Destination: Connemara, Ireland

An old fashioned manor house from which to walk and walk and walk (favorite routes included)

Ever since my youngest—now almost 12—could reliably tie her own hiking boots, we’ve tried to spend a week every year hiking/walking as a family. This year, the destination was Connemara, Ireland. Oscar Wilde called it “a savage beauty,” and I have long wanted to see—and roam— this quiet part of the country known for its traditional way of life, dramatic landscape and slow-moving rhythms. It’s the Ireland that mass tourism left behind. Thankfully.

From a sublime position in the green folds of Connemara, Ballynahinch Castle—more of a country manor house than fortified castle—along the Owenmore River comes with a fascinating history and has been beckoning fly fisherman to its banks for hundreds of years. Old-timers wearing fishing vests and waders are not an uncommon sight in the lobby; handmade flies fill an antique wooden vitrine, reminding you of its history, lest you forget; and there’s a room off the pub with Wellies and jackets to borrow for inclement weather—the norm, not the exception. That fly fishing is the main attraction shouldn’t dissuade you. Enjoying the cozy warren of low-lit sitting rooms, Fisherman’s Pub, and beautiful grounds requires no fishing license. Although my husband and sons did try their hand at casting (and occasionally catching), we were primarily there to explore this region by foot. There’s a rambling tangle of trails right out the front door—and all the way to Clifden if you like—with an handful of utterly glorious, more challenging hikes within half an hour from the hotel.