Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
carvings on its west facade). You can't get into the tower—the entrance is 14 feet off the
ground.
Aneasy,sceniccoastalloophike(3miles,1hour)leadsfromtheparkinglotoftheritzy
Cliff House Hotel along the coast, eventually cutting inland and back into town (simple to
follow, ask for free rudimentary map in newsstand at end of Main Street).
Sleeping in Ardmore:
$$$ Cliff House Hotel
is a died-and-gone-to-heaven splurge
with 39 impeccably modern rooms, all with ocean views (Db-€180-225, Wi-Fi, tel. 024/
$ Duncrone B&B,
run by Jeanette Dunne, has four vividly colorful rooms (Sb-€40,
Db-€60, Tb-€90, Qb-€120, cash only, Wi-Fi, half-mile outside town, up past the round
tower, tel. 024/94860,
www.duncronebandb.com
,
info@duncronebandb.com
).
Eating in Ardmore:
The local favorite is
White Horses Restaurant
(Tue-Sun
11:00-22:00, closed Mon, Main Street, tel. 024/94040). For a fine lunch or dinner with
cliff-perch views, check out the restaurant in the luxurious
Cliff House Hotel
(turn right at
the coastal end of Main Street and drive up narrow lane to dead end, tel. 024/87800).
An
Tobar,
the only pub in town, is down near the water (but does not serve food).
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Old Midleton Distillery
Sometime during your Ireland trip, even if you're a teetotaler, you'll want to tour a
whiskey distillery. Of the three major distillery tours (this one, Jameson in Dublin, and
Bushmills in Northern Ireland), the Midleton experience is the most interesting. After
a 10-minute video, you'll walk with a guide through a great old 18th-century plant
on a 45-minute tour; see waterwheel-powered crankshafts and a 31,000-gallon copper
still—the largest of its kind in the world; and learn the story of whiskey. Predictably, you
finish in a tasting room and enjoy a free, not-so-wee glass. The finale is a Scotch vs. Irish
whiskey taste test. Your guide will take two volunteers for this. Don't be shy—raise your
hand like an eager little student and enjoy an opportunity to taste the different brands.
