Workaway
Used up all your holidays? Feeling a little tetchy at getting other people’s out-of-office emails? Who said working from home had to be done at home? BigStyle, the outdoor adventurey people, are offering a mid-week package with four nights for the price of three at their Atlantic Lodge overlooking Co Mayo’s Cross Beach. Get up early to get your surf or yoga in, then take advantage of the wifi (if you really must), before an evening hike and a well-earned hot tub and sauna session to round off your day. From €360 per room, total stay. PS: who said you had to work while you’re there? bigstyle.ie
Go West
It took a while, but east Cork’s Castlemartyr Resort has gotten over its Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Slept Here thing, the charming hotel having happily outlasted the West media-friendly marriage. And, unlike their marriage, it’s even been refurbished.
Now under the same ownership as the gorgeous Sheen Falls, visitors these days are treated to an upmarket and elegant experience that includes the new Canopy restaurant and bar where Kevin Burke does the honours and, if weather permits, there’s a very nice outdoor terrace to feast your eyes on while you’re feasting the rest of you too. Stay and dine from September 1st for two nights including breakfast, and dinner on one night from €334 per room, per night midweek; castlemartyrresort.ie
World music
Travel the world (in your head) without leaving Ireland with Music Network’s Songbird Series. Three concerts have been inspired by the music and cultures of Greece, Colombia and Nepal, respectively, plus Ireland too of course. The first concert is at Drogheda’s Droichead Arts Centre on September 9th, where fiddle player Dónal O’Connor performs with Greek vocalist and percussionist Chrysoula Kechagioglou.
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Then you have to wait till November for the Colombian instalment at Castlebar’s Linenhall Arts Centre, with Nepalese sounds coming to Tralee’s Siamsa Tíre later that month too. Stay at Drogheda’s D Hotel from €119; thedhotel.com. Concert tickets €16/€18 at droichead.com / musicnetwork.ie
Barks of delight
There’s a whole sub-industry dedicated to taking care of anxious dogs while their owners are away. Or should that be the other way round? The Lough Erne Resort on the Fermanagh Lakes are trialling pet-friendly breaks in their self-catering Lakeview Lodges.
Three nights in September in a two-bedroomed cottage costs from £530 (€634) total stay, plus £50 per dog – you can bring up to two – regardless of your length of stay. Dogs aren’t allowed into the main hotel, and chasing balls on the golf course is frowned upon – unless you’re a golfer that is – but apart from that, you’ll be greeted with a welcome bone and, no doubt, barks of delight; lougherneresort.com
