Cashel Palace Hotel

In recent months I have posted blogs about some of our accommodation partners, where we offer guided tours to guests. Our most recent partnership has been with the Cashel Palace Hotel, and we have very much enjoyed offering tours to their guests. The Cashel Palace Hotel offers 5 star accommodation in the historic heart of South Tipperary, and having stayed there recently I can certainly vouch for a very enjoyable and high quality stay! Part of what the hotel offers is curated ‘experiences’ for the guests, so we were delighted to be asked to devise eBike tours. So far we have focused on Fethard, but are working on further tours from the Cashel Palace doors. See the Cashel Palace Hotel website here.

 

Tours from Fethard

 

Fethard is a medieval town with largely intact town walls and a host of historic buildings. The ‘Culture and Castle Loop’ tour includes a visit to the Fethard Horse Country Museum, plus tea/coffee and scone, and takes visitors on a loop through the countryside to the north of the town. The tour takes you past 19th century estates, many of which are now given over to the equestrian industry, as well as Norman castles, ending up at the 14th Century Augustinian Abbey on the edge of Fethard, before a final view of the town walls. It gives an overview of 800 years of history, while experiencing beautiful countryside, and giving great views down over the vast Coolmore Stud farm. And the eBikes make the uphill stretches easy!

 

The Suir Blueway

Tours are also available along the Suir Blueway, a 21km off-road cycle track along the river Suir from Clonmel to Carrick on Suir. This route includes historic churches and castles along the river, as well as beautiful views over to the Comeragh Mountains of County Waterford on the south side of the river. The tour can include a visit to Ormond Castle in Carrick on Suir, which is said to be the finest Elizabethan (ie 16th century) manor house in Ireland, and also includes the original 13th Century castle built by the powerful Butler family. On returning from Carrick on Suir, you can either return via the Blueway, or if you want to experience different viewpoints, you can return on quiet roads on the Waterford side of the river.

Tours from Cashel

Both the above tours involve driving a short distance from Cashel to the start points, but if you prefer, you can also enjoy a tour starting from the front door of the Cashel Palace Hotel. In 2025 we will be offering tours to Golden, featuring Athassel Priory, to Cahir and to Holycross.

The Golden tour will take you along quiet back roads through the beautiful Tipperary countryside to the historic town of Golden, where a 14th Century castle guards the river crossing, courtesy of the Butler family once more. From here, we will head south along the river Suir to the vast and historic Athassel Priory. This was built in the 13th to 15th centuries, and was once the largest priory in Ireland. The visitor can walk among the ruins and breathe in the atmosphere. If you are lucky, you will have the place to yourself!

The Cahir route will take you along quiet back roads to the historic town of Cahir, where you may visit the magnificent Cahir Castle (another Butler stronghold) before taking a short offroad cycle to the Swiss Cottage.

The Holycross route will take you to visit the restored abbey at Holycross. The Abbey was founded by the Cistercians in the 12th century, but had fallen into ruin. It was faithfully restored in the 1960s and 1970s, and is now a place of worship once more, open to visitors.

There are plenty of ways to explore the Cashel area by eBike. Enquire now at the Cashel Palace Hotel.