The price includes 3 nights,dinner, bed & breakfast accomodation in the Clarion Hotel (a restored mental hospital !!),in Sligo town,4 nights dinner, bed & breakfast in Markree castle,(details,www.markreecastle.ie),farewell dinner in popular Sligo restaurant.5 days riding 4-5 hours daily,light lunch and a day spent touring the local historic sights and places of interest ,including a restored castle,Yeat’s grave,and a megalithic cemetery.There is also time to shop for some traditional Irish sweaters. Also included are trips to local pubs to hear some traditional Irish music.

Day 1 Sunday;
Guests arrive at Sligo Clarion hotel and are allocated their rooms,dinner is taken in the hotel.

Day 2 Monday 10.30;
Riders are picked up by van by Declan, the trail organiser,and go to Sligo Riding Centre in Carrowmore. Here in a large indoor ring riders are introduced to their mount for the week. Declan and Michael, the trail guide, spend the next hour or so evaluating the horses and riders and their compatability.then the group are taken out to the nearby pastures to test the control of the riders outside,After a light lunch we go for a 2 hour ride outside. This ride takes us through Rathcarrick woods and onto Gibaralter strand for our first canters on the Atlantic shores. Horses overnight at Sligo riding centre .After riding we go to Markree Castle,our home for the next 4 nights.Dinner is taken at the Castle..

After dinner we go a local Irish pub for some Guinnes and traditional Irish music.

Day 3 Tuesday 10.30;
Riders are once again taken to Carrowmore. Today we ride to Knocknarea mountain and we climb to the summit to the grave of one of Ireland’s greatest warriors, Queen Maeve (circa 3500 b.c.). From this vantage point one can really appreciate the beauty of this corner of the Emerald Isle.

We have lunch in Strandhill, a seaside surfing village and our afternoon’s ride is an exilarating beach ride to Coney Island, a small island in Sligo Bay (pop.7). The horses stay tonight in Carrowmore.

Day 4 Wednesday 10.30;
Before riding we take an escorted tour through Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetary,circa 4000 b.c.

After the tour there is an optional ride,an introduction to jumping.Riders are given a brief lesson in the indoor ring before heading out to do some cross country jumping over an elementary course.

Have a large breakfast this morning because we don’t stop for lunch today. We ride from Carrowmore through Union forest (a large pine forest) and along old forest paths into Markree estate. We ride through the castle grounds and to the stables where the horses will spend the night.Riders spend the night and take dinner in Markree Castle.

Day 5 Thursday 10.30;
Today is the chance to relax after 3 days riding and recharge the batteries for the next 2 days. Riders are tourists today and visit all the places of interest and historical significance of this ancient corner of Ireland, including a visit to Parkes castle(a fourteenth century castle restored by the Irish government)and Yeat,s grave in Drumcliff.There is also time to shop and see the beautiful town of Sligo.In the afternoon we go to the famous Celtic seaweed baths,this is an experience not to be missed.After dinner we visit a local Irish pub for some more of that Guinness.

Day 6 Friday;
Our ride takes us up Ballygawley mountain traversing old bog roads once used to bring turf down from the mountain. We pass Lough Lumman, a bottomless lake where one can often see deer grazing. A picnic lunch is taken here where one feels totally isolated from the real world with all it’s stresses and problems. After lunch our ride takes us through Ballygawley forest and to Carrowmore where the horses spend the night.Accomodation and dinner are in Clarion Hotel.

Day 7 Saturday 08.30;
Our last day’s ride is spent all on the beaches,we ride all around the Knocknarea peninsula from Kelly’stown to Culleenamore beach along the strand at Strandhill onto Cumeen Strand across to Carty’s strand. This is a truly fantistic day’s Ride, very exilarating and physically challanging.Accomodation is at Sligo Clarion Hotel. Dinner tonight is taken in a popular Sligo restaurant.For those with the energy left, after dinner there is an option to go to the pub for some music.

PRICE euro 1875

Non rider 1260 euro