An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland–Ecodestinations

 

Sustainable travel. Responsible tourism.  Ecotourism.  These are the buzz words for people who want and need to travel but sincerely desire to leave as light a carbonfoot print as possible.  In which case, Ireland has a great deal to offer.  In my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland, E stands for Eire as an Eco-destination.  A great deal of effort and investment has been made to maximise the attractions and unspoilt natural beauty of Ireland’s Northwest as an ecotourism destination.   There is absolutely a wealth of things to see, places to stay and good food to eat – and I have a hot tip at the end of this article for how you can neutralise you air  and terrestrial mileage at the end of this article.

 

 

 

 

 

These are the tenets for qualifying as an ecotourism destination by the light of Ecotourism Ireland. The Northwest counties of Ireland proved to be fertile ground for qualifying on all of these factors.

 

1. Environmentally sustainable practices
2. Natural Area Focus
3. Interpretation and Education
4. Contributing to Conservation
5. Benefiting local communities
6. Visitor satisfaction
7. Responsible marketing & communication
8. Cultural respect and awareness

 

 

Back in the early 2000 decade there were many people of good intent who realised that part of the Good Friday Agreement Peace dividend was to revitalise the border counties that had been adversely economically affected by the Troubles.  The wisdom is to work with what you have got.  What areas such as SW Monaghan, Sligo, West Cavan, Fermanagh and Leitrim had was a great deal of undisturbed natural and built heritage that tourists had not ventured to visit in the latter part of the twentieth century.   However, here was the raw material to reach out to the new and growing tourism market.  Responsible tourism was the idea that hatched The Greenbox, Ireland’s first Ecotourism destination.

 

Here are a few things to see and to do in the area covered by the Greenbox:

• Walking and Cycle Paths – the Cavan Way, Leitrim Way and the Ulster Way; The Kingfisher Trail and Tour H’umbert Cycleways

 

• Dolmens, Cashels, High Crosses, Stone Circles Early Christian monuments and the best example of a Round Tower in Ireland and just about every kind of relict landscape that you could hope to stumble around amazed in week of Sundays.

 

• Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark is of importance not just to visitors with a passing interest in geology but to the many students nationally and internationally who come each year to explore the splendid glacial erratics, the underground caverns, the pre-history of the earth written in the mountains, the mudstone, the limestone, the drumlins and the largest ribbed morraine in the world!

 

• County Leitrim is very much at the centre of the organic movement in Ireland.  It has the leading horticultural educational centre at the northern end of the county with Rossinver’s Organic Centre.  In the middle of the county lies Drumshambo, which is the host of the only organic cattle market in the country.  The county has many smallholders growing their own food as well as weekly Farmer’s Markets in Carrick on Shannon (Thursday) and Manorhamilton (Friday). TV chef and award winning restauranteur Nevan Maguire uses this organic and local produce in his Blacklion. Co. Cavan  MacNean Bistro.  Food can and is fabulous in Ireland and much of that has to do with the excellent produce.

 

 

 

 

 

The Greenbox spent many years building local awareness and skills in terms of sustainable practices.   There is a great choice of eco-accommodation for you to choose from while you visit all there is to see in this great ecodestination.  The Gyreum in Sligo offers camping – but under cover of a round house, close to a fire and with all the comforts you could expect of a hostel.  The Benwisken Centre in the northern part of Sligo offers more traditional hostel accommodation but with all the bells, whistles and care taken for creating accommodation with a light carbon footprint.  In Ballintrillick you can spend time in a cozy yurt.

 

But let’s face it.  We like our comforts. The Old Schoolhouse in Dowra, Co. Cavan offers all the comfort – WiFi for the kids, a mobility wet room on the ground floor for those who have need of those facilities, super insulation, a roof tiled with recycled rubber tyres and lots of other eco-measures to be awarded the EU Flower designation for recognised EcoAccommodation.

 

So being green and travelling with a light carbon footprint need not be a hairshirt holiday!

 

Tourism done responsibly and sustainably can greatly benefit communities.  It can also be of benefit to our guests who will be given access to one of the real hidden gems of an authentic Ireland.

 

Here’s what one of our visitors had to say after her visit in The Greenbox. Anita hales from Virginia City, Nevada, USA.

 

Your knowledge, sharing of these sacred sites, the beautiful “old” liminal spaces that are really timeless, brought so much new and wondrous mystical experiences into my life and being.  I’m sure if someone were to ask me to recount “facts” and the stories you shared, I’d be at a total loss because I was so immersed in the feeling  and the living energy of all these elements (even elementals).  Please share with Tony that I can’t express my gratefulness adequately for playing the guitar, singing, storytelling, and just “holding space” for us.

Just to share or describe what those short days in Fermanagh were like:  and even the rest of the trip – I was transported (allowed) to go back to being that Divine Child of our Mother Earth and reconnect with all the mystery and wonder that I knew as a chid who lived in the woods and rivers.  It was like finding and recovering a part of who I was and reminded me of who I still am.

Again, thank you to both of you from the bottom of my heart.

 

It’s good to introduce people to the wonder of this part of Earth and to help them tread lightly and to experience  and really ‘see’ all these special and very marvelous  things to see in Ireland.

 

If you want to mop up the carbon from your air and terrestial miles you can buy trees from Crann. They estimate that five trees are needed to neutralise the airmiles from Ireland to Boston.  Just for yourself.  Plant a few trees whether in Ireland on closer to home.