Meet the Farmer and Local Historian Bespoke Tour

This is the perfect opportunity to engage with a leading expert in regenerative agriculture! Tour Guide Ailbhe Gerrard is an organic farmer, beekeeper, Nuffield Scholar and owner of Brookfield Farm. Ailbhe is also an official Climate Ambassador for Ireland Farming for Nature Ambassador Sustainable Farming Award Winner.

Peter Gerrard is an entertaining historian with a wealth of knowledge about the local area’s history and culture. Enjoy his colourful anecdotes and great stories, wrought from his close connections to the First World War, Easter Rising, and the establishment of the Irish state. Learn about agriculture in Ireland and the social changes that have taken place.

Appreciate how history has marked the landscape, including an ancient well and a recently discovered Bronze Age Fulacht Fia (an ancient cooking place from 1500 to 500 BC.

• Start at the farmhouse or directly at the farm.
• Explore the unique natural lakeshore of Lough Derg, accessible only from this location. It offers serene views and rich biodiversity.
• Enjoy the calming scenes of wild irises, mint, mayflies, rising fish, and gliding waterbirds along the shore.
• Discover rare lakeside plants and hear tales of Vikings and historical arrivals during a lakeshore walk.
• Ascend to an ancient stone well from the 18th century and taste its continually rising spring water.
• Uncover the Fulacht Fiadh, an ancient cooking site, and learn about the historical peoples of the land.
• Traverse a broadleaf plantation and find the Lookout, a hidden circle of beech trees in a twenty-year-old woodland managed for biodiversity.
• Spot birds of prey like buzzards and possibly white-tailed sea eagles.
• Stroll through vibrant flower meadows buzzing with pollinators and birds.
• Pick apples and dig for potatoes during the walk, depending on the season.