Day 2: Cahir and the Vee

Today we will not rise too early nor travel too far for we are still a little weary from travel, we’ll start the day with a scrumptious Irish breakfast and make our way a short distance into South county Tipperary to the historic heritage town of Cahir, the fist place we’ll visit is the Swiss Cottage. The Swiss cottage is located in a walled park of 800 acres. A delightful “cottage orné” built in the early 1800′s by the 1st Earl of Glengall to a design by the famous Regency architect John Nash. This fully restored National Monument’s interior contains a graceful spiral staircase and elegantly decorated rooms. Originally part of the estate of Lord and Lady Cahir, the “fantasy” cottage was used to entertain guests.

After the Swiss cottage, it’s time for the main event, a tour of the medieval Cahir Castle, one of Ireland’s largest and best-preserved medieval castles. Cahir Castle was built on a rocky island in the middle of the River Suir and has featured in two major films. “Tristan and Isolde” with Richard Burton and “Excalibur” with Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, and Gabriel Byrne. There is a beautiful tree-lined river walk that leads from the Swiss Cottage to Cahir Castle and we recommend it to anyone who wants to walk it and we’ll take anyone who doesn’t wish to walk around by the road to the castle for a great tour.

After the tour of the castle, you’ll have time to explore the town yourselves and have lunch in one of the many cafes, pubs and restaurants before we embark on a spectacular mountainous drive over the Vee gap with panoramic views, stone walls and sheep crossing the road, this is postcard Ireland.