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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. Let's consider an outdoorsy type breakaway here in Ireland. And who better to guide us than Nollig Butler, outdoor content creator and advocate. Nollig, you're very welcome. Clare, thank you so much for having me. Fresh from a beautiful weekend in Killarney, I understand.
I had an amazing time down there.
Chapter 2: What outdoor destinations are recommended for a break in Ireland?
The National Park is incredible. Killarney is the gateway to the Reek. It's the gateway to the kingdom. It's a beautiful part of the country. And I had a magical weekend in the sun.
And we shouldn't just, and I think we tend to do this. We write off Killarney as being for the Americans. Absolutely. Not true. Not true at all. It's a fabulous place.
Chapter 3: What experiences did Nollig Butler have in Killarney?
It's brilliant. And I'm kind of guilty of that as well. When I usually head to Kerry, it's to climb big mountains or go on this crazy big adventure. But I sometimes love being a tourist in my own country. And Killarney is perfect for doing that. It is so much accessible trails, lakes and beautiful mountains that everyone on the island can enjoy, whether they're Irish or American. What did you do?
We headed down, down into Clarny. And first of all, I want to say you don't need a car to enjoy Clarny. You can head down on the train, you can get down on the bus or you can drive down. And that's one of the best things. So you can land in. There's an incredible accommodation all over Clarny. That's very accessible or very luxurious if you want to stay like that. But we had a brilliant weekend.
We won the best.
things we did was horse tracking I've spent very little time on a horse my mum has one but I don't know I've never gone near them and we did a horse track I'm used to kind of walking around on my own boots but seeing the lakes and seeing the mountains and seeing the beautiful scenery from the top of a horse was amazing it was such good crap You did that in the National Park did you?
Through the National Park yeah it was brilliant So clearly you don't need experience on horseback to do that.
Absolutely not. They threw me up and said, here's your helmet. Here's the reins. Here's how you steer. Here's how you stop.
And off you go. And it was brilliant. Great. So you did that. And then did you do the Gap of Dunlow walk?
We did. And again, this is an incredible way to see the national park. So the Gap of Dunlow walk, if you do or do not know, there's a beautiful road that stretches through the Gap of Dunlow. And you can see these beautiful glacial valleys, these amazing peaks, these amazing oak woodlands, all from a very flat, very accommodating trail. It's about 10 kilometres long.
It takes maybe an hour and a half to two hours to walk. There's a cafe dotted along the way. I think it's called Lord Brandon's Cafe at the end of it. Now, you do need cash if you're going to get a sandwich and tea at the end of it, but it's a very accessible walk, an incredible way to see some of the most rugged landscapes we have in the entire country.
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Chapter 4: How can you enjoy Killarney without a car?
This is the brilliant part. So you walk the Gap of Dunloe, it's about 10 kilometres away from Clarny. And then you can get what's called the traditional boat tour back. It's the Gap of Dunloe traditional boat tours. And I have to give a shout out to my tour guide yesterday, a guy called Donald Dux.
Oh, he's very well known, isn't he?
He was brilliant. He knew every stone, every pebble, every twig in the entire national park. He has such a rich knowledge of the landscape and the area. I think he's 250 years of... There's 250 years of the same family, the same multiple generations doing boat tours on the lakes. And it was brilliant.
So seeing, I'm used to seeing the National Park from the peaks of mountains, through the woods, from trails, kind of the more adventurous side of things. But it was really brilliant to see the National Park from a different perspective. Seeing it from the lake was such a unique way of kind of exploring the park at a very leisurely and accessible pace.
Gorgeous. And I was saying to you that Donal, years ago when I was down, it was a long time ago now, probably 13 years ago, we brought our Labrador Rosie on Donal's boat. And even she loved it. It was very accommodating.
Donal had his two dogs on the boat with us yesterday, which was nearly the best part of the trip as well. Sat up with two gorgeous dogs on the boats beside us as we kind of cruised through the river and cruised through the lakes. And if you're looking for a thing to do in the sunshine in Killarney, oh my God, it was fabulous.
Now, you're normally camping up a mountain. So how did you cope with the town and nightlife and food and all of that business?
It was such a nice change. I kind of get carried away sometimes in looking for the great, not the good, the big adventure, the longest trail, the biggest mountain and kind of like only exclusively thinking about those big wild experiences. And there's a time and place for that. But sometimes it's not just about how you get outdoors. It's the outdoors themselves. It's putting yourself in.
in beautiful natural landscapes, those wild spaces that we have so much of here in Ireland. And it was just a really nice treat to kind of head down. I was down for Wander Wild weekend, which is a festival of kind of culture, the outdoors and just lifestyle in the kind of outdoors we have in Ireland.
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Chapter 5: What is the Gap of Dunloe walk like?
That wouldn't be extreme enough if you were going to that part of the world, would it? That sort of a trip that you've just described in Westport. What would you do if you were in that part of the world?
What would I do if I was in that part of Ireland? Well, I have a huge growl for Achill. Achill is an amazing part of the world, and you can surf, you can kite surf, you can hike, you can fish, and that has that kind of really rugged, adventurous thing that I'd maybe be looking for. And
And wild camping.
And wild camping, a lot of it. There are certain locations where wild camping is permitted on Achill Island. And whether you ask the locals or you kind of do a bit of research ahead of time, there's lots of forums and there's lots of places where you can learn online about where it is and isn't permitted to camp, kind of avoiding the dunes to avoid coastal erosion.
But they're very accommodating and very tolerant of wild camping. If you do it with the leave no trace principles, you're very respectful of the land and the people and usually have no issues.
And OK, so we've been now to Westport. We've been to Killarney. Where else for a very simple trip?
For a simple trip. I think I'll speak to people who maybe have their cars and they want to stay off the train. I'm just back from the week before last road trip around Clare, which was absolutely brilliant.
Oh, we have a message in about the burn. I'm here in the beautiful Burns as this listener with glorious sunshine and good news. I heard the cuckoo for the first time this year. Yesterday, the swallows have arrived and they're busy building their nests. That's someone who's high on nature this morning.
We were high on nature in Clare two weekends ago. In the bird sanctuary of all places, Aloe Caves has this brilliant combination of the cave and the kind of incredible geological landscapes that's there. But on the surface, they've introduced a bird sanctuary. So we spent the hour-long display looking at the native birds, the flight patterns, learning about their kind of... The ecosystem there.
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Chapter 6: What unique perspective does a boat tour offer in Killarney?
You absolutely can.
Absolutely can. There are local links. Now, they might not be as common as maybe some other countries in the world, but the local link does exist. The Greenway does exist. So biking and walking is a great way to see Westport. I've headed out without a car myself before I got my car. I did Crowpatrick.
I hitchhiked, but that might not be the best way for large groups to kind of be dependent on that. But I landed into Westport. I threw out the thumb and someone was heading out the one road west that goes past Crowpatrick.
Really? So people still pick up hitchhikers? They picked me up anyway, am I right?
Maybe it's the curly blonde hair and the smile on my face. I don't look too intimidating maybe with a thumb out.
You don't look like a serial killer.
I hope not anyway. That's not the look I'm going for. But I've had great experiences all over Ireland hitchhiking. I got a car very late in life. I was well into college before I got my first car and I didn't let that stop me kind of seeing the country. I had a tent, a backpack and a pair of walking boots.
Do you hitchhike now? Not anymore?
I haven't needed to in a long time now. I've got a lovely van that I've converted myself. and I haven't needed to throw the pump out on the side of the road.
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