My guest is the acclaimed bestselling author John Connell, who has written a trilogy of autobiographical books which have been described as love letters to his home county of Longford.John has just released The Stream of Everything which is about a canoe trip down the Camlin river in Longford with a friend. This stunning book is a meditation on the simple beauty of nature and a celebration of the slow pace of rural living especially in counties like Longford.John published the bestseller The Cow Book in 2018 which is a memoir of his return to his family's farm in Longford after many years in Australia. Then he wrote The Running Book about his love of running but also the rich colonial history of Longford.Longford recently made national attention in the tourism industry when Center Parcs set up Ireland’s largest tourist attraction with over 100 activities on offer for up to 2,500 guests in luxurious guest lodges on-site at Newcastle woods.But there are many more attractions and activities in the county for tourists including the Royal Canal Greenway from Clondra to Dublin, which is the longest linear greenway in Ireland. The National Famine Way from Strokestown is also a great trail in Longford for walkers.For history buffs there is the Corlea Trackway Visitors Centre in Kenagh, which is home to an ancient Iron Age bog road which dates back to 148BC. Then there is also the Knights and Conquests Heritage Centre in Granard which is a Norman Ireland interactive visitors centre adjacent to Ireland’s tallest motte. Another great place to visit is the Maria Edgeworth Centre in Edgeworthstown which located in the old schoolhouse in the town. The centre tells the story of one of Ireland’s leading female writers and is home to many original artifacts from the 18th century Longford is part of the Hidden Heartland brand and for more information on what makes Longford so special please click on https://www.longford.ie/en/see-do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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