Irish Tales & Trails: A Personal Journey
I’m very pleased to introduce to you my colleague who has been busy working behind the scenes to bring you exciting new trips to Ireland! Shella Brenner is an experience designer with an amazing eye for detail when it comes to designing trips that will literally change your life. She has an innate ability to come up with excursions that are educational, fun, and off the beaten path, all part of our mission to bring you exciting, insightful, and interesting trips to far off lands. Here’s a word from Shella and the personal journey that inspired her tour, Irish Tales & Trails: History & Hiking in Northern Ireland and Along the Wild Atlantic Way.
xoxo
Tee
Irish Tales & Trails: A Personal Journey
I first visited County Donegal nearly ten years ago on a search for untouched-by-time Ireland. Even now, after National Geographic Traveler voted Donegal #1 on its 2017 Cool List and successful marketing of the Wild Atlantic Way is attracting more vacationers to the northern headlands, only 10% of Americans who visit Ireland make their way to the wild north. And those that do rarely stay for more than a day or a quick drive-through.
© Shella Brenner, Glenveagh National Park
What I found in County Donegal on that first visit is a magical place that calls me back again and again. It is a place to slow down and let your heart soar and ache all in the same instant. You can feel and breath Ireland as she used to be and still is — at least here for this moment in our lifetimes. This is as close to time travel as we can ever know. Words fail to describe the glory of hiking through a glacier-formed valley in Glenveagh National Park or coming across an ancient dolmen on a coastal bluff.
© Shella Brenner, Kilclooney Dolmen, County Donegal
Imagine the joy of stopping for a picnic lunch. From the perch of your rock there is a floor show in front of you — a sheepdog herding a flock of sheep across a hillside. When a pristine Blue Flag beach opens up in front of you for the finale, you will surely applaud.
© Sam Carter on Unsplash
At the end of an evening, the Irish Gaelic that is spoken in many remote villages will remind you that you have traveled far from home, but you will be welcomed like family in front of the peat fire that warms nearly every pub.
© Bridge Bar in Ramelton, County Donegal
My decision to start that journey, now a decade-ago, in the cities of Belfast and Derry was for a different reason. Growing up in 1970s New York, the far-away conflict in Northern Ireland was daily news. When peace finally came and these cities transformed into thriving tourist destinations where former combatants now lead walking tours, I couldn’t stay away. It was a chance to witness history on the brink of a new era and to understand the past. I read Jonathan Powell’s Great Hatred, Little Room and Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark and I packed my bags.
In Belfast and Derry, the urban streets are your classroom and the people who lived through The Troubles and the difficult process of peace are your instructors, willing to tell their stories to respectful listeners. More stories unfold from the sides of buildings where political murals capture the struggle of people — some crudely and some as the most moving art you will ever see. At the beating heart of Northern Ireland is the storytelling of her music which is alive with the pulse of new generations. I am a longtime fan of folk music and I fell in love with Derry long before I visited — when I first heard Phil Coulter’s “The Town I Loved So Well.”
So, I was asked to share with you what inspired me to design Irish Tales and Trails as a small group experience for Time Travel Adventures and there it is: My passion for history — and particularly the history of social justice movements — plus my yearning to connect with Ireland’s wild and untouched corners, on foot in hiking boots.
It was and still is a personal journey for me. And one I’d like to share with you next summer. To download the information guide for our upcoming trip, Irish Tales & Trails, click here.
© Shella Brenner, Experience Designer
I’m very pleased to introduce to you my colleague who has been busy working behind the scenes to bring you exciting new trips to Ireland! Shella Brenner is an experience designer with an amazing eye for detail when it comes to designing trips that will literally change your life. She has an innate ability to come up with excursions that are educational, fun, and off the beaten path, all part of our mission to bring you exciting, insightful, and interesting trips to far off lands. Here’s a word from Shella and the personal journey that inspired her tour, Irish Tales & Trails: History & Hiking in Northern Ireland and Along the Wild Atlantic Way.
xoxo
Tee
Irish Tales & Trails: A Personal Journey
I first visited County Donegal nearly ten years ago on a search for untouched-by-time Ireland. Even now, after National Geographic Traveler voted Donegal #1 on its 2017 Cool List and successful marketing of the Wild Atlantic Way is attracting more vacationers to the northern headlands, only 10% of Americans who visit Ireland make their way to the wild north. And those that do rarely stay for more than a day or a quick drive-through.
© Shella Brenner, Glenveagh National Park
What I found in County Donegal on that first visit is a magical place that calls me back again and again. It is a place to slow down and let your heart soar and ache all in the same instant. You can feel and breath Ireland as she used to be and still is — at least here for this moment in our lifetimes. This is as close to time travel as we can ever know. Words fail to describe the glory of hiking through a glacier-formed valley in Glenveagh National Park or coming across an ancient dolmen on a coastal bluff.
© Shella Brenner, Kilclooney Dolmen, County Donegal
Imagine the joy of stopping for a picnic lunch. From the perch of your rock there is a floor show in front of you — a sheepdog herding a flock of sheep across a hillside. When a pristine Blue Flag beach opens up in front of you for the finale, you will surely applaud.
© Sam Carter on Unsplash
At the end of an evening, the Irish Gaelic that is spoken in many remote villages will remind you that you have traveled far from home, but you will be welcomed like family in front of the peat fire that warms nearly every pub.
© Bridge Bar in Ramelton, County Donegal
My decision to start that journey, now a decade-ago, in the cities of Belfast and Derry was for a different reason. Growing up in 1970s New York, the far-away conflict in Northern Ireland was daily news. When peace finally came and these cities transformed into thriving tourist destinations where former combatants now lead walking tours, I couldn’t stay away. It was a chance to witness history on the brink of a new era and to understand the past. I read Jonathan Powell’s Great Hatred, Little Room and Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark and I packed my bags.
In Belfast and Derry, the urban streets are your classroom and the people who lived through The Troubles and the difficult process of peace are your instructors, willing to tell their stories to respectful listeners. More stories unfold from the sides of buildings where political murals capture the struggle of people — some crudely and some as the most moving art you will ever see. At the beating heart of Northern Ireland is the storytelling of her music which is alive with the pulse of new generations. I am a longtime fan of folk music and I fell in love with Derry long before I visited — when I first heard Phil Coulter’s “The Town I Loved So Well.”
So, I was asked to share with you what inspired me to design Irish Tales and Trails as a small group experience for Time Travel Adventures and there it is: My passion for history — and particularly the history of social justice movements — plus my yearning to connect with Ireland’s wild and untouched corners, on foot in hiking boots.
It was and still is a personal journey for me. And one I’d like to share with you next summer. To download the information guide for our upcoming trip, Irish Tales & Trails, click here.
© Shella Brenner, Experience Designer
I’m very pleased to introduce to you my colleague who has been busy working behind the scenes to bring you exciting new trips to Ireland! Shella Brenner is an experience designer with an amazing eye for detail when it comes to designing trips that will literally change your life. She has an innate ability to come up with excursions that are educational, fun, and off the beaten path, all part of our mission to bring you exciting, insightful, and interesting trips to far off lands. Here’s a word from Shella and the personal journey that inspired her tour, Irish Tales & Trails: History & Hiking in Northern Ireland and Along the Wild Atlantic Way.
xoxo
Tee
Irish Tales & Trails: A Personal Journey
I first visited County Donegal nearly ten years ago on a search for untouched-by-time Ireland. Even now, after National Geographic Traveler voted Donegal #1 on its 2017 Cool List and successful marketing of the Wild Atlantic Way is attracting more vacationers to the northern headlands, only 10% of Americans who visit Ireland make their way to the wild north. And those that do rarely stay for more than a day or a quick drive-through.
© Shella Brenner, Glenveagh National Park
What I found in County Donegal on that first visit is a magical place that calls me back again and again. It is a place to slow down and let your heart soar and ache all in the same instant. You can feel and breath Ireland as she used to be and still is — at least here for this moment in our lifetimes. This is as close to time travel as we can ever know. Words fail to describe the glory of hiking through a glacier-formed valley in Glenveagh National Park or coming across an ancient dolmen on a coastal bluff.
© Shella Brenner, Kilclooney Dolmen, County Donegal
Imagine the joy of stopping for a picnic lunch. From the perch of your rock there is a floor show in front of you — a sheepdog herding a flock of sheep across a hillside. When a pristine Blue Flag beach opens up in front of you for the finale, you will surely applaud.
© Sam Carter on Unsplash
At the end of an evening, the Irish Gaelic that is spoken in many remote villages will remind you that you have traveled far from home, but you will be welcomed like family in front of the peat fire that warms nearly every pub.
© Bridge Bar in Ramelton, County Donegal
My decision to start that journey, now a decade-ago, in the cities of Belfast and Derry was for a different reason. Growing up in 1970s New York, the far-away conflict in Northern Ireland was daily news. When peace finally came and these cities transformed into thriving tourist destinations where former combatants now lead walking tours, I couldn’t stay away. It was a chance to witness history on the brink of a new era and to understand the past. I read Jonathan Powell’s Great Hatred, Little Room and Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark and I packed my bags.
In Belfast and Derry, the urban streets are your classroom and the people who lived through The Troubles and the difficult process of peace are your instructors, willing to tell their stories to respectful listeners. More stories unfold from the sides of buildings where political murals capture the struggle of people — some crudely and some as the most moving art you will ever see. At the beating heart of Northern Ireland is the storytelling of her music which is alive with the pulse of new generations. I am a longtime fan of folk music and I fell in love with Derry long before I visited — when I first heard Phil Coulter’s “The Town I Loved So Well.”
So, I was asked to share with you what inspired me to design Irish Tales and Trails as a small group experience for Time Travel Adventures and there it is: My passion for history — and particularly the history of social justice movements — plus my yearning to connect with Ireland’s wild and untouched corners, on foot in hiking boots.
It was and still is a personal journey for me. And one I’d like to share with you next summer. To download the information guide for our upcoming trip, Irish Tales & Trails, click here.
© Shella Brenner, Experience Designer
I’m very pleased to introduce to you my colleague who has been busy working behind the scenes to bring you exciting new trips to Ireland! Shella Brenner is an experience designer with an amazing eye for detail when it comes to designing trips that will literally change your life. She has an innate ability to come up with excursions that are educational, fun, and off the beaten path, all part of our mission to bring you exciting, insightful, and interesting trips to far off lands. Here’s a word from Shella and the personal journey that inspired her tour, Irish Tales & Trails: History & Hiking in Northern Ireland and Along the Wild Atlantic Way.
xoxo
Tee
Irish Tales & Trails: A Personal Journey
I first visited County Donegal nearly ten years ago on a search for untouched-by-time Ireland. Even now, after National Geographic Traveler voted Donegal #1 on its 2017 Cool List and successful marketing of the Wild Atlantic Way is attracting more vacationers to the northern headlands, only 10% of Americans who visit Ireland make their way to the wild north. And those that do rarely stay for more than a day or a quick drive-through.
© Shella Brenner, Glenveagh National Park
What I found in County Donegal on that first visit is a magical place that calls me back again and again. It is a place to slow down and let your heart soar and ache all in the same instant. You can feel and breath Ireland as she used to be and still is — at least here for this moment in our lifetimes. This is as close to time travel as we can ever know. Words fail to describe the glory of hiking through a glacier-formed valley in Glenveagh National Park or coming across an ancient dolmen on a coastal bluff.
© Shella Brenner, Kilclooney Dolmen, County Donegal
Imagine the joy of stopping for a picnic lunch. From the perch of your rock there is a floor show in front of you — a sheepdog herding a flock of sheep across a hillside. When a pristine Blue Flag beach opens up in front of you for the finale, you will surely applaud.
© Sam Carter on Unsplash
At the end of an evening, the Irish Gaelic that is spoken in many remote villages will remind you that you have traveled far from home, but you will be welcomed like family in front of the peat fire that warms nearly every pub.
© Bridge Bar in Ramelton, County Donegal
My decision to start that journey, now a decade-ago, in the cities of Belfast and Derry was for a different reason. Growing up in 1970s New York, the far-away conflict in Northern Ireland was daily news. When peace finally came and these cities transformed into thriving tourist destinations where former combatants now lead walking tours, I couldn’t stay away. It was a chance to witness history on the brink of a new era and to understand the past. I read Jonathan Powell’s Great Hatred, Little Room and Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark and I packed my bags.
In Belfast and Derry, the urban streets are your classroom and the people who lived through The Troubles and the difficult process of peace are your instructors, willing to tell their stories to respectful listeners. More stories unfold from the sides of buildings where political murals capture the struggle of people — some crudely and some as the most moving art you will ever see. At the beating heart of Northern Ireland is the storytelling of her music which is alive with the pulse of new generations. I am a longtime fan of folk music and I fell in love with Derry long before I visited — when I first heard Phil Coulter’s “The Town I Loved So Well.”
So, I was asked to share with you what inspired me to design Irish Tales and Trails as a small group experience for Time Travel Adventures and there it is: My passion for history — and particularly the history of social justice movements — plus my yearning to connect with Ireland’s wild and untouched corners, on foot in hiking boots.
It was and still is a personal journey for me. And one I’d like to share with you next summer. To download the information guide for our upcoming trip, Irish Tales & Trails, click here.
© Shella Brenner, Experience Designer