Go Advice:From walking the Cornish coast to finding a large house in France and all-in walks at home Joan Scalesanswers your travel questions
Walking the Cornwall coast
We plan to travel to Cornwall during April and do some coastal walking. There is over 600 miles of coastline to choose from – we will not be able to cover that in a week. We are both seniors and fairly seasoned hill walkers. I have heard the area around Salcombe and St Ives is particularly beautiful. Ideally we would stay in an area for two or three days and spend the days walking. We will have a car and will drive from Pembroke. Can you point us in the right direction and suggest where we might start and continue? Also, any suggestions for B&Bs or guest houses would be wonderful.
OF, Dublin
Cornwall is beautiful and you will find the week will fly by. There are so many places to see. The area around St Ives is perfect for walking with rugged coastline and magnificent sea views. You should consult southwestcoastpath.com for extensive details on the route. It is broken into stretches, some more strenuous than others. You will find a selection of downloadable maps and directions on walkingincornwall.info and further information on nationaltrail.co.uk.
For bed and breakfast you can expect to pay in the region of £35-£50 per night and I think the AA is the best place to find graded and inspected accommodation, theaa.com. If you stay in St Ives make sure to get accommodation with parking, the town has narrow hilly streets and little public parking. Tourism information for Cornwall is also available on visitcornwall.com.
Guided walks with B&B
My problem is I have been searching for guided walks with accommodation, packed lunches, etc, with no success. I stayed in Hanora’s Cottage in the Nire Valley once which was just ideal and I feel there must be similar offers around the country. The Walking Ireland sites don’t seem to offer accommodation and so I hope you may be able to suggest some that offer accommodation and guide.
MC, Dublin
The good news is that there are lots of companies and accommodation providers offering walking holidays. I will give you a selection from around the country.
Footfalls Walking Holidays is a family run business and they will be doing a guided walk in Donegal in April for three days and will take you over the Slieve League sea cliffs. It costs from €275pps. walkinghikingireland.com
In Offaly, Ardmore Country House at Kinnitty is the perfect location for woodland walks, especially around bluebell time and for Slieve Bloom walking. Weekends in Ardmore cost from €80pps with packed lunches. The Slieve Bloom Walking festival will be on at the May Bank Holiday, kinnitty.com.
Hilltop Treks is another company that organises walking holidays around Ireland. The South East tour will take you along the Wicklow Way, to the Galtees, Comeragh and Knockmealdown mountains, over five days, from €535pps. hilltoptreks.ie.
The Wicklow Way is one of the most famous walking routes in Ireland and if you stay with Theresa and Sean Byrne in Lough Dan House you will get a chance to explore it. Sean leads walking groups across his favourite mountains and a six- day holiday with accommodation, all meals and transfers will cost from €680pps. loughdanhouse.com.
In Connemara you can explore the Killary Fjord and the islands of Co Mayo on a five-day walking break with Connemara Safaris. The tour is led by archaeologist Gerry McCloskey and Connemara native Brian Hughes. It begins with a night in the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel and then you stay in Inish Turk and Inish Bofin. It costs €699pps. There is a 10 per cent discount for bookings made by February 1st. walkingconnemara.com.
Gerry Greensmyth in Westport knows the Croagh Patrick area like the back of his hand and has been leading walking groups for years. A week exploring the area including a trip out to Clare Island will cost from €795pps, including accommodation, lunches and guiding, walkingguideireland.com.
The Burren in Clare is lovely for walking and in Gregan’s Castle Hotel near Ballyvaughan they regularly run walking holidays with local guide Shane Connelly. You can also enjoy the gourmet cuisine of Chef Micheal Viljanen. gregans.ie. Also Google Burren Hill Walks for more details of specialised tours.
In Kerry, you can explore the Sheep’s Head way when you stay in Seatown Farm where three nights BB and lunches costs from €150pps and a guide will cost €100 per day. They also supply maps for walkers.
Also in Kerry, you should talk to Aghadoe Heights Hotel who run walking breaks through the year at a cost of around €250pps for two nights, aghadoeheights.com. And if you fancy tackling Corrán Tuathaill, the Black Valley and other famous routes in the Reeks, Hidden Ireland Tours, with Con Moriarty, have organised walks which you can join. hiddenirelandtours.com.
During the year there are walking festivals all over the country and these are an ideal way to get out and about on guided walks. Usually they are over weekends with a series of graded walks for different levels and good value. There is a list of festivals and also lots more about walking on discoverireland.ie/walking and walkni.com.
Large house in south of France
We are looking for either a large house or two three-bedroom apartments in the South of France, in the middle of June, for a week, for a family celebration. Would like to be reasonably near the coast, as various groups will fly in from different countries and Nice would be a good airport. We are nine adults and four children. Not looking for something too expensive, around €3,000 if that was possible.
BB, Dublin
I have found two fabulous properties for you in the Côte d’Azur. The first is at Théoule sur Mer, which is a lovely village with some great restaurants and gorgeous scenery. Villa Katrilla is comprised of a penthouse apartment, a garden apartment and a little pool house. It has a shared pool and gardens. There will be plenty of space for your family group. The price in June will be around £2,504 (about €3,007) including linens and towels. Further details on ownersdirect.co.uk, property FR228.
Villa Ariane in Juan les Pins comprises of two three-bedroom apartments in one building. It is walking distance from the town and the beaches. It also has a pool and has been recently renovated. You could even make it here from Nice without a car. The cost in June would be from £2,820 (about €3,387) including linens and towels. More details on ownerdirect.co.uk, property FR2289 and you can email the agents on azurvillas@aol.com.
GO ASK JOAN: E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com