Mountain Walking & Art Tuition, with Culture Tours in the Midlands
€350 euro all inclusive weekend. 2 nights accommodation plus all food and transport.
Extreme Ireland and Tin Jug Studio are collaborating with an unusual pairing of activities: hillwalking and art tuition. The peaceful Slieve Blooms in the centre of Ireland are all too often ignored by tourism companies but Keith McDonnell of Extreme Ireland has been opening up to the tranquil delights of the midlands region. The mountains, with many challenging and history-rich trails are to be among the specially organized sightseeing options, which will inspire beginners at art, in drawing and painting.
The base for these art tours is Birr, County Offaly, the well-known Georgian Heritage Town. The art tuition takes place at Tin Jug Studio, a small private art studio and gallery in the centre of town. It has been open for adult and children's art classes, professional art exhibitions, creative workshops and poetry readings since 2000.
The area, reknowned for its rich heritage of castles and ancient monasteries has many evocative layers of inspiration for sketchers and painters . As well as the mountain and forest walks, tours options include eco-walks special to the area: eskers, woodlands, the Bog of Allen and walks along the banks of the Grand Canal.
Art students can sample the area's hospitality with local organic food, gourmet dinners, or hearty banquets in atmospheric settings with traditional music. Tours can be customized, not only with the mix of meditative art and fresh-air exercise but the options of soothing, holistic treatments too. The area is home to an ever-increasing number of practitioners of alternative therapies, as well as artists, writers, filmmakers, dancers and musicians. Tour options may include visits to some other local studios and portfolio viewing, for those also seeking to purchase artworks.
TWO NIGHTS:
(Stay Friday and Saturday nights)
Arrive Friday evening. Informal supper and introduction at Tin Jug Studio. This might include a viewing of local artists work - on walls, portfolios, slides, meeting artists. Followed by local 'pub crawl'!!! (I shall have a list of say four recommended pubs and can check what might be on that weekend - music/exhibition/whatever at a particular pub at that time. The Chestnut has art exhibitions; Craughwell's has music nights; others might have trad music or some other do on)
Next morning everyone collected by minibus from their B&Bs by 10am for the walk. Packed lunches. Walking for 2-4 hours to take in the landscape and features. DIGITAL CAMERAS!!! We get printouts over lunchtime for you to work on.
En Plein Air art option:
Birr Castle Demesne: tour of the gardens/science centre/telecope. Round to the log cabin for picnic lunch and drawing/painting lesson on water views, etc.
Banquet and entertainment at Leap Castle
Birr Castle Demesne and Historic Science Centre. The most famous attraction for the area is Birr Castle Demesne. The lovely, romantic gardens have many rare and fine specimen trees. The 'Leviathon', the 19th century telescope which for 75 years was the largest telescope in the World is part of an extraordinary contribution the Parsons family has made to science. The Historic Science Centre has sections of photography, botany and engineering, as well as astronomy.
Birr Theatre and Arts Centre for drama, dance, music and film.
Augustin Pugin convent and chapel - now county offices and library. (Facsimile of Macregol Gospels on display.)
Visits to local artists studios
Some of our local treasures include:
The reknowned geologist, author, historian and mighty speaker, John Feehan;
Tom Joyce, artist, sculptor and author of 'Blamha' from which some of the hillwalks are experienced;
The Roscrea Conference, twice-annual gatherings organized by George Cunningham, FSA. Well worth attending all or some of the lectures by international scholars and monk-scholars on mediaeval Irish history, etc.
Sean Ryan, master of the tin whistle and owner of Leap Castle. (Daughter Ciara, feted in Japan with her father has won many awards for traditional dance and has a special Saké named after her).
Recommended Pubs: Haverty's, The Chestnut, Craughwell's, The Market House Tavern are among the best in Birr. The famous Hough's in Banagher is also worth a sojourne in.