Launch of Clean Breaks, new green travel guide from Rough Guides

Clean_Breaks_FINAL_cover.inddSnow-shoeing in the Pyrenees, learning to dance in Rio, chilling in a Provençal treehouse, clubbing in Rotterdam or London… these are just a few of the  ‘Clean Breaks’ featured in this stunning new book from Rough Guides, which was launched 1st August 2009 – It is a comprehensive guide to unusual, alternative and incredible experiences that make a real difference to the local people and to the planet.

Travel and environment writers Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith have hand-picked the world’s best hotels, tours, and activities run by people who are passionate about what they do, in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Whether you fancy diving, trekking, mountain-biking, staying in a gorgeous cottage or watching wildlife from a jungle lodge, taking a Clean Break doesn’t mean sacrificing style, adventure or quality.
As Richard and Jeremy explain, “In the same way that many of the world’s best chefs are those that use local, seasonal ingredients, it stands to reason that the most rewarding holidays are provided by those who really care for their local environment, its people, how their food is grown and the wildlife that surrounds them. These people make the best hosts and guides. Which is why Clean Breaks make the most fantastic holidays”.
Clean Breaks is organised by geographical region and includes suggestions for all pockets, from budget to luxury. Although you won’t fit it in your pocket, as it is pretty hefty, and more for the side of the bed, as you fall asleep dreaming of Scottish bothies, whale watching off the coast of West Cork, swimming in a Finnish lake, or crossing the Namibian desert. There is more than one for every night of the year, as they have given us a generous 500 places to see and things to do. Fab book, brilliantly researched, and makes me very green….with envy, that I didn’t write it, of course.

 

 For more information on Richard Hammond’s work, see his website www.greentraveller.co.uk

 

 

 

Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways To See The World
By Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith
 ISBN 978-184836-0471, £18.99

 

 

 

Natural Retreats in Ireland

nrparknasillavilla1-2I love a man who does what I tell him. “You should open a Natural Retreats in Ireland”, I told Ewan Kearney, Director (and partner) of an  idyllic collection of sef-catering houses, situated in UK National Parks,  which look as if they were lifted off the set of Grand Designs. I stayed at their retreat hidden in the hills of the Yorkshire Dales last July. Their exquisitly eco-designed wooden houses,with sedum moss rooves, local food sourcing for client’s goody hampers, rainwater harvesting, are all just part of their exemplary, sustainable links with UK National Parks. Much to my surprise, less than a year later,Kearney has opened up five new Natural Retreats sites in Ireland (www.naturalretreats.com). This guy doesn’t let the green grass grow under his feet, that’s for sure.

Sadly I can take no credit. Natural Retreats had already been working with Irish tourism experts, to work out the best way to expand into Ireland and maintain their ethos of sustainability at the same time. They started looking at Irish National Park sites, with a view to replicating their already successful English product. And then the credit crunch hit. But this didn’t stop them, realising there was still room for Irish development. The answer was not to build from scratch, but team up with Irish businesses which already had high quality, environmentally sensitive, self-catering accomodation, and which were willing to find new uses and marketing outlets for them. The result is Natural Retreats luxury villas at Parknasilla (as photographed here), County Kerry, Adare Manor, County Limerick, Castlemartyr Resort in County Cork, The K Club in County Kildare and Kilronan Castle Estate in County Roscommon.

 I must admit, I was slightly disappointed when I heard that they hadn’t gone out on their own, and had teamed up with prestigious and pricey resorts. However, Kearney was quick to point out that it is a different world we are working in now, rightly saying “Sustainability is the single most important thing for us, and having access to beautiful areas like Parknasilla, for example, where there is already an excellent product, in a stunning location, which we could only dream of having access to, has been amazing!. There are endless activities here which allow visitors to interact with this stunning natural environment, as well as superb local produce to fill our hampers. This has meant we can all still do what we believe in, despite the challenges of this current economic climate”.

 

Natural Retreats’ empasis is always on local. At their new Irish sites, they have employed local site aerial-view-parknasilla-resortmanagers, for example, insisting they are people with excellent local knowledge, and a passion for the landscape, walking, riding, cycling etc. When they told their new partners that they wanted to provide food hampers, one of them voiced concern at not being able to get Yorkshire produce, not realising that when Natural Retreats say local, they really do mean local.

 So, if you want to retreat into the luxurious arms of this new ethical ‘blow-in’, check it out for yourself. Because sustainability is not just about renewables and recycling, it is also about saving what we already have, especially the good stuff, and just making it better. If more businesses combined forces like this to fight the crunch, and create more ethical, sustainable products, we would have a lot more to write home about when we get there. 

 (Article first published in The Irish Times, 25th July 2009) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At home on a bike

kingfisher-shot-optIreland’s first National Bike Week starts tomorrow (14-21 June), which not only gives us the excuse to dig our bikes out from the back of the shed, but also to see where we can enjoy riding them.  At last, the wheels of change are in motion for Irish cyclists, as National Bike Week is part of a new National Cycle Policy Framework, the aim of which is to get as many of us as possible back in the saddle again. For details of this week’s events see  http://bikeweek.ie.

 

I am using National Bike Week to celebrate Ireland’s first long-distance trail, The Kingfisher Cycle Trail,  a must for anyone who wants to discover the hidden gems of the North-West.  The Kingfisher is an appropriate name for it – this elusive little bird is associated with lakelands, and the 370kms trail twists in an out of the extraordinarily endless lakes of Cavan, Fermanagh, Leitrim and Monaghan,  giving the Kingfisher (and us) a superb choice of shores to rest upon. 

 

The Trail is designed as a figure of eight, divided into two loops. The northern loop circles Lower Lough Erne, then moves alongside Loughs Melvin and Macnean, stretching out as far as Ballyshannon in Co.  Donegal.  The lower loop is bordered on two sides by Upper Lough Erne and Lough Allen. A good starting point for the southern loop is Carrick-on-Shannon, from where you can travel east, along backroads through the patchwork quilt-like landscape of tiny lakes. On this route, an ideal picnic stop is at Newtownbutler where, if travelling anti-clockwise, you have to phone the ferryman to help you back on your journey across the lake to Crom in Co. Fermanagh. For the northern loop section, hire bikes at eco-friendly, family-run Corralea Activity Centre (www.activityireland.com), or base yourself here for a few days. Then go further north, and check out the extra Atlantic mini-loop from Belleek or Ballyshannon to the sandy beach at Rossnowlagh. Creevy Cottages, overlooking the sea, are the perfect stop-off for this bit (www.creevyexperience.com).

 

The Kingfisher Trail’s map is excellent (€6, www.cycletoursireland.com), offering several different ways to break up the Trail, as well as day routes and attractions along the way. It also points out some of the busier sections of road, warning cyclists to take caution, but there are few of these. Other fine eco-friendly places to stay along the Trail, which either offer bikes free of charge to guests, or arrange bike hire, include The Old Schoolhouse, Meenaslieve, County Cavan (www.theoldschoolhousecavan.com), or tie your bike up beside the tipi at Orchard Acre Farm (www.orchardacrefarm.com).   Two lakeshore accommodations which offer bikes and a boat free of charge are Little Crom Cottages on the shores of Upper Lough Erne (www.littlecromcottages.com), and Trinity Island Lodge, at a beautiful island hideaway near Killeshandra, County Cavan (www.trinityisland.com). You can have a superb massage after a day’s cycling if you stay at the Blaney Spa and Yoga Centre overlooking Lough Erne (www.blaneyspaandyogacentre.com), and you can reward yourself with some of Donegal’s finest fare at Ard Na Breatha, which won Georgina Campbell’s Best Guesthouse this year (www.ardnabreatha.com).

 

The new Cycling Framework also aims to integrate cycling into the public transport network, and not before time. At present, there are only certain rail routes which cater for bikes, and for details of these see www.irishrail.ie. If you want to leave the car at home, you can also think about taking the bus, as both Bus Eireann and Ulsterbus will take bikes in the boot, if there is room, on a first come first served basis.

 

For some more excellent cycling options abroad, check in with me in a couple of weeks time.

 

(This article was first published in The Irish Times, 13 June 2009)