A wonderful night's sleep........waking to a beautiful day at Sheen Falls! We were not keen on leaving this rather mesmerizing place, but knew we had to make a longer drive than usual to get up close to Dublin. The route planned out to almost four hours of driving. The destination was "The Cliff at Lyons." We did not realize this, but this hotel is owned by the same group as "Cliff House" in Ardmore. We were looking forward to the experience! We had a wonderful breakfast and grabbed some help from the bellmen with our 'heavy' bags and loaded up the car.......ready to travel!
The roads in Ireland are typically rather winding and circuitous.......and such was the case here. For the most part, we were able to move at a reasonable speed. The countryside was beautiful!
Along the way we drove close to the town of Tipperary, which turns out to be one of the ancestral homes of Andrea's family. We didn't have time to stop and explore, but the countryside was really picturesque, rising from fields up into rolling hills......worth more consideration on the next trip!
We made it to Cliff at Lyons in about 3 1/2 hours. It was a bit of a hike, but the curving roads kept us alert the whole way! We were somewhat impressed by the entrance gates. I don't think we had a clear idea of what this place would look like.......and it ended up being quite remarkable.
Cliff at Lyons History
Contemporary luxury in a lovingly restored Georgian setting.
Cliff at Lyons hotel near Dublin, occupies a collection of historic village houses, a barracks, forge and mill situated on the Grand Canal in Kildare. They originally formed a lock yard, flanking the southernmost of two waterways connecting Dublin in the east of Ireland with the River Shannon in the west.
The big house nearby was an important Irish estate, Lyons Demesne, belonging to an old Kildare dynasty. The first Lord of Cloncurry, Nicholas Lawless, built the main Georgian mansion here in 1797.
His son, Valentine, the second Lord of Cloncurry, was a champion of the Irish cause who was twice imprisoned in the Tower of London for his sympathies towards the 1798 Irish Rebellion. Known as ‘the Irish Patriot’, Valentine, who dressed in green, was a passionate advocate of Irish culture.
The buildings that form today’s 16-acre Cliff at Lyons evolved into a village in the 1820s, which had a mill, the Jolly Angler’s Inn – which became a police barracks in the mid-19th century – a hotel and even a Church of Ireland boarding school.
The flourmill, damaged in a fire in 1903, was run by Joseph P Shackleton, a relative of the famous Antarctic explorer. Horses would be changed here, beside the double lock on the canal.
In 1962, the entire estate, including the lockyard buildings, were bought by University College Dublin. Although the farmland was being used for student education, the main house and lockyard buildings fell into disrepair.
The renovation of the property did not begin until 1996, when Tony Ryan, co-founder of Ryanair, bought Lyons Demesne, including ‘The Village’, as the lockyard buildings became known.
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We arrived a bit early for check-in, but the good news was that our room was ready! We followed a nice bellman to the back part of the property to a building called the "Mayor's Building." You can see it on the property map below. Quite an amazing complex! Our room looked out over a small lilypond with a fountain.
After settling in a bit, we ended up meandering back to the main 'piazza' of the complex, near the reception area and the restaurants. The grounds were amazing with any number of fantastic gardens.....both for flowers and vegetables. We got a good exposure this afternoon, but saw even more tomorrow, so check that out also!
We ended up have lunch from a small cafe/bakery which was fantastic. We ordered our sandwiches and took them outside to a large terrace 'patio' with tables and chairs. It was low key and fantastic.......just what we needed!
We wandered lazily back to our room after lunch. The character of the historic stone buildings and the extraordinary landscape of gardens and planting was an unexpected surprise. The characterization of this property as a 'rediscovered' village was quite appropriate!
During this exploration, we came across the mill building and the formal restaurant where we would be having dinner. What an amazing place!
After a nice rest in the room (including a wonderful bath in the huge tub) we headed back out for dinner. It should be noted, however, that we had a bit of an escapade in the afternoon brought on by trying to fill the tub with hot water.......there was none! After an exchange with the front desk, the troops moved in to fix the situation. By chance I met the repair man as he drove up in a golf cart! He was reassuring and said he would have things fixed in 15-20 minutes.......and he was right!
The eventual dinner experience in "The Mill" was totally amazing. The setting and the food were extraordinary. We had stopped by earlier in the afternoon and happened to meet the maitre'd, as lunch was coming to closure. She showed us around a bit.........and when we arrived in the evening she was happy to see us and led us to a fantastic table right on the mill falls! Love this stuff!
The setting was just so unique! Here's a quick video!
The meal was amazing!
