Holiday Cottages In Leinster

Leinster is Ireland's eastern province, taking in Dublin and the rich farmland of the south-east. It has around 170 self-catering cottages on selfcatering.co.uk, most of them on the Wexford coast and in the Wicklow Mountains, with smaller numbers spread across the midlands. Of those cottages, 85 take dogs and 19 have a hot tub.

Counties of Leinster

Leinster is the largest province by population and covers the eastern and south-eastern quarter of the country. Its cottages are concentrated in the south-east, in Wexford and Wicklow, with a thin scatter across the midlands and the counties around Dublin.

• Wexford: the busiest base in the province, the sunny south-east corner with long beaches, Hook Head and the harbour at Kilmore Quay
• Wicklow: the Garden of Ireland, with the Wicklow Mountains, the monastic valley of Glendalough and the gardens at Powerscourt
• Meath: the Boyne Valley and the great prehistoric tombs of Newgrange and the Hill of Tara
• Kilkenny: a medieval city county on the River Nore, with a castle and a craft trail
• the county of Longford in the midlands, on the upper Shannon
• horse-breeding Kildare, home of the Curragh and the National Stud
• coastal Louth, the smallest county, between the Boyne and Carlingford Lough
• Offaly in the midlands, with the bog and the monastic ruins of Clonmacnoise nearby
• lakeland Westmeath around Mullingar and Lough Ree
• Carlow, a small county on the Barrow with the Blackstairs Mountains
• the capital itself in Dublin City
• Laois in the midlands, with the Slieve Bloom Mountains
• coastal Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown on Dublin Bay
• and Fingal on the coast north of the city

Wexford and Wicklow together hold most of the province's cottages, so the south-east and the mountains south of Dublin are where the choice is widest.

Leinster's coast and mountains

Leinster mixes a long eastern coast with mountain and rich lowland. The Wicklow Mountains rise just south of Dublin, the largest continuous upland in Ireland, with the glacial valley and round tower of Glendalough at their heart inside Wicklow Mountains National Park. South again, Wexford is the sunniest corner of the country, a coast of long sandy beaches, the lighthouse at Hook Head and the wildfowl reserves of the Wexford Slobs. Inland, the Boyne Valley in Meath holds the prehistoric passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, while the rivers Barrow, Nore and Suir thread south through Carlow and Kilkenny. The flat midlands carry the great raised bogs and the River Shannon along the western edge.

Things to do in Leinster

Leinster pairs the capital with some of Ireland's oldest history. Spend a day in Dublin for its museums, Trinity College and the Book of Kells, Georgian squares and the Guinness Storehouse. South of the city, walk in the Wicklow Mountains, visit the monastic ruins at Glendalough and the terraced gardens of Powerscourt. In the Boyne Valley, tour the passage tomb of Newgrange and climb the Hill of Tara, the seat of the High Kings. Wexford has beaches, the Irish National Heritage Park and the Dunbrody Famine Ship at New Ross, while Kilkenny offers a castle, medieval lanes and a noted craft and food scene.

When to visit Leinster

The south-east is the driest and sunniest part of Ireland, and Wexford's beaches are at their best from June to August, which is also the busiest spell. Late spring and September are pleasant for walking the Wicklow Mountains and touring the Boyne Valley, with quieter sites and better cottage value. Dublin is a year-round city break whatever the weather. Winter suits a cottage with a fire in the hills or the midlands, and prices across the province drop well below the summer peak.

Dog-friendly and hot-tub cottages in Leinster

Leinster has good beach and hill walking for a dog, from the Wexford strands to the Wicklow uplands, and 85 of the cottages here take dogs. A smaller number, 19 in all, come with a hot tub. Most of both are in Wexford and Wicklow, where the bulk of the province's self-catering lies, with only a scattering across the midlands. There is no provincial filter for dogs or hot tubs, so it is best to compare them on the individual county pages.

Getting to Leinster

Dublin Airport is the busiest in the country and the main gateway to the province and the whole island. By road the M11 runs south from Dublin through Wicklow to Wexford, with the M7, M4 and M3 reaching the midlands, Kildare and Meath. The car ferries from Britain and France dock at Dublin Port and at Rosslare in Wexford, which has sailings to Wales and to France. Trains run from Dublin to Wexford and Rosslare, Kilkenny, Mullingar and beyond, and the DART serves the coast around Dublin Bay.

Useful links

• Discover Ireland
• Failte Ireland
• Wicklow Mountains National Park
• Ireland's Ancient East

Leinster is the easternmost of the four traditional provinces of Ireland and the most populous, taking in the capital, Dublin, and the rich farmland of the country's south-east and midlands. It is the largest of the provinces by number of counties, with twelve in all: Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath, Meath and Louth. The land is mostly low and fertile, long the most prosperous part of the island.

The one great upland is the Wicklow Mountains, which rise immediately south of Dublin and form the largest continuous area of high ground in Ireland, cut by glacial valleys such as Glendalough. To the south, the sunny coast of Wexford runs in long sandy beaches to the lighthouse at Hook Head, while the rivers Barrow, Nore and Suir, the Three Sisters, thread south through Carlow and Kilkenny to the sea. North of Dublin, the Boyne Valley in Meath and Louth holds some of the oldest monuments in Europe, the passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, older than the pyramids, and the Hill of Tara, seat of the High Kings. The flat midland counties carry the great raised bogs and the upper River Shannon.

Leinster has been the seat of power in Ireland for much of its history. The Norse founded Dublin, the Normans held the south-east from castles at Kilkenny and beyond, and the area around the capital known as the Pale was the core of English rule for centuries. Today the province blends a busy capital region with quiet rural coast, mountain and farmland a short drive beyond it.