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Sights
Clonea Strand Beach & Dungarvan Bay
Step outside and you're confronted by the number one sight in the area - two mile long Clonea Beach and Dungarvan Bay. Swept clean by the tides, this enormous beach is the premier bathing beach for nearly 100 miles of coastline. A European Blue Flag Beach, Clonea Strand boasts clean sand, clean water and lifeguard service in season.
Only 20 minutes
from Clonea Holiday Resort stands the ancient village of Ardmore with
its spectacular Round Tower and 10th century sculptures. Ardmore was
a recent National Tidy Town winner and it too features a huge bay of sandy beaches
and cliff walks. |
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Dungarvan Town
Dungarvan is one of Ireland's gems - a bustling market town of more than 7,000 people perched on Dungarvan Bay beneath the Comeragh Mountains. The salmon run past the 14th century church tower and up the rushing Colligan River to lay their eggs in the gravel beds beyond the town. Several award winning restaurants are located in the town or nearby. As well, there's a 5 screen cinema, plenty of shopping and a castle that dates from the time of King John of Robin Hood fame. |
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Waterford Crystal Tour
Waterford
is the Crystal City and Waterford Crystal is justly famous for its beauty
and superb craftsmanship. The plant offers tours where you can watch the
glass being blown and cut. The hot furnaces where the glass is melted and
the skills of the glass blowers and cutters are all on display. Afterwards
comes a tour of the Showrooms which are a veritable museum of glass with
dozens of unique and one of a kind crystal pieces. You can order and ship
home any items in the huge range of products. |
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John F. Kennedy Park
20
minutes beyond Waterford is John F. Kennedy Park - Europe's finest arboretum . This several hundred
acre tree garden is a gift of the American people to Ireland, and set beneath
the wild hill where the entire countryside can be viewed are hundreds of
special gardens devoted to trees and shrubs. The rockeries, lakes, tree
maze, beech walks, birch gardens, model railroad, and hundreds of other
nooks and crannies make this park a beauty spot without rival in Ireland.
Amazingly, few are the tourists who know about it and visit. |
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Dromana Bridge
Dromana
Bridge was just a pokey place to cross the Finish River until Lord Villiers
Stuart married a high society bride in the mid-1800's. His tenants erected
a fantastic Moorish castle made of paper maché over the bridge to
greet the young bride. She was so delighted that Villiers-Stuart decided
to make the bridge a permanent fixture, and this incredible vision still
graces one of the country roads of West Waterford. |
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Cahir Castle & Swiss Cottage
Cahir,
a one hour drive, is the home of two remarkable buildings that are part
of the National Park system. The first is the Swiss Cottage, a style of
building that was all the rage around the time of Marie Antoinette. Queen
Marie, before she lost her head to the guillotine, loved to play at being
a peasant, and the richest families in Europe followed suit. The Swiss Cottage
is the best remaining example of these ornate "Peasant" palaces,
an incredible example of the simple pleasures millions of pounds can buy.
Also present in Cahir is an intact castle from the medieval period. |
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The Rock of Cashel
The
Rock of Cashel is a little over one hour's drive away. This was the seat
of the Kings of Munster for more than a thousand years, and the ecclesiastical
centre of southern Ireland for nearly as long. The Rock is a stupendous
place. The whole is eye filling and a quite splendid climax to a tour of
the nearby countryside. |
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The
Comeragh Mountains
Forming a backdrop to Dungarvan Bay and Clonea Strand, the Comeraghs are close. The
high crags and cliff faces of the Comeraghs are most readily viewed
along the well maintained walk to Mahon Falls. This mountainy rush of
water is set amidst a glacial coum - a valley carved by ice during the
last Ice Age. Sheep wander freely among the heathers and tumbled boulders
and there is no better introduction to the wild lands of Ireland than
this tumbling falls. |
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The Knockmealdown Mountains, Vee Drive & Mount Melleray Abbey
The Knockmealdown
mountains are a cool delight, and the crisp hill air favours some of the
most remarkable rhododendron blooms to be found anywhere. A spectacular
view can be had from the heights. Mount Melleray Monastery is one famous
attraction and another is the Vee drive which overlooks the green fields
of County Tipperary |
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Along the Copper Coast to Tramore Bay
The County Waterford
coast is quite as spectacular as any in Ireland. Tall
sea cliffs hide wave sculpted coves which only locals visit. Easily accessible at many points by car, uncrowded beaches beckon. Drive east for 10 minutes and you pass the frequent Tidy Towns winner, Stradbally. Then comes the Copper Coast, Europe's first Geologic Park with its mining heritage and spectacular cliffs. Finally, you come to the resort towns of Tramore and the fishing village of Dunmore East. |
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