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Ireland

Ireland - Sandhouse Hotel offers great beach access - Photo Carol Patterson
Why the Irish Don’t Talk About Leprechauns (and Other Surprising Things to Discover in Northwest Ireland)

Originally Published March 5, 2020 When you dream of Ireland do you think of leprechauns? The Irish secretly hate it when visitors ask about them (it’s akin to asking Canadians how many dogs you have in your dog sled team). Instead, plan a trip that reveals things locals are proud
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Northern Ireland Finn Lough Resort Bubble Tent Paula Worthington
Sleep in a Bubble Tent in Northern Ireland

“Just be certain to let the first door close before you open the next one,” said the friendly attendant, as he helped me roll my suitcase along the gravel path. We approached a rounded gate, reminiscent of something out of The Hobbit, and entered a green yard, with tall grasses,
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The Wild Atlantic Way

Clinging to the western fringes of Ireland is a long ribbon of road, the Wild Atlantic Way. You drive it to find adventure, and the adventure is the drive. Twenty-six hundred kilometres alongside windswept beaches, on the edge of the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Wild describes the Atlantic in
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Mr. Tayto and my family Tayto Park in Dublin by Helen Earley
In Ireland, Visit This Unbelievable Amusement Park Devoted to the Potato Chip

In the days before you could get everything anywhere, Tayto crisps were a home comfort that Irish people living abroad would crave. In the 1990’s pub-owners in London would bring back cases to serve in London’s Irish pubs, and if you asked a young Irish person living New York which
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Dublin, Ireland: More Than Just Luck

There was no doubt I’d like Ireland, I just never knew I’d fall in love so hard. With Dublin City at the helm, Ireland’s history spans over a thousand years, live music plays a vital role (Tradfest for example), coastal villages are begging to be explored, packed pubs line the
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Exploring Britain with the YHA
Exploring Britain with the YHA: A Family Road Trip Through England and Wales

It is early evening as we drive toward YHA Wilderhope, an imposing Elizabethan manor house in the middle of the Shropshire countryside, close to the historic towns of Ironbridge, and Bridgnorth. The clouds are from a Constable painting, and each rolling hill is a different colour: some rich green, others the
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Causeway Coast
Bring the Family to Belfast

Though Ireland is relatively tiny (it’s about the same size as Indiana), it offers an incredibly diverse range of experiences for family travel. One region that’s caught the attention of the editors of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel for 2018 is Belfast and the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland, named
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Travelling Your Roots – The Journey Home to Scotland - MacdonaldCastleFerns - Credit Kaeleigh MacDonald
Travelling Your Roots – The Journey Home to Scotland

There it was. Nestled into the valley, dripping with vines and overgrown wildflowers, the castle! Its walls were crumbling, and it had no roof, but the majesty and history of the aged structure were not lost on us. “Wow,” my husband exclaimed. This was it. His family’s ancestral home, the
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Green Light! Go Green for St Patrick's Day
Green Light! Go Green for St Patrick’s Day

Green beer is so passe!  This year for St. Patrick’s Day, what about a green Coliseum in Rome, or green Niagara Falls? Tourism Ireland is spreading the green of their emerald isle throughout the world in a “global greening” bid to entice you for a visit or call you home.
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Adventures in Rural Ireland - Exploring the Emerald Isle
Adventures in Rural Ireland – Exploring the Emerald Isle

“Slow down Daddy!” yelled my three-year old from the backseat of our rented Volkswagen. Although he swears he was driving under the speed limit, I am pretty sure my husband achieved airborne status as we flew over the potholes, screeched around the extremely narrow corners and dodged the hundreds sunbathing
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