Teresa Roche offers a luxury experience which includes a farm tour, cheese experience and cheese making. There will be access to the cheese maturing rooms and guests can also get hands on experience with the aging process of the cheeses, followed by a cheese tasting in the farmshop and then a private lunch in the dining room of the farmhouse. there will be fresh home baking, a light lunch and a full selection of the cheeses and apple pie and cream. Gert and Elisabeth Stam and are both qualified horticulturalists and have twenty-five years of experience in gardening and growing plants in The Netherlands and twenty years in Ireland. Caherhurley nursery is situated in the foothills of Slieve Berneagh in East Clare. You will be inspired by the friendly atmosphere, together with the incredible scenery surrounding the location. Gert envisioned a nursery that specialised in growing a wide range of unusual quality ornamental plants that are hard to find elsewhere, and where garden lovers from all over Ireland could come to visit. All the plants are grown to certified organic standards without chemicals or artificial fertilisers. They are grown slowly into compact, strong, fresh- and healthy-looking plants, waiting to burst out into something wonderful in your garden.

Arrive at the home of Crossogue Preserves, a short drive from Holycross village. You will be greeted by founder Veronica and taste a variety of her 220 preserves, followed by a tour and a talk about the artisan jam factory. After meeting the team who lovingly make the jams you’ll be treated to tea and Crossogue scones in Veronica and Tony’s family kitchen (or Crossogue House). Cabragh Wetlands is numbered amongst the last Irish environmental treasures which, as yet, remains relatively free of interference by mankind, instead remaining supervised solely by Mother Nature. It is the home of the green-listed Grey Heron and feeding ground to the dwindling population of native Bumble Bees. Within its boundaries grow undisturbed, Bronze Fennel, Wavy Bitter-cress, Shepherds Purse, Golden-saxifrage, Common Mouse-ear, Barren Strawberry, and a huge variety of Wild Orchids. Here also one can view numerous varieties of Dragon Fly, the rarely viewed Hummingbird Hawk Moth, Froghopper’s Cuckoo Spit, Juda’s Ear and a huge variety of sedges, grasses and reeds. Holycross Abbey is a very special and sacred place where you can walk in the footsteps of ancient Monks. Experience firsthand, through local guides, the story of Holycross, spanning 10 centuries of a changing social, political and religious landscape, in the very heart of Ireland.

The gardens are home to an abundance of rare plants, collected by the Earls of Rosse on their travels around the world over the last 150 years. Within the 50 hectares you will find 50 champion trees, over 5000 species of plantdocument as well as rivers, lake and waterfalls. It now has plant material collected and subscribed for by 3 generations of the family, as well as some of the most famous plant hunters, past and present. It was the first garden in Ireland to receive specimens of Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) after its discovery in China in 1945. Recent plant hunting expeditions by the current Earl and Countess include Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Iran, South Africa, New Zealand, China and Bhutan.

Ailbhe Gerrard is passionate about the Irish countryside. Winner of the Royal Dublin Society Sustainable Farming Award and named a Farming for Nature Ambassador, Ailbhe’s knowledge of regenerative farming and sustainable living makes for a fascinating insight into the rural way of life. Immerse yourself into her world of farming at Brookfield farm for a 2 hour tour and end with a tasting of raw honey. Explore the lake shore around Lough Derg with Rob Queen the owner of Lough Derg E bikes. This cycle features some of the most beautiful lake views from the Lookout and the stunning Arras range.

A hands on class from 11am – 6pm You will learn:

• How to make flavoursome and highly nutritious wheat and rye sourdough bread
• How to start and maintain a rye sourdough starter
• How to manage the fermentation and flavour of your doughs
• How to blend flours to create different flavours in your breads
• How to incorporate Irish grains and flours into your baking
• How to maximise the nutritional benefits and digestibility of sourdough breads

You will bring home with you a full set of course notes, selection of breads you have baked yourself, fresh sourdough starter and the confidence to bake real bread at home!