TITLE AND INTRO TO COME
September 19 – 29, 2014
Your Hosts on the Journey
Jane
Andrew Batrzis
Veronica Keen
Itinerary
Day 1: Friday Sept 19: Arrival Dublin Airport
Arrival in Dublin and proceed on our own to your reserved accommodations.
Overnight T/B/A
Day 2: Saturday Sept 20: In Dublin (B/L)
Full Irish Breakfast at our hotel. Today is registration day after which enjoy a welcome lunch. Balance of the day free to explore nearby Dublin on our own. Overnight in T/B/A
Day 3: Sunday Sept 21: In Dublin – To Newgrange and Hill of Tara (B/D)
Full Irish Breakfast our hotel. Then depart your hotel for the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. Enjoy a visit to the Exhibition Centre which interprets the Neolithic monuments of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. The extensive exhibition includes a full scale replica of the chamber at Newgrange as well as a full model of one of the smaller tombs at Knowth. Board shuttle for guided tour of Knowth Passage Tomb – which was built over 5000 years ago, probably after the construction of Newgrange. The Great Mound at Knowth is similar in size to Newgrange and is surrounded by 18 smaller satellite mounds. The Great Mound has two passages with entrances on opposite sides, the western passage is 34 metres long and the eastern passage is 40 metre long, ending with a cruciform chamber. It is believed to be aligned with the Autumnal Equinox. Lunch on our own at the nearby Brambles Café – in the Visitor Centre.
After lunch depart for the Hill of Tara & Ceremony of Sacred Sovereignty with Andrew Batrzis & Veronica Keen. Arrive at the Hill of Tara. In ancient times the great Ollamh Fodla, renowned for his wisdom established the Feis of Tara a great general assembly where the nobles and the ollamhs of Ireland met every third year during the feast of Samhain to lay down and renew rules and laws, and to approve the annals and records of Ireland. It was their custom to pass six days in feasting together before the sitting of the assembly.
Dinner and overnight T/B/A
Day 4: Monday Sept 22: To Kildare, Uisneach & Athlone (B/L)
After breakfast board our coach for Kildare- birth-place of Brigit, revered and worshipped in ancient Ireland. She is the patroness of poetry, healing and smith-craft, and is also identified with nurture, fertility and fire. With the coming of Christianity to Ireland, the power of the pre-Christian deities began to wane. Christianity slowly took root, assimilating features of the older beliefs and practices, including, for example, the use of sacred wells, the Celtic celebration of Imbolc (Spring) and the use of fire. Today the cult of Brigit is very much alive not just in Kildare but throughput the length and breadth of Ireland. Arrive Kildare and walk in her footsteps, with a visit to the Cathedral, her well and surrounding monuments. Enjoy lunch in a local eatery.
After lunch depart Kildare. Arrive at the Hill of Uisneach traditionally regarded as the epicentre of Ireland, where the five provinces meet. Its ancient heritage is evident in the extant physical remains of an ancient past. These remains include enclosures, barrows a megalithic tomb and two ancient roads. Ail na Mireann, the Stone of Divisions, is regarded as the burial place of the Great Mother Goddess Eriu, who is symbolically enabled to see the whole of her land and people when the Druidic fires are lit at Bealtaine. The hill rises gently to a height of six hundred feet and in countryside of rolling hills it fails to dominate the surrounding landscape. But from its summit the central plain stretches out in every direction affording it the views of the far-flung summits of some twenty-seven hills on a clear day. Uisneach was especially important at Beltane, the May Day Festival. It ranks alongside Tara in terms of importance and had a sacred ash tree associated with the inauguration of the High Kings. This tree, a mythic tree was called Creab Uisneach and was one of the most sacred trees in Ireland. Supposedly it came crashing down in the fifth century with the coming of Christianity. Depart Uisneach.
Arrive in Athlone Town and check in to our hotel. Athlone (the ford of Luan) is a town steeped in history. The River Shannon and its natural fording point is the reason that we have the modern town of Athlone and down through history it was recognized as a place of great strategic significance. More stray archaeological finds have been found in the bed of the river in Athlone than at the site of any comparable Irish town. It was not, however, until c100 that Athlone was to develop as a nucleus of settlement. Dinner on our own and a suggestion is to enjoy a 3-course dinner in the Ath Luain restaurant which is known for its excellent cuisine. It will take you back in time when dining was an event and meant to be savoured, it is the perfect place for a quiet and intimate dinner in a historic and charming hotel.
Dinner on your own and overnight in Athlone
Day 5- Tuesday Sept 23: To Lough Gur, Adare, Killarney & Waterville (B/L)
Full Irish Breakfast at The Shamrock Lodge. Afterwards we board your coach for the Ring of Kerry. Arrive at Grange Stone Circle in Lough Gur. The largest stone circle in Ireland is found around 300 m (1,000 ft) from the western edge of Lough Gur. Also known as the “Líos” (enclosure), this ring of 113 stones encloses a platform raised 60 cm up from the surrounding field. It has a monumental stone-lined entrance facing the rising sun of the summer solstice. Two grand portal stones, around 2 m high, stand at either side of the entrance. Much broken pottery was found upon its excavation. It differs from all other Irish stone circles in that its stones are contiguous, forming a completely enclosed circular ceremonial space of 149.5m in circumference and, including its wide bank, is 65 m (in diameter. 113 feet), the circle is the largest and finest in Ireland. It was built c. 2,200 B.C. after the rival of the Bronze Age People in is a ritual site akin to our churches of the present day and also served as an astronomical calendar.
Lunch in Adare Village which snuggles in a wooded setting among the rich quiet farmlands of the Golden Vale by the River Maigue, Adare is a model village dating from the time of the Norman conquest. It has been home to the Earls of Dunraven (Quin Family) for over three centuries. Thatched cottages line its broad street, punctuated with beautiful stone buildings and picturesque ruins. The River Maigue flows under a graceful stone bridge and medieval monasteries quietly count the passing centuries. Depart Adare and via Killarney and the Ring of Kerry Route arrive at Butler Arms Hotel.
Evening and dinner on your own. Maybe try the Fishermen’s Restaurant awarded 1 Red Rosettes by the AA for excellent cuisine offers a varied menus specializing in a variety of fresh seafood.
Overnight in Waterville.
Day 6 Wednesday Sept 24: In Waterville – Free day to explore (B)
After breakfast at our hotel. We have a free day to explore the magnificent Ring of Kerry (or Iveragh Peninsula) a mystical & unspoilt region that has attracted visitors for hundreds of years. Its spectacular beauty is beyond question and it is a natural centre for outdoor pursuits such as cycling, walking, running, and horse-riding.
Weather permitting, you may also wish to visit Skellig Michael, a towering sea crag rising 700ft. At the western edge of the European landmass, Skellig Michael was the chosen destination for a small group of ascetic monks who, in their pursuit of greater union with God, withdrew from civilization to this remote and inaccessible place. Some time between the sixth and eight centuries, a monastery was founded on this precipitous rock giving rise to one of the most dramatic examples of the extremes of Christian monasticism. Today it is protected and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Evening and dinner on your own. Overnight in Waterville
Day 7 – Thursday Sept 25: To Ballyvourney & Waterford (B/L)
Full Irish Breakfast at our hotel. Then depart taking the Ring of Kerry Route through rugged mountains and jagged coastline- stopping along the way to enjoy amongst the panoramic delights- the Paps of Anu. Arrive Ballyvourney – home of St. Gobnait the Christian version of the Earth mother bee goddess. Her church is located in Ballyvourney. Gobnait is associated with bees and honey, honey that treats illness and wounds. St Gobnait’s day is February 11th and is very close to Brigit’s and Imbolc. People still visit her well and church in big numbers on her feast day and especially women unable to conceive. A sheela na gig is carved above one of the windows. This is one of 110 sheelas recorded in Ireland today. Enjoy lunch in local pub in the village of Ballyvourney.
After lunch follow the road through the pastoral countryside of Cork and Waterford. Arrive at the Park Hotel Dungarvan. Dinner on our own and a suggestion is the Tannery Restaurant – Paul and Maire Flynn opened the Tannery in 1997 in a disused leather warehouse and since then Paul and his team have been cooking in his own eclectic style. Over the years, this has evolved into rustic and earthy cooking. Paul’s cooking is always seasonal and can be inspired by what’s growing in the garden, travel and even what he is reading.
Overnight Park Hotel- Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.
Day 8 –Friday Sept 26: To Rosslare, Fishguard and Reading (B/D)
After breakfast we depart and travel the road to Rosslare where we will board the Ferry for Fishguard.
Arrival in Fishguard where our coach will meet you and you continue to Reading. Dinner at our hotel.
Overnight in Reading
Day 9 –Saturday Sept 27: In Reading (B)
Breakfast at the hotel
A full day to explore Reading’s medieval abbey ruins the rivers Thames and Kennet and the Victorian splendor of the Forbury Gardens. You can also go to London by rail (about an hour). Dinner on our own. Overnight in Reading
Day 10 –Sunday Sept 28: In Reading. Sightseeing tour of London (B/D)
Depart for a morning sightseeing of London including the Changing of the Guard, Westminster Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and more.
The afternoon is free for independent activities.
Return to Reading in the late afternoon on your own in time for your farewell dinner.
Overnight in Reading
Day 11 –Friday Sept 29: Tour Ends (B)
After breakfast on your own, the tour ends and you can take various means of transportation to your departing airport
Tour Includes:
Accommodations in first class hotels
Hotel service charges and taxes
Transportation throughout by coach & ferry
Daily breakfast
Additional meals as indicated
Sightseeing and entrance fees
Special ceremonies and events as per itinerary
Special Features:
Discussions, seminars and workshops led by Jane, Andrew & Veronica
Guided tour of Knowth Passage Tomb
Hill of Tara and Ceremony of Sacred Sovereignty
The Hill of Uisneach and ???
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Hotels (or similar)
Dublin????
Athlone: The Shamrock Lodge Hotel
Waterville: The Butler Arms Hotel
Waterford: The Park Hotel
Reading: The Novotel Reading Centre
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