Lough Derg’s Legendary Food Trails have been designed with you in mind.
Lough Derg has so much to offer, from legendary tales to adventures trails and all that happens in between. The region is packed full of producers and makers and our Legendary Food Trails will lead visitors right to the heart of all of it.
We have matched up some key accommodation and activity providers for a perfect trip which help lead you to the main event – the food!
Wherever you want to stay from glamourous glamping adventures, stylish hotel escape or elegant Guesthouse Retreat, we’ll match it to a fabulous farm experience for your perfect trip.
We have fabulous farm shops with naturally grown produce, Farmers’ Markets with a variety of meats, cheeses and vegetables, ridiculously delicious homemade chocolates, honey and beeswax from our hardworking local bees and the creamiest of cheeses courtesy of our grass-fed cows. And it’s time to celebrate our growers and makers.
Pull out Follow the Legendary Food Trails to make your Lough Derg trip the stuff of legends.
Legendary Food Trails? Come this way…
Glamping Adventures
Stay Set up camp at Podumna Village which gives all the feel of a woodland setting with the handiness of a central town location.
Do Pedal your way around Portumna Forest Park and along Portumna Blueway with a half-day ebike hire from Dick’s Bike Hire.
See Take a Guided tours of the walled garden, willow maze and ladies’ garden of Portumna Castle, and find out what life was like for Ireland’s poor during the Great Famine at Ireland’s best preserved authentic workhouse the Irish Workhouse Centre.
Stylish Hotel Escape
Stay Lay your head down at the luxurious Killaloe Hotel and Spa with B&B and a full body massage.
Do Take your pick of Ballycuggeran’s wide variety of walking trails.
See Take a guided boat trip out to the Holy Island or Inis Cealtra, one of Ireland’s most significant monastic settlements where a local historian will fill you in on its history.
Elegant Guesthouse Retreat
Stay Spend two nights in the luxurious self-catering Riverrun Cottages set in acres of mature landscaped gardens in the village of Terryglass.
Do Hike around the western slopes of the Arra Mountains to the Graves of the Leinstermen for an 11th Century history lesson twinned with stunning views of Lough Derg and take a self-guided tour around the shores of the lake with bikes from Lough Derg Bike Tours.
See Look around the 13th Century Nenagh Castle and climb the 101 steps for some cracking views to write home about.
All you have to do is match with your choice of foodie experience for the ultimate in food trails around Lough Derg.
Legendary Food Trail Farm options
Sunny Meadow Farm
If you want to learn first hand about the importance of a sustainable, ecofriendly lifestyle, Dermot is the man to show and tell. The farm shop has tasty tomatoes, crunchy lettuce and juicy strawberries among the organic fruit and vegetables for sale which are a great inspiration for having a go once you’re home.
Killaloe Farmers’ Market
The market is packed full of organic vegetables, great farmhouse cheeses, tangy chutneys, freshly baked sourdough, free-range meats and craft stalls. You can browse the market then relax with a coffee and snack to drink in the warm Killaloe atmosphere.
Wilde Irish Chocolates
Wilde’s is the best kind of factory, where you can spend time discovering the art of chocolate and create your very own personalised chocolate bar. After all the exhausting chocolate watching, relax in the onsite Hot Chocolate Café and pair a wide range of chocolate drinks with something…chocolatey!
Irish Seeds Savers
Get to grips with learning how to grow food options from seed, particularly those which will suit local climates. There’s a variety of workshops and tours available to get acquainted with the rare vegetable, flower, grain, potato and apple tree varieties onsite.
Brookefield Farm Tour
Walk among the colourful wildflower meadows and organic grasslands of Brookfield Farm with award-winning farmer, Ailbhe Gerrard. She’ll talk you through their approach to regeneration farming and stock up on honey and beeswax candles courtesy of the hardworking local bees.
Kylemore Farmhouse
Get a taste of the freshest of cheeses from grass-fed cows which graze the grounds of Kylemore Farmhouse. This is unique, award winning, melt in your mouth cheese with the added advantage of low carbon footprint.
