On tour using horsepower: Co. Wicklow

By Jessica Foster, Birmingham Post

Forget fancy restaurants and en-suite facilities and try a back to basics holiday in a horse-drawn caravan

When we decided to spend our holiday travelling around Co. Wicklow in a horse-drawn caravan, little did we realise we would gain a new member of the family.

Ida, our 15-year-old mare, with a fondness for other horses, a hatred of queues and a tendency to stop dead if faced with a descent, was treated like a favourite aunt and a naughty sister all rolled into one.

And it was thanks to this noble creature that we had so much fun.

Ida is one of 40 specially-trained horses owned by Clissmann Caravans that are entrusted to tourists week by week.

Each horse is carefully matched to families by Mary Clissmann who subtly but keenly assesses each family during the booking process, as routes are discussed and while guests spend their first night in their caravan at the company's farm in Carrigmore near Wicklow.

But the fact that our horse had starred in a Western made the adventure around Ireland just that bit more thrilling for Harriet, our seven-year-old daughter.

And to emulate the Wild West, she and her two siblings enjoyed a spot of bare-back riding as we led our gentle giant back to her field after a day's work.

As for the selection process, Mary admits she is sometimes frustrated by callers who expect a luxury break.

"Sometimes I speak to someone over the phone who wants to book and they are asking questions about fancy restaurants and shopping. I suggest this might not be the right holiday for them," she said.

As we arrived at the Clissmann's farm one Saturday afternoon we were given a detailed introduction to our caravan - the five metre by two metre space that was to be home to five of us for seven nights.

It was adequately equipped for basic cooking with two rings and a grill and we had just enough space for food, clothes, a water carrier and bedding to be stored - as well as special compartments outside for horse feed, tack and grooming equipment.

In true caravan style the table and chairs turned into a double bed, just about long enough for my 6ft tall husband; the sofa turned into bunks for our twins, Harriet and Thomas, and there was a pull out bed for our third child Joel, aged three, that fitted into the tiny corridor by the sink. Once the beds were made the most anyone could do was turn over - and even that risked waking the four other occupants.

During the evening we met with Mary to discuss our routes and choose where we would spend the six nights on the road, bearing in mind we needed to be in places with grazing and water for Ida and space for the caravan. We were offered a mixture of farms, campsites, hotels, pubs and fields which ranged from reasonably luxurious to incredibly basic.

On Sunday morning we gathered at 9.30am with nearly 20 other families - it was the busiest weekend of the year - to learn how to care for our horse and harness her to the caravan safely using bridles, collars, straddles, traces and shafts not to mention braking straps, tug straps, belly straps, reins and hames.

We set off in the afternoon, accompanied by a staff member from the farm, who showed us how to drive, and headed for our first stop, a campsite in Rathdrum just six kilometres or so from the farm.

Following a map clearly marking roads too steep for the caravan, we managed the journey in just over three hours. Ida's idiosyncrasies only became obvious when we were on our own and we had a couple of hairy moments when we wished she was slightly less of a personality and slightly more of a machine with gears, brakes and seat belts.

Our normal clock-watching natures quickly disappeared and we had a hearty pub lunch at 5pm. By the next morning we were ready for the 15km drive to the beautiful but remote valley of Glenmalure.

Tacking up had quickly become comprehensible and Ida settled into the family - and we were in doubt this was an occasion for her, too, for when she stopped dead in her tracks she was waiting for one of her equine friends to catch up.

When she picked up speed she had heard the sound of a caravan half a mile or so up the road.

Our journey was, therefore, quite sociable and we got to know many of the other caravanners following similar routes who had come to Ireland from the UK, France, Holland and Germany.

At Glenmalure we found five or six other caravans already parked and soon a communal bonfire was built in an attempt to keep the midges at bay. The children played together and had great fun in the river that ran between the horses' field and the field for the caravans. Food, water and drink were all available a few yards away at the Glenmalure Lodge Hotel, which generously provided hotel rooms for caravanners wanting a shower. We enjoyed breakfast and lunch at the hotel while we were there as well as simple meals cooked in the caravan.

The long trek to Glenmalure had given Ida a small injury from her collar so to give her a day off we spent two days there enjoying the beautiful surroundings and friendly hospitality.

It was Wednesday when we packed up to go to a field in Ballinaclash, a tiny hamlet which we had passed on our way from Rathdrum. The field was owned by the only shop, which was also the pub, and was right on the Avonbeg River, just a few miles from Avoca, the village used in the series Ballykissangel.

Unfortunately we arrived just after 1pm and found a sign telling us the shop was shut for half-day closing and would open at 8pm. We scouted around to find the right field and sorted out the horse, wishing we had some supplies for lunch.

We hadn't been there long when staff from the shop offered to open up for us and sell us groceries. We had to wait for 8pm for the Guinness but it was well worth the wait.

Ours was the only caravan and Ida the only horse at this campsite so we all took turns to go and "chat" to her as she was clearly missing the other horses.

It was utterly simple, peaceful and enchanting, yet was the kind of place that would be barely noticed by tourists travelling by car.

From Ballinaclash it was back to Rathdrum and then home to the farm for the last night. By then we had a basic understanding of Ida's ways and with the help of apples, carrots and more confidence, travelling at walking pace was an unadulterated pleasure. It wasn't necessarily a rest, but we all enjoyed the relaxed pace, the absence of luxuries and distractions and the close contact with nature.

Help was there if it was needed and the horses were well cared for and monitored en route but the independence we had meant this holiday felt far more like travelling than tourism.

Everyone we met was helpful and friendly - car drivers stuck their head out of the window to take a closer look; the staff from Clissmann Caravan holidays were always accessible, and the pubs, restaurants, hotels and campsites were, without exception, hospitable.

County Wicklow brims with unspoilt beauty and during a week's holiday in a horse-drawn caravan it is possible to visit the stunning beach at Brittas Bay, the Wicklow mountains, the Vale of Avoca and the valley of Glenmalure.

And it is worth staying an extra few days either side of the holiday - several families were going on from their week's caravanning to luxury spa hotels.

Joel dubbed the caravan the "mareoplane", but for us it was a dream holiday and none of us can wait to return.

* Jessica Foster booked the holiday directly with Clissmann Caravans. Visit clissmann.com/wickow

* Information about county Wicklow is at visitwicklow.ie

* The area you can visit with a horse caravan stretches from Brittas Bay beach to Arklow, Aughrim, Avoca, The Meetings, The Valley of Glenmalure, Rathdrum, Laragh and the sixth century monastic site of Glendalough, to Garryduff and Glenealy. Though all of this would take nearly two weeks with the horse.

* A caravan sleeping five cost £670 a week to rent in the summer holidays. The cost included food for the horse and the instruction. Campsites charged from 12 to 33 euros per night in addition.

* Jessica and family crossed to Dun Laoghaire from Holyhead using the Stena Line Fast Craft. The crossing took 1 hour and 40 minutes and £354 for five people and a car. Clissmann Caravans will arrange transfers to the caravan base from either the ports or Dublin airport.