Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [497]
The bus stop, post office and banks are in the central Diamond.
Sleeping & Eating
Greenjoy ( 047-56042; www.greenjoyclones.com; Scotshouse; s/d €40/70; ) Set on a hill overlooking Clones golf course, this modern house has three immaculate guestrooms decked out in a cosy but contemporary style. Neutral colours, quality furniture and sparkling bathrooms make it a very good deal. The B&B is 4km south of town on the R212.
Hilton Park ( 047-56007; www.hiltonpark.ie; s €165-190, d €250-300; Apr-Sep; ) This spellbinding country-house retreat stands out from competitors long since taken over by faceless hotel groups. Hilton Park has been in the same family since 1734 and guests frequently comment that they leave feeling like a close friend rather than a guest. It’s a magnificent place just oozing old-world charm. The six spacious guestrooms are bathed in light and offer stunning views of the 240-hectare estate. Original furniture, free-standing baths, four-poster or half-tester beds and a wonderfully warm, lived-in atmosphere make them very special indeed. Top-class cuisine, much of it produced in the estate’s organic gardens, is served in regal surroundings (dinner €55, book 24 hours ahead). You can also come for kitchen gardening or art weekends. Hilton Park is 5km south of Clones along the R212 towards Scotshouse.
Getting There & Around
Bus Éireann ( 047-82377) runs a service from Clones to Monaghan (€5.50, 30 minutes, five buses Monday to Saturday, one Sunday), with connections on to Carrickmacross, Slane and Dublin.
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DETOUR: CASTLE LESLIE
The ancestral home of the eccentric Leslie family, Castle Leslie ( 047-88100; www.castleleslie.com; Glaslough; d €160-480) is a Victorian pile with all the faded grandeur of a well-loved home. The family (who trace their ancestors back to Attila the Hun) acquired the castle in 1665 and its kooky history makes it an entertaining detour for both guests and non-guests. And yes, this is where Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills’ doomed nuptials took place.
There are 20 guestrooms in the main house, each with a unique character and story to tell. The Red Room, used by WB Yeats, contains the first bath plumbed in Ireland; in Uncle Norman’s Room, guests claim to have been levitated in the Gothic four-poster bed; and Desmond’s Room recalls this particularly eccentric member of the Leslie family. A bon vivant who palled around with Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful, Desmond made sci-fi films, composed experimental early electronic music and wrote several novels including the early 1950s bestseller Flying Saucers Have Landed.
All the rooms are sumptuous in their design and offer few concessions to modern living – you won’t find telephones or TVs in any of them. The recently renovated Hunting Lodge provides a further 30 rooms with decor ranging from rich traditional drapery to more minimalist contemporary style.
Non-guests can come to dine on delicious Mediterranean cuisine in the open-plan Snaffles Brasserie (mains €18 to €25) or hearty bar food in the snug Conor’s Bar (mains €8.50 to €16.50). You can also enjoy pampering treatments at the Victorian spa, take a jaunt around the estate on horseback (from €35 per hour) or attend a cookery course (one-/two-day course €185/350).
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Ulsterbus ( 048-9066 6630) has one direct service per day between Clones and Belfast (€15, 2¼ hours), and two others that require a change in Monaghan, running Monday to Friday.
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CARRICKMACROSS & AROUND
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Carrickmacross was first settled by early English and Scottish Planters, and its broad main street is dotted with some elegant Georgian houses. It’s most famous as the home of delicate Carrickmacross lace, an industry revived in 1871 by the St Louis nuns. The town is a peaceful spot to wander and a great base for anglers.
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