Cross Country Escape

Introduction
Connemara/Galway Ireland

Your host at Aille Cross is the legendary Irish horseman, Willie Leahy, who is known throughout the world for his famous Connemara and Coast trails. This superb riding holiday takes place from October to April amidst some of the most beautiful countryside that County Galway is famous for. It is a land of rolling hills and green fields, divided by a latticework of stone walls and quiet country roads. It is a land rich in folklore, legend and archaeological treasures, all waiting to be explored on the back of an Irish hunter or a pure-bred Connemara pony.
The varied terrain includes the Slieve Aughty Mountains and large tracts of woodland. On the trail there are opportunities to jump a large variety of natural obstacles, hedges, ditches and of course the walls for which County Galway is famous. Don't worry, all of these can be avoided if you would rather not jump. We would be delighted to custom design a program for you that includes as much or as little jumping and instruction as you like.
The trail provides riding at a pace that can be varied to suit riders of different abilities. Willie Leahy is famous for matching horse and rider to ensure that your holiday is as enjoyable as possible.

Accomodation

Accommodation for the week is at the friendly local hunting hotel, O’Dea’s in nearby Loughrea, or at family run B&B’s. During the day a simple picnic lunch is eaten with plenty of tea and hot port on hand. The evening meal is taken at a variety of friendly restaurants in the Loughrea area.

Riding

Itinerary

Chances are, the day-by-day plan you follow on the Cross Country Trail will be much as outlined here, although pleasant surprises may be added and the route altered somewhat to take in a special happening.   As Willie himself has said, "Any of it can be changed a little bit".  What won't change, however, is the opportunity to spend several hours each day enjoying an exquisite equestrian experience in a land of legend, folklore and sheer fun. 

Monday  The week begins with a ride through the forest to Killnadema, where riders have an opportunity to jump small obstacles while the guide assesses their ability. There is plenty of jumping for those who want to, but it must be stressed that all obstacles can be avoided.

Tuesday  Riders can either hunt with the famous Irish hunt the Galway Blazers or ride to Knock Ash and jump on the farm land surrounding Aille Cross. Willie Leahy has been field master of this pack for over a decade, so riders are given a great introduction to this exciting sport.

Wednesday  The ride begins at Dartfield - Ireland's Horse World, Willie Leahy's latest venture. Here there are 350 acres of rolling parkland with a superb cross country course for riders to jump. The visit to the course is the highlight of many visits to Aille Cross. Lunch is eaten at Dartfield after which riders have the opportunity to look around the only museum in the world to be dedicated to the Irish horse. The afternoon is spent riding and jumping on the farmland surrounding the museum. 

Thursday Riders can hunt again, or ride to Killnadema where there are natural obstacles and stone walls to jump. After lunch, riders will enjoy a hack through a large area of forestry where there are plenty of opportunities for fast gallops along woodland tracks.

Friday is spent at Dartfield again. There is another opportunity to try your skill over the event course. Those not wishing to jump can ride through the farmland around the museum and beyond into the surrounding area.

Saturday is the final day of your stay. The Galway Blazers meet on a Saturday, so those who are foxhunting will join Willie for an exciting hunt with this popular pack. Those who are not hunting will ride around Aille Cross. Riders will be surprised at how much their confidence and ability has increased during the week under the guidance of our professional tutors. After lunch there is a final opportunity to ride around the beautiful farmland surrounding Aille Cross, before it is time to say goodbye to the horses that have been your faithful companions during the week.

Sunday  Departure after breakfast

subject to change

Rates and Dates for Cross Country Escape

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Loughrea
Airport: Shannon, Galway or Dublin
Transfer: Loughrea

Climate: Ireland, is famed for its luscious green terrain split up by rocky mountains and rolling hills. The saying goes in Ireland that you can tell the difference between summer and winter by measuring the temperature of the rain- so by this you can gauge that rain is a dominant feature and there isn’t a lot of temperature variation across the country.

The weather is mild but changeable and rain can be expected at any time of the year. Parts of the country are oceanic, and as you move further away from the coast the conditions become slightly more temperature- however the prevailing factor across the whole country is that few temperature extremes are experienced.

Ireland is affected by the North Atlantic Drift, so this has a moderating affect on the climate and keeps winter in Ireland warmer than places of similar latitudes. Its northerly location, however, means that summers never get particular hot either. The climate is generally fairly typical of an insular climate and is moderated by the moist winds that blow across the island, these winds prevail from the south west, off the Atlantic, and can reach particular high speeds at times of the year.

On the whole the west coast is much wetter than the east coast, so this should dispel common belief that Dublin is the wettest city in Ireland. Lying on the east coast, Dublin sees almost half as much rainfall as parts of the west coast.

Inland Ireland gets warmer in the summer months than the coastal region, though on the flipside it also gets much colder in the winter. These temperature differences are not that great, with central Ireland only being a few degrees cooler than the coast. In the centre of the country across the year will record about 40 days below freezing, however on the coast the mercury will only fall below 0 degrees on average 10 days per year.

The country is made up of a ring of coastal mountains, with low lying central plains in the centre. Due to Ireland's mild climate and significant rainfall this has lead to luscious green terrain and plentiful vegetation which makes for very scenic and pleasant landscapes, which has lead to the island being called the ‘Emerald Isle.’ Home to rolling hills, mountainous rocky areas and dramatic green vistas, Ireland is a picturesque place to visit any time of the year.

DUBLIN-Dublin is the capital of Ireland and sits upon the east coast where it is sheltered from the heavy storms that the Atlantic coast is subject to. The climate in Dublin is a maritime, temperate climate that (like the rest of the country) lacks major temperature extremes and has cool summers and mild winters. Although popular belief leads many tourists to believe that Dublin is a very rainy city, it in fact sees fewer days of rain, on average, than London.

The average maximum temperature in January, the midst of winter, is about 8 degrees while July sees average maximums of about 20 degrees. From May to June will see Dublin basking in the most hours of uninterrupted sunlight as this is when the sky will be the clearest and before the more overcast weather sits in. Because of its northerly latitude, in the height of summer the days will have about 19 hours of daylight before the sun sets. On the flipside the winters days are short and in the peak up winter there are only 9 hours of daylight.

December and August in Dublin are generally the wettest months and record 74mm of precipitation on average for the month. April is, on average, the driest month of the year recording 45 mm of precipitation for the whole month.

Occasionally Dublin is hit by strong winds that blow from the Atlantic, though the storms are much less severe here than they are in other parts of the country. If Dublin is to be hit my strong winds it is most likely to occur in the height of winter. In 1997 on December 24, a region just out of Dublin was hit by winds that gathered speeds of 151 km/h!

There are plenty of things to keep you busy if visiting Dublin and find your self in the midst of a rainy windy day, take in the city streets or take a visit to the original Guinness Brewery- don't worry it'll be here for awhile as it as a 9,000 year lease on it's property.

Dublin is affected by the urban heat phenomenon which means the inner city is a few degrees warmer than more regional areas. The heat is stored up in the city centre and will keep it warmer throughout the days.

 Any variations in rain or temperature are due mainly to varying altitude and proximity to the Atlantic. The east coast sees about 750mm of precipitation, on average, across the year while the west coast sees 1500mm. In the mountains at higher altitude about 2000mm of precipitation will be recorded, before falling to 800-1200mm in lower lying areas.

Though it has been stated that Ireland does lack temperature extremes, it is hit by the occasional heat wave. Historically the highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland was 33.3°C at Kilkenny Castle June 26 1887. During the 20th century, the record high is 32.5°C at Boora, Co. Offaly which was recorded on 29th June 1976.