Things to do in County Waterford

Ardmore in County Waterford is one of the finest early Christian monastic sites in Ireland, a small coastal village whose collection of medieval ecclesiastical remains including a round tower of exceptional quality, a Romanesque cathedral and the oratory of St Declan creates one of the most complete and most evocative early Christian landscapes in the south of Ireland. The association of Ardmore with St Declan, who is said to have arrived from Wales to found a Christian community here before St Patrick's mission, gives the site a claim to particular antiquity in the Irish ecclesiastical tradition. The round tower at Ardmore, approximately 29 metres high and among the most complete and most elegant surviving in Ireland, stands on the clifftop above the village and bay in a position of extraordinary visual power. The tower, built in the twelfth century and tapering to a distinctive conical cap, retains the doorway with its Romanesque carved doorframe that places it in the same tradition of elaborated stone carving visible in the contemporary cathedral below. The combination of the height, the completeness and the dramatic cliff-top setting makes the Ardmore tower one of the finest examples of this characteristic Irish monument form. The Romanesque arcading on the west wall of the cathedral contains a remarkable series of sculptural panels depicting biblical subjects including the Adoration of the Magi and the Judgment of Solomon in a style of considerable energy and provincial charm. St Declan's Oratory, a small stone building of great antiquity adjacent to the cathedral, is one of the candidate sites for the tomb of the saint and attracts pilgrims to the annual Pattern Day festival.

Lisfinny Castle is a well-preserved tower house near Tallow in the Bride River valley in County Waterford, a solid rectangular structure of four storeys with characteristic thick walls, narrow windows and a vaulted ground floor. The castle controlled a route connecting the Blackwater valley at Tallow with the higher ground of the Knockmealdown Mountains to the north. The Bride valley, with its mixed woodland, river meadows and the wooded flanks of the Knockmealdowns visible in the distance, is a quietly attractive piece of west Waterford scenery. The wider Blackwater valley corridor contains a remarkable concentration of medieval heritage from Lismore Castle and Cistercian abbey ruins to tower houses and Norman earthworks.

Lismore Castle is situated on the outskirts of the town of Lismore with a panoramic view over the River Blackwater and the Knockmealdown Mountains. Today's castle has been rebuilt in a Gothic style and comprises of castellated towers, a gate house and 17th century yew lined drive all set within 7 acres of gardens. Facilities The castle is the home of the Duke of Devonshire but it is rented out to parties of up to 24 guests when the Duke is away. Visitors stay in the Dukes own quarters which comprises of twelve bedrooms and bathrooms a billiard and games room, a drawing room, two sitting rooms and a dining room. The banqueting hall is also used as a wedding reception venue for up to 80 guests. The gardens are open to the public between 11am and 5pm from the middle of March until the end of September and are separated into two parts, the Upper Garden; which is a 17th century walled garden, and the Lower Garden, from the 19th century, which is an informal garden with lawns and herbaceous borders. King John was responsible for building the first castle on the site in 1185. In 1589 the castle was occupied by Sir Walter Raleigh who was forced to sell it 1602 to the 1st Earl of Cork, Richard Boyle after his imprisonment for high treason. The Earl transformed the castle building gabled ranges to each side of the courtyard and a castellated wall with gatehouse. The Earl was father to fifteen children; the fourteenth child born in the castle in 1627 was later to become known as the 'Father of Modern Chemistry', Robert Boyle. The castle was handed down through the family and restored after Cromwell's invasion with Richard Boyle; 3rd Earl of Cork, giving the castle its Georgian additions. In 1753 the castle passed through marriage to the 4th Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, who was later to become the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland. The 6th Duke or 'Batchelor Duke' as he was known was responsible for how the castle looks today. In 1811 he engaged an architect to rebuild the castle in a gothic style using stone shipped from Derbyshire and Sir Joseph Paxton to design additions. Adele Astaire; Fred Astaire's sister, lived in the castle with her husband the 9th Duke and used the castle until just before her death in 1981. Today's family only live in the castle for a short period each year, their main residence being Chatsworth House. The Arts The castle was used in 2007 for the filming of a TV adaptation of Jane Austin's Northanger Abbey

The Copper Coast is a UNESCO Global Geopark on the south Waterford coast between Tramore and Dungarvan, a stretch of Atlantic coastline whose extraordinary geological variety, including the copper and other mineral deposits that gave the coast its name and the remarkable variety of volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks exposed in the cliffs, distinguishes it as one of only a handful of recognised geoparks in Ireland. The copper mining that operated extensively here during the nineteenth century, employing thousands of workers at its peak, has left a landscape of engine houses, spoil heaps and mining structures that provide the most visible heritage dimension of the coast. The Copper Coast Drive connects these industrial heritage features with the natural scenery and the village communities of Bunmahon and Stradbally in a route of considerable variety. The Waterford Greenway, a 46-kilometre traffic-free cycling and walking trail following a disused railway line from Waterford city to Dungarvan, traverses the coastal landscape of the geopark and provides one of the finest greenway experiences in Ireland. The combination of the geology, the mining heritage, the coastal scenery and the Greenway makes the Copper Coast one of the most varied and most rewarding coastal destinations in the southeast.

Tramore is the largest traditional seaside resort on the south Waterford coast, a town set behind a five-kilometre sandy beach whose combination of the long strand, reliable surf and characterful resort townscape makes it the most popular beach destination in southeast Ireland. The name Tramore means the great beach in Irish, a description fully justified by the scale and quality of the strand that has attracted holiday makers from the Waterford region for over two centuries. The beach faces south into Tramore Bay and receives Atlantic swell providing consistent surfing conditions throughout the year, and the surf school tradition here is one of the most established on the south Irish coast. The town's Victorian architecture reflects the development of seaside resorts as a feature of Irish leisure culture in the nineteenth century, and the amusement park and traditional funfair give the resort a popular entertainment tradition alongside its natural assets. The Metal Man, a cast iron sailor figure mounted on a pillar at Tramore Point, is one of the most distinctive coastal landmarks in Waterford, its raised arm traditionally said to point toward safe navigation away from treacherous rocks. The Waterford Greenway cycle and walking trail passes near Tramore and connects the town with the broader landscape of the county.