48 HOURS IN WATERFORD
MARIE KELLY takes some quality time out at the Cliff House Hotel in Waterford.
A weekend in Ardmore is a balm for the senses
Ispent my childhood summers in the sunny southeast without once visiting Waterford. When I arrived in The Crystal County on a drizzly, dank Friday afternoon, my first impressions of the Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore did not suffer from the lack of sunshine. Everything smells better in the rain and some scenes look better. The uniquely modern hotel with its slate and glass façade is perched brazenly on a cliff edge at the south side of Ardmore Bay; and against a petulant sky of fit-to-burst rain clouds, it looked like something from a Daphne du Maurier novel. The Cliff is a luxurious base from which to explore and enjoy the county’s coastline walks, watersports and local towns. Dungarvan is less than a 30-minute drive away and offers a selection of chi-chi eateries as well as decent pub grub. On the Saturday, we ate at The Moorings and after cycling (a small portion of) the 46km Waterford Greenway, the pub’s selection of refuelling foods, such as doorstopper sandwiches and lasagne, hit the mark nicely. Staying at the Cliff House, however, it’s quite feasible you may prefer to shun the outside world and cocoon yourself inside the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, which offer soul-stirring views of sea and sky. Log fires burn contentedly in reception, and the bar area and the local staff offer five-star service without any starchiness. They kindly supplied my group with spare rain jackets as we headed out to enjoy the hotel’s famous cliff walk, which takes in St Declan’s Well and the Ardmore Round Tower along its path, with forager Andrew Malcolm. He supplies the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant with edible flowers and wild herbs, and while we nibbled tentatively on peppery sorrel, Malcolm displayed an exhaustive knowledge of his subject. The Cliff restaurant’s reputation is formidable, and Dutch chef Martijn Kajuiter’s tasting menu is not for the faint-hearted foodie (like me). Breakfast was the hero meal for me. Mini scones, brown bread and pastries are brought to your table immediately lest you get hungry while perusing the cooked breakfast menu. Eating superb food against the backdrop of beautiful Ardmore Bay gives you the immediate sense that you must have done something right in your life to be lucky enough to experience it. Although plans with Ardmore Adventures to try paddle-boarding were thwarted by the weather on Sunday morning, the hotel’s spa more than made up for any disappointment. Resting up in the relaxation room, again facing out onto that pictureperfect view, reinforced the feeling that life is good. What better frame of mind to be in when you walk away from a weekend break?