800 years of history, and a hawk before breakfast

Ashford Castle has stood on the shores of Lough Corrib since 1228, surrounded today by 350 acres of woodland, gardens and rolling countryside in the west of Ireland. It has turrets, battlements, old stone walls and all the history you would hope for, but what makes Ashford particularly special is that this is not a castle where you simply check in, have a look around and move on. There is an enormous amount to actually do here.

Its story began with the Anglo-Norman de Burgo family, who established a fortress here in 1228. Over the following centuries the property changed hands and continued to grow, but one of its most important chapters began in 1852 when Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness purchased the estate. The Guinness family transformed Ashford significantly, adding Victorian extensions, planting thousands of trees and developing the estate around it. His son, Lord Ardilaun, continued the work and was particularly passionate about the grounds and gardens. Many of the grand old trees, broad walks and formal garden areas you see today date back to this period.

There are little reminders of that history everywhere. The Guinness family hosted the Prince of Wales here in 1905, and the George V Dining Room was created in honour of his visit. The castle eventually became a hotel in 1939 and, more recently, underwent an extensive five-year restoration after joining Red Carnation Hotels. Rather than stripping away its personality, the restoration leaned heavily into the building’s history, using local craftspeople and artisans throughout.

Inside, Ashford is gloriously traditional. There are 83 individually designed rooms and suites, filled with antiques, artwork, rich fabrics, chandeliers, patterned wallpaper and proper feature beds. This is definitely not the place for anyone hoping for white walls, pale timber and a single decorative olive branch in a vase. Many of the rooms look across Lough Corrib, the River Cong or the estate, while some of the Staterooms occupy the oldest parts of the castle.

For something even more private, there is The Boathouse, which sits separately from the castle on the edge of Lough Corrib. It dates back to the Guinness era and was originally used to store the family’s Italian Riva boats. Today it has been converted into a private suite for two, with its own gardens and terrace overlooking the lake. It is a few minutes from the main castle and comes with bicycles for getting around the estate, although we suspect the temptation to sit by the water and go absolutely nowhere may be fairly strong.

The estate itself is one of the biggest reasons we would recommend allowing a few nights here. Ashford has more than 25 activities, and they range from the fairly civilised to things you probably don’t regularly find yourself doing on holiday. The best known is the School of Falconry, Ireland’s oldest established falconry school. On a private Hawk Walk you head into the woodland with an instructor and your own Harris hawk, watching it move through the trees before swooping back down to land on your gloved hand. There are very few mornings on holiday that begin with someone handing you a hawk, which is part of the appeal.

You can also go horse riding through the estate, try your hand at clay shooting or archery, play golf or head out by bicycle. The estate’s shooting range caters to complete beginners as well as more experienced shooters, so nobody needs to arrive pretending they know what they are doing. There are woodland walks, guided bike rides and plenty of quieter trails through the gardens and around the shoreline if your preferred country pursuit is simply walking around somewhere very pretty before finding lunch.

Then there is Lough Corrib. Covering around 44,000 acres, it is one of Ireland’s best-known fishing areas and sits directly in front of the castle. Ashford’s ghillie, Frank Costello, has spent his life around the lake and takes both beginners and experienced anglers out for fly-fishing lessons and half or full-day excursions. Many of the trips are aboard traditional 19-foot wooden boats, which Frank himself handcrafts during the winter months. On a full-day fishing trip you can even stop on one of the islands for lunch and, depending on the catch, have your fish cooked over the fire. It is about as far removed from ordering room service as you can get.

Even if fishing holds absolutely no appeal, we would still recommend getting out onto the lake. Private boat trips and cruises give you a completely different view of the castle and surrounding countryside, and there are islands scattered throughout Lough Corrib to explore. Coming back towards those stone towers from the water is probably when the whole castle thing properly sinks in.

If you have never met an Irish wolfhound before, they are essentially small horses masquerading as dogs.

The morning dog walk

One of Ashford’s quirkier traditions (and probably our favourite!) is its morning dog walk. On selected mornings, guests can head through the estate with the resident dogs, including the enormous Irish wolfhounds. If you have never met an Irish wolfhound before, they are essentially small horses masquerading as dogs. And if you are anything like us and start missing your own furry companions about three days into a trip, this is quite a nice substitute. We think they are also a very convincing reason to be awake before breakfast.

For something slower, the gardens are worth giving proper time to. Much of their present layout was created by Lady Ardilaun during the Guinness era in the late 1800s, with terraces, formal walks, woodland and a walled garden. Some of the trees planted during this period are still standing, including giant redwoods and monkey puzzle trees dating back more than 150 years. Guided estate walks can also take you through the story of Ashford, along the Cong River and into parts of the grounds you might otherwise wander straight past.

And because this is Ireland, there does need to be a plan for the occasional afternoon when the weather decides you are finished with outdoor pursuits. Ashford has its own 32-seat cinema, complete with proper red velvet seating, along with billiards, afternoon tea, whiskey and gin tastings and private wine tastings beneath the castle. Those wine cellars are housed inside 16th-century secret tunnels that were once used as a servants’ entrance and coal passage during the Guinness era, which makes a glass of wine down there considerably more interesting than having one at the bar.

Dining is an experience in its own right. The George V Dining Room is the grand occasion, with dark wood panelling and Waterford Crystal chandeliers, while The Dungeon and Cullen’s at the Cottage provide more relaxed alternatives. Afternoon tea is served in the Connaught Room and there are several bars and drawing rooms throughout the castle, so you can spend a few days on the estate without dinner becoming repetitive.

The Spa at Ashford Castle gives you another very good reason not to over-plan every day. It was Ireland’s first Forbes Five-Star Spa and includes a relaxation pool beneath the large Tree of Life mural, alongside treatment rooms and steam facilities. We would happily put falconry or horse riding in the morning, lunch somewhere on the estate, and then leave the entire afternoon free for the spa. Not every day needs to be productive.

Ashford is also a good base for exploring this part of Ireland. The village of Cong is immediately beside the estate and was famously used as a filming location for The Quiet Man, while Connemara, Galway, Kylemore Abbey and Killary Harbour can all be incorporated into the wider journey. That said, we would be careful not to turn Ashford into a base where you leave first thing every morning and return at dinner. You would miss half the reason for staying here in the first place.

We would recommend at least three nights at Ashford Castle, and longer for anyone who wants to properly make use of the estate. Two nights can work, but once you start choosing between falconry, fishing, riding, the spa, the lake, the gardens and a wine tasting in a secret tunnel, the diary fills surprisingly quickly.

Ashford manages to combine a serious amount of history with the sort of experiences that make a stay genuinely fun. One morning you can be walking through the woods with a hawk, that afternoon you could be on Lough Corrib in a handmade wooden boat, and the following morning you may find yourself walking an Irish wolfhound before breakfast. None of these ideas sound like a bad way to spend a few days in Ireland.