Travel: Live it up in Laois now it’s open again
Welcome back, Laois. This week, following its two-week lockdown with neighbouring Offaly and Kildare, the Midlands county reopened its doors to the tourism industry — once again.
Traditionally unheralded as a destination for Irish travellers, County Laois is perhaps most synonymous as the host of Electric Picnic, the National Ploughing Championships and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Irish honeymoon.
But beyond that idiosyncratic guestbook, lies a rustic county as rich in heritage as it is in rolling farmland and as wild in nature as its blanket bogs and mountains. So this Monday, I hit the motorway for Ireland’s Ancient East to discover the region’s hidden highlights.
My journey started in Mountrath. Owing to its rich Anglo-Irish history, Laois is a county peppered with fine country manors and the base for my trip was Roundwood House, a striking early-Georgian homestead on the foothills of the Slieve Bloom mountains. I was welcomed by a gaggle of geese, a rooster named Brewster and two rescue dogs called Penny and Pixie. That’s along with Hannah Kennan, who along with her Canadian husband Paddy Flynn own and run the 290-year-old property.
“We’ve already survived a recession and a pandemic so following the second lockdown, we’re just keeping focussed and positive for the future,” says Hannah. “While we lost out on August, September is already looking really busy.”
That September spike perhaps lies into the growing appeal of Ireland’s more unsung destinations. “To be honest, a lot of people don’t know what to expect when they come to Laois — and that’s why they’re so blown away,” says Hannah. “It could be because they walk for hours in the Slieve Bloom mountains and meet nobody or they can stumble upon an incredible abbey in a field that’s more likely surrounded by cows than a visitors centre.”
My Laois visit was indeed fortified with a hopscotch of remarkable heritage sites — most of them bypassed by the M7 masses — myself included. Timahoe Round Tower, Emo Court and the remarkable Rock of Dunamase lie as little as two minutes off the Cork to Dublin motorway. Maybe your next rest-stop?
Indeed if Laois’ USPs are its unsung heritage wonders, few places highlight it better than that aforementioned honeymoon spot, Ballyfin Demesne. While five-star icons like Adare Manor and Ashford Castle roll of the luxury traveller’s tongue, Ballyfin has quietly evolved in recent years as one of greatest elite getaways in not just Ireland, but the world. I ended my trip with a visit here where general manager Damien Bastiat guided me through its palatial surrounds, guests softened to a whisper by its sheer opulent mass. By the grace of a total unexpectedness, there was something magical in the air here at Ballyfin. But in truth, that may well be the Laois effect.
A Hidden Ireland property, Roundwood House offers six gorgeous period bedrooms and proudly considers itself a family home as much as a hotel. Paddy, an accomplished musician, has transposed his creative flair to the kitchen where his self-taught cheffing skills create delicious menus fuelled by local suppliers like Mick Keegan butchers in Mountrath and Mossfield organic cheddar in Offaly. Period rooms are rich on antique family furnishings while Hannah’s father has curated a ‘library of civilisation’, acclaimed as one of Ireland’s finest private book collections. BB rates from €85pps, dinner €60pp (roundwoodhouse.com).
The energy in Ballyfin is so palpably unique, it almost merits another billing beyond the ‘hotel’ classing. With just 21 rooms (and just 12 currently operational), the sheer luxury of space here lends to the feel of checking into your own private estate. That comes at a premium. Sitting among the world’s most elite properties, rates are typically just north of €1,000 per couple per night. That includes an indulgent full board menu which at other destinations may make you feel committed. But Ballyfin is the place where once arrive, you essentially won’t want to leave (ballyfin.com).
The Slieve Bloom mountains were a revelation during my visit and to explore them up close, I went on a foraging tour with the effervescent Mary Belfin of wildfoodmary.com. A fountain of natural knowledge, Mary guided us around the bounty under our noses, from picking chanterelles along the Cathole waterfalls to plucking herbs and heathers along the ridge of Capard. For some soft adventure, I border-hopped to Offaly for a morning of mountain biking with The Slieve Bloom MTB centre run, by Jonathan O’Meara. They provide everything from full-suspension to e-bikes and I saddled up for a thrilling spin around the woodlands of Kinnitty; available from €35 (midirelandadventures.ie).
While we’re singing Laois’ praises, don’t over-look neighbouring Offaly which also reopened this week. The Slieve Bloom region straddles both counties and visitors to the region typically cross-pollinate the two sides when visiting the area. For a historic base in this neck of the mountains, Kinnitty Castle is a 19th Century gothic-revival beauty which offers BB rates from €70pps (kinnitycastle.com).
For more, see laoistourism.ie and slievebloom.ie
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