’s a distressing fact that a single security light can blot out
a thousand stars and a line of street lights can obliterate a whole galaxy.
And coming up to Christmas things get even worse. Three feet-high skiing
mooses decorated with disco lights do tend to spoil somewhat the tranquil
calm of a dark Connemara night.
You can however still find places of great solitude in Ireland or arrive
in villages where going for the shopping can turn into a social occasion.
It’s that sort of place.
Oh and by the way, for the next month or so hotels are offering great
value packages. And although Ireland is an expensive destination these
days, if you shop around bargains can still be had.
The Romans called Ireland Hibernia.
A misconstruction, it is believed, on their word for winter. They regarded
the land beyond their empire as too cloudy and gloomy to bother going
to. We thank them for that but add that they couldn’t have been
more wrong.
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