First, The National Heritage Park

It was wonderful to guide four extended Ireland Spirit vacations through this summer. This has inspired and encouraged how to approach next year’s tours. There is indeed quite a thirst for visitors to really experience both the spirit and traditions of Ireland without visiting the “Made For Tourists” chat, snap and move on locations.

The last tour also showed how essential it is to try and start with an introduction to Bhride, Brigid, through a visit to one of her wells and guidance by the Brigidine sisters of Kildare. This truly sets the spirit and intent of the tour. 

However, there is one excellent “Made For Tourists” site that we never made it to that I do feel is quite essential before the bulk of our tour. I hope to correct this through 2008 and beyond.

This essential stop is the Irish National Heritage Park near Wexford. 

Our tours visit several spiritual and personally moving ancient sites with fallen structures that create curious questions amongst the personal spiritual revelations. A visit to the National Heritage Park truly provides an incredible life rich enactment of life in Ireland from about 8000 BC until the Norman arrival about 1200 AD.

After a visit to this revealing park and joining in some of its activities a visitor will surely connect much more to the spirit of places that we then visit around the country. 

I really could not word the Irish Heritage Park better than their web site …..

Enter a special place, where Ireland's          heritage comes alive with sights and sounds that shaped a country and helped to shape the world.  A visit to the Irish National Heritage Park is like no other you can imagine. Surprises await around every turn as you explore 35 acres of this remarkable heritage trail. From campsite to Ringfort, from mill to Fulacht Fiadh, from Crannog to Viking house, every activity is an unexpected

adventure into 9000 years. The world you enter is an authentic recreation of Ireland's heritage. Homesteads, places of ritual, burial modes and long forgotten remains will enlighten the casual visitor and interest the scholar. See our Celtic farm with it's ancient breed animals. Everywhere you go there are opportunities for discovery and learning.  Chat with our guides and share these discoveries, delight in the tour and experience the grinding of grain in the Horizontal Water Mill. Within the park, children have a unique opportunity to experience Ireland's heritage in an enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere. Special programmes and family fun days are here to entertain and delight children, it is a place where history is happening everyday. Whether you join us for an hour or an afternoon, every visit to the Irish National Heritage Park will be a time you will never forget.

You can read more from

http://www.inhp.com/

and you can visit this wonderful park as part of one of our Spirit Of Ireland Experience groups. Just let us know when you are visiting Ireland