EAT AT … COACHING INN Visitors to Hunter’s Hotel, the Blue Book bolthole in Co Wicklow, may well feel like time travellers. Ireland’s oldest coaching inn dates from the 1600s, with fusty corridors, an oak staircase and thick stone walls the perfect setting for an oldschool Sunday lunch. Mains range from escalope of salmon to juicy servings of Wicklow lamb. (Rathnew, 0404 40106; hunters.ie) MICHELIN STAR Campagne is a restaurant to travel for. Garrett Byrne and Bríd Hannon’s Kilkenny operation harnesses seasonal produce to bring bold flavours and balanced textures – from a summery sea bass to wintry rabbit terrine offset with apricots, pickled carrot and fruity toast. (5 The Arches, Gashouse Lane, 056 777 2858; campagne.ie) GALLIC FLAIR Stephanie Barillier and Henry Stone’s Sha-Roe Bistro strikes an almost poetic tone, with sash windows and a flickering inglenook setting the scene for a gorgeous marriage of French flair and modern Irish cooking. From bouillabaisse to Dunmore East seafood, it’s an off-radar bistro deserving of its Bib Gourmand. (Main Street, Clonegal, Co Carlow, 053 937 5636)
“People can come and stay in an Irish farmhouse from the 1850s. I am the third generation; my kids are the fourth. I was chief bottlewasher for my mother. She never promoted me above sous chef,” laughs the celebrity chef who has done numerous cookbooks and TV series, but still makes her guests packed lunches for their walks across the farmland and onto the hills. “You can see the mountains of Glendalough from there.” After Ballyknocken, I wind my way over the Wicklow mountains, phone reception flickering as the roads twist and turn through rough blankets of heather. I pass through Carlow, before exiting the motorway and parking to explore Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile – the ye olde stretching from the city’s Anglo-Norman castle to St Canice’s Cathedral. Kilkenny is big on heritage set pieces. But it also does smaller, atmospheric nooks. There is Kilkenny Castle (The Parade, 056 770 4100; kilkennycastle.ie), standing sentinel over the River
Nore, and then there is Butter Slip, a close-knit alleyway recalling the butter vendors that once lined its flanks. The Dominican Black Abbey (Abbey Square, Abbey Street, 056 772 1279; blackabbey. ie) looks unassuming, until you step inside and are blown away by the kaleidoscopic colours of its Rosary window. Many cities would be happy with a Medieval building or two; Kilkenny brims with them. It’s not the only one, however. Just a 45-minute drive away, down the M8 motorway, is Waterford – a city founded by Vikings, bolstered by Normans and containing some 1,000 years of history within the small, aptly-named “Viking Triangle” at its core. Here, I hook up with Tom Burtchaell of Waterford Walking Tours (051 873 711; jackswalkingtours. com), a father-and-son operation that runs regular guided tours of the city from March to October. It’s like being in an outdoor museum. Tom points out the spot at which Thomas Francis Meagher first unveiled the Irish tricolour and also explains
CITY BISTRO The basic room, cheap‘n’cheerful tableware and above-the-pub setting temper expectations, but the cooking of Keith Boyle, below, at The Bay Tree Bistro in Waterford packs a surprising punch. From roast potatoes with a playful zing of lemon to a complex duo of smoked pork belly and braised pork pie, the ambition belies the low prices, and there’s a new menu every week. (1 Ballybricken, 051 858 517)
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