Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [165]
There is no public transport to the airport. A taxi ( 051-858 585 or 051-777 10) will cost around €15. There are taxi ranks at Plunkett train station, Coal Quay and outside Dunnes Store supermarket.
Altitude ( 051-870 356; www.altitude.ie; 22 Ballybricken; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Fri & 9.30am-5.30pm Sat) rents bicycles for €15 per day. Hiring a bike for four days gets you a fifth day for free.
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CURRAGHMORE ESTATE
Lord and Lady Waterford dwell at the 2500-acre Curraghmore Estate ( 051-387 102; www.curraghmorehouse.ie; Portlaw; admission €5; 1-5pm Thu Easter–mid-Oct), which has belonged to the family since the 12th century. Its lavish gardens incorporate the whimsical shell house built by Catherine Countess of Tyrone in 1754, who arranged for sea captains docking at Wexford’s port to bring her seashells from distant shores. By prior appointment, the fine Georgian house (admission €15; 9am-1pm Mon-Fri Feb & May-Jul, plus 1st & 3rd Sun of month May-Jul), containing some superior plaster work, is open to visitors. Lord Waterford normally conducts the tours.
Curraghmore is 14km northwest of Waterford town, 3.5km east of the pretty village of Portlaw. Suirway ( 051-382 209; www.suirway.com) buses from Waterford can drop you 1km from the estate entrance.
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SOUTHEAST COUNTY WATERFORD
This hidden corner of the county makes an easy daytrip from Waterford city, but it’s also easy to fit in as part of an onward journey.
Some 19km southeast of Waterford, Dunmore East (Dún Mór) is strung out along a coastline of red sandstone cliffs full of screaming kittiwakes and concealed coves. In the 19th century, the town was a station for the steam packets that carried mail between England and the south of Ireland. Legacies left from the era include thatched cottages lining the main street and an unusual Doric lighthouse (1825) overlooking the working harbour.
Less than 14km east of Waterford is the estuary village of Passage East, from where car ferries yo-yo to Ballyhack in County Wexford. A pretty little fishing village, it’s also lined with thatched cottages surrounding its neat harbour.
Although the main roads (and thus public transport) involve returning to Waterford, a little-travelled 11km-long coast road wiggles between Dunmore East and Passage East. Single-vehicle-width, steep and poorly signed in parts (don’t worry, you won’t get lost), it offers mesmerising views of the ocean and undulating fields that you won’t see from the main thoroughfares.
In the opposite direction, it’s a 16.5km drive west from Dunmore East to the seaside frivolities of Tramore (opposite).
Information on the area is available at www.discoverdunmore.com.
Activities
The area slumbers in winter but wakes up in summer when bathers head to Dunmore East’s Counsellor’s Beach, beneath the cliffs, and Ladies Cove in its village.
Sea Safari ( 086 813 1437; www.seasafariwaterford.com; adult/child from €30/20; Easter-Sep), run by the vivacious winner of RTÉ reality TV show Cabin Fever, Elaine Power, offers one-hour trips in a high-powered 10m ‘rib’ past caves, shipwrecks, fishermen and seals.
Dunmore East Adventure Centre ( 051-383 783; www.dunmoreadventure.com) hires out equipment for windsurfing, canoeing, surfing and snorkelling, and also runs sailing and power-boating courses and land-based activities like archery and rock climbing.
If you fancy shark fishing or diving wrecks off the southeastern coast, contact Dunmore East Angling Charters ( 051-383 397).
Sleeping & Eating
Avon Lodge B&B ( 051-385 775; www.avonlodgebandb.com; Lower Dunmore East; s\d €60/80; ) Although the exterior of this large suburban-style house looks rather bland, it’s in a great location near the sea. Run by traditional musician Richie Roberts, homey rooms are clean, comfortable and brightened by beachy colour schemes.
Haven Hotel ( 051-383 150; www.thehavenhotel.com; Dunmore East; s €65, d €110-130; Mar-Oct; ) Built in the 1860s as a summer house for the Malcolmson family, whose coat of arms can still be seen on the fireplaces,