| A horse of a holiday  MALCOLM
ROGERS looks at some leisurely pursuits in Co. Wicklow.
It’s now officially spring in the Celtic countries. February 1,
St. Brigid’s Day, according to tradition, banishes the final whispers
of winter. This year due to a very mild December and January spring really
has arrived on time — the hedgerows are already full with the sound
of birdsong and snowdrops and wood anemones are blooming in the verges
and the bracken has already started to perk up in the mountains.
An ideal time in fact to contemplate a horsedrawn holiday along the quieter
country lanes and byways of rural Ireland. And although Celtic Tiger Ireland
has become far busier than it was heretofore it’s still possible
to find some of the quietest roads these islands have to offer only a
couple of hours from Dublin. Ideal in fact for you, your horse and your
wagon.
Clissman Horse Caravans in Co. Wicklow have been offering such holidays
for the last quarter-of-a-century in wagons designed in the style of the
traditional gypsy caravan or varda. Some small improvisations on the original
design have taken place — instead of wood-burning stoves inside heating
and lighting is by gas. Mind you the absence of a shower or a toilet is
the same as for the Travellers of yesteryear making the whole experience
more akin to a camping holiday albeit on a mobile tent. But don’t
worry about this end of things unduly — there are plenty of campsites
en route which provide all facilities.
Before setting out you have to learn how to saddle, feed and work the horse.
The beast also has to be brushed down and have stones removed from his hooves
at the end of the day and in the morning he has to be enticed from his paddock
with the help of a bucket of oats.
When you’re all saddled up with the horse in harness and you quite
literally haven’t made a hames of things (the hames are the part of
the collar which the traces go through) it’s time to be off.
Seated on your wooden perch with reins in hand you can head north from the
base at Carrigmore through the lush green fields surrounding Glenealy, around
the foot of Carrick Mountain and deep into the Garden of Ireland.
If you opt for the seven-day tour you’ll have time to visit the dramatic
Glenmalure a deep mountain gorge drained by the beautiful Avonbeg River.
Lugnaquilla at 3,039 feet the highest point in the Wicklow Mountains overlooks
Glenmalure to the south west. At the end of the gorge the Ess Waterfall
cascades ever downwards with spectacular plumes of spray. Even the horse
will be impressed. This slow-paced tour will also take you to the ancient
monastic settlement of Glendalough — arriving by horse is probably
the finest way to arrive at this enchanting place of loughs, round towers,
high crosses and early Christian churches.
The slow-motion pace of the caravan with its steady rhythm and lack of engine
noise (apart from the odd rear emission from Dobbin) gives you a chance
both to see and contemplate the countryside. The steady rumble and creak
of the wooden carriage behind you and the hypnotic sound of the horse-hooves
on the road in front of you is music to the ears. And for any Irish person
over the age of 40 the sight of these great heavy horses swaying along the
boreen, sweat rising off their huge flanks will melt the years away.
Controlling half-a-ton of animal can perhaps seem daunting enough at first
but not to worry. Everything is geared towards helping people whose only
previous experience of horses might be who’s running in the 3.10 at
Doncaster. You’ll soon be adept at steering your wagon round the country
roads and pulling onto parkland to camp for the night.
A pleasing image in Irish folklore concerns the workhorse of the average
canny farmer of yesteryear. In former times a nag tethered outside a pub
feeding contentedly on oats in his nosebag would be a common enough sight.
The owner would be comfortably ensconced inside sampling the juice of the
same barley. A passer-by might notice that a hen is tied to one of the horse’s
forelegs with a long piece of string so that it might feed on the grain
spilt by the horse’s munching.
If that passer-by happened past the same pub a couple of hours later he
would now see the hen tethered to the back legs. Environmentally very sound.
While not exactly going to these lengths yourself on your caravan holiday
the fact that this is just about as ecologically sound a holiday as you
could manage won’t fail to escape you.
A seven-night inclusive horse-drawn caravan package ranges from £599
low season to £864 high season for up to five people. Extra riding
horse costs £175 per week. Tel: 00 353 404 48188.
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