TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert Walshe

Home and Away Extra

Following the recent Silver Award re-ceived by The Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt from the Green Hospitality Awards, the hotel has partnered with The Old Milk-ing Parlour at Ballymurrin, a lovingly restored 17th century Quaker meeting house and member of Sustainable Tour-ism Ireland. The owners restored the outhouses into the Old Milking Parlour and turned it into wonderful self ca-tering accommodation which, bar the cows, has kept its old world feel with a stylish fusion of old and new architec-ture. Guests are offered preferable rates when booking a holiday which includes a stay in both properties, ensuring guests will see two wonderful sides to The Garden of Ireland or Co. Wicklow. The Milking Parlour, located 30 minutes from the hotel, has white washed stone walls throughout, contains two double bedrooms, a wonderful open plan sit-ting room with stove and glazed doors from all living areas open onto a lav-ender edged, private garden with BBQ area. www.ritzcarlton.com/powersourt

Northern Ireland’s hottest ice hockey tickets of the decade are now on sale following the news that the world fa-mous Boston Bruins will travel to Bel-fast in October to play their fi rst ever game outside of North America, against the Belfast Giants at the Odyssey Arena. The announcement was made by Min-ister Arlene Foster on behalf of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board which has provided support and sponsorship for the much anticipated game. The game, which is also being sponsored by Belfast City Council, will mark the ten year anniversary of the Odyssey since it opened in 2000 and began hosting the Belfast Giants. The Boston Bruins are one of the most famous hockey teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the securing of the game in Belfast is ex-pected to attract over 4,500 out of state visitors and generate over £800,000 into the local economy, as ice hockey fans across the UK and America travel to witness the Bruins’ inaugural European game. www.belfastgiants.com

LivingTHE European Commission has launched an online “one stop shop” for passengers seeking information about their rights when travelling by air or train, or if they have mobility prob-lems. The website tells consum-ers about their entitlements in the event of fl ight cancellations and delays, or when they are denied boarding. The rules that apply when baggage is lost or damaged are also covered, as are the issues faced by passen-gers with disabilities or other mobility problems. At present, the website is available in Eng-lish only and contains only limited information, but it is expected to be developed fur-ther over the two-year cycle of the €1 million campaign. The Commission says it is working on extending passenger rights to other transport modes. In particular, it has launched pro-posals for passengers travelling by sea or inland waterways and for those travelling by bus or coach. Specifi c proposals are expected as early as this year. More information on rights for travellers in advance of the holi-day season is available from the European Consumer Centre of-fi ce in Dublin, which has pre-pared a “summer survival kit” to help consumers avoid unneces-sary costs and hassle while on holidays.

Weekend HotspotThe Slieve Donard Hotel has

stood at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, Newcastle, Northern Ireland for more than a century. Standing in six acres of private grounds, leading to a stunning beach and the world famous Royal County Down golf course, the hotel’s redevelopment in recent years has drawn on the elements of the local beauty and Victorian architecture and on my fi rst visit in four years had me wanting more! The hotel was originally built by the Bel-fast and County Down Railway, as an ‘end of line’ luxury holi-day destination. Construction started in 1896 and was com-pleted and offi cially opened on

24th June 1898 at a cost of £44,000 result-ing in much grandeur and luxury. The new wing at Slieve Donard houses 50 new enor-mous and superbly appointed bedrooms to give a total of 178, as well as a 16 treat-ment room Espa Spa – which alongside the Ritz Carlton in Power-sourt are the largest in Ireland. The hotel has also carried out a radical re-design of the property’s exten-sive landscaping to showcase the magnifi -cent Slieve Donard building in its seaside setting. As well as treatments, designed to bal-ance mind, body and soul, the extensive leisure and exercise facilities include a 20 metre pool, vitality pool, thermal heat experiences and fi tness suite.

The Oak restaurant uses the fi nest local Irish produce and the grand dining room with oak panelling and central fi re-place is full of character and charm while the more informal Percy French Inn at the main entrance is ideal for lunch and the seafood chowder is to die for! Stunning photographs can be taken in the private gardens, on the grand staircase or by the roaring fi re in the lobby making it an ideal wedding location. A fi ve minute walk from the hotel brings you to the resort town of Newcastle and the key local attractions include the Silent Valley, a magnifi cent reservoir in the Mourne Mountains. Tol-lymore Forest Park is a short drive away, while Castlewellan Country Park and Murlough Bay Nature Reserve, with its miles of wooded walks are a must do. Less than ten miles away lay the delights of Downpatrick, home to St Patrick’s Visitor Centre and Grave, a World Christian Heritage Site. Newcastle enjoys a vibrant nightlife in the shadow of its stately guardian the Slieve Donard Hotel. www.hastingsho-tels.com

Weekly Best BuyCrystal Holidays are offering

significant reductions on se-lected parks & dates for sum-mer 2010.

Book any of the below Al Fresco parks to secure your dis-count: * Chateau des Ormes * Le Grand Metarie * Le Conguel * Cisano * Le Vieux Port * Le Club Beach Farret * Les Medit-eranees * Serignan Plage * Del Garda * Marina di Venezia. Al Fresco mobile homes* start from;

2 bedroom Puccini €499 - sleeps 5, 2 bedroom Rossini €549 - sleeps 6, 3 bedroom Vivaldi €659 - sleeps 6+infant. All mobiles include bed linen, towels, decking. Air con and bbqs included where available. Al Fresco offers luxury mobile homes throughout Europe. www.crystalholidays.ie

Gohop.ie is offering a week package to take in the best of what Morocco has to offer from

€727 per person. The packages includes: return direct fl ights from Dublin to Agadir,

4 nights accommodation in 3* Hotel, in Agadir, 3 nights accom-modation in 4* hotel in Marra-kech

Private transfers between the 2 cities. www.gohop.ie

Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and is guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland

Pet’s Corner...with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist

with Kathleen Murray

Still too many kittensTHERE are so many kittens for re-homing at the moment that it’s tragic. There are so many of them that charities can’t cope with the numbers. Why is this still happening? It is happening because people get kittens and they don’t neuter them. This is incredibly irresponsible.

The way to help cats is to use whatever time, skills or knowl-edge you have. It doesn’t take a lot of time to mention to your neighbour or family member that there are vouchers available for neutering cats (and dogs). This one act may save the lives of many cats.

If you have transport then it would be a great help to offer to

take your neighbour, or family members, cat to the vet for them, if they have no transport or time themselves to do it. This is one of the reasons why many people don’t get their cats neutered, they just can’t seem to fi nd the time or can’t be bothered. This is no good to the cat that is having kittens 4 times a year or it’s ever growing offspring. By taking one cat to the vet for someone you could save the lives of between 16 and 20 kittens in that single act.

By neutering 3 cats you will have saved the lives up to 60 cats. That’s a lot of cats but just imag-ine if those 3 cats were yours, you would need to be earning some

wages, and have neighbours straight from heaven, to be able to tolerate and feed up to 60 cats. Just 3 cats can produce this night-mare.

It is also vital that the message gets out about neutering kittens. Once a kitten has reached 5-6 months it should be neutered… it doesn’t matter if it is male or female. Male cats roam over large territories and un-neutered male cats are the cause of thousands of unwanted kittens every year. Please do not pass your respon-sibilities or cat problems on to someone else. Ask for help. Stop the numbers from rising.

So many cats suffer terrible cruelty, are abandoned by their

owners or die tragic deaths from illness, being shot, or accident re-lated injuries, to name but a few. Please take action and inform people, help people or report them but don’t turn a blind eye to the very serious cat problem that we have in this county and throughout the country.

I know that times are tight… but not for everyone. If anyone out there has the capability of mak-ing a donation, however small, they could help a lot with this problem. Contact your local char-ity to see if you can help them to help you to neuter some kittens and cats. Thank you. Numbers available from your local Garda Station.

with Robert Walshe

the property’s exten-sive landscaping to

■ Slieve Donard Resort Room

with Robert Walshewith Robert WalsheLivingLiving

■ Slieve Donard exterior

Living

■ Slieve Donard exteriorSlieve Donard exteriorSlieve Donard exteriorSlieve Donard exteriorSlieve Donard exteriorSlieve Donard exterior

Home and Away Extra■ Slieve Donard Swimmiing Pool