TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert WalsheLiving

PASSENGERS can claim no more than about €1,100 from airlines that lose their baggage, regardless of the value of the contents, the European Court of Justice has confi rmed. In a case brought by a traveller who had claimed three times as much, the court this week ruled that air carriers’ liability for lost baggage is limited to the amounts set in the Montreal Convention, which was approved by the EU in 2001. This sets the maximum compensa-tion at 1,000 special drawing rights for each passenger, equivalent to about €1,134 at current exchange rates. Passengers are entitled to claim more only if they have made a declaration before fl ying and paid an additional sum, the court said.

Weekend Hotspot

County Cavan is rarely visited by tourists, relative to other parts of Ireland. The Lake Country, County Cavan has a huge number of lakes and rivers and as the locals say there are 365 of them, one for each day of the year. As the county is in the heart of Ireland’s lake–land region, it is well known as the country’s premier angling location. The River Erne and her main tributaries, the Shannon Erne Waterway and Dro-more/Annalee dominate the middle of the county and further east lies the upper River Boyne system. The village of Belturbet is a good place to use as a base if you want to par-take in lake activities The Shannon Erne Waterway which was reopened in 1994 is also called the Ballycon-nell and Ballinamore Canal. It can be navigated by boaters as far as the shores of Lough Erne. The foot-hills of the nearby Iron Mountains, meanwhile, can be explored by hik-ers of any experience. Cavan also has a rich historical and cultural identity with many museums such as Cavan County Museum and St. Killian’s Heritage Centre; cultural centres such as Cavan Genealogy Centre, Ballyhugh and Maudabawn; historic churches and abbeys such as the Wesleyan in Kingscourt and my favourite Kilmore Cathedral near Cavan. Also offered are cham-pionship golf, horse riding and a memorable visit to the Silver Bear Centre in Bawnboy will enthuse

your children for years to come. The elegant Radisson Blu Farnham Estate Hotel 4km from Cavan town is set on a magnifi -cent 1,300 acre estate. This sprawling de-mesne incorporates a luxury hotel and one of the countries leading health spas. The hotel is a joy to the senses - from the softest most evocative fabrics to the most del-icate local ingredients; every detail has been carefully chosen to cre-ate a sense of wellbe-ing. The stylish rooms are a treat and there’s a striking” Pink Room Boudoir” with retro-chic wallpaper and furnishings. The modern wing has 146 contemporary standard bedrooms and eight of the hotel’s twelve suites are located in the 400 year old Farnham House. These are all unique in size and style and the Farnham suite makes you feel like a lady or lord of the manor! Images of the grounds surround you in the Health Spa, where a clever use of photography sees large-scale im-ages of outdoors brought into the Mint Water Thermal Suite and the treatment rooms. A full range of face and body treatments includ-ing facials, massages and body wraps are on offer lasting from 15 minutes up to 2 hours. Much of the pleasure from a visit here is to be taken outdoors. Walks on the es-tate grounds range from the more relaxed, shorter routes through to the more challenging, depending on the individual requirements. Farn-ham Estate also offers an 18 hole, par 72, 7065 yard golf course. This stunning parkland course is spread over 500 acres of rolling country-side and dense woodland. Botanica Restaurant with a suitably themed menu features local herbs, fl owers and vegetables. The restaurant has a dual aspect outlook one overlook-ing Farnham lawn and the other a courtyard. For an extra special din-ing experience, private dining can be arranged for groups of up to 12 people at the Chef’s Table, which in addition to being part of the restau-

rant also forms part of the ki tchen. The Bo-t a n i c a Bar is sit-uated on a raised deck in the lobby, and drinks and snacks are avail-able here all day. The at -mospheric Wine Goose Cellar Bar is located in the base-ment of the Great House, which also features a wine cellar. To be fair wherever the road takes you in Cavan, you will ex-perience a wonderful sense of free-dom in a relatively undiscovered part of the island. Farnham Estate is a place to linger, savour and enjoy. Packages include Swing or Swim this summer from €120 pps with • Overnight Luxury Accommodation • Super Buffet Breakfast • Dinner and a round of golf or a 25 minute spa treatments. Rates are valid Sunday to Thursday until 30th June 2010. www.farnhamestate.ie

Weekly Best Buy

There’s €50 off when you book this week to travel in June with Fol-

low the Camino. The company

have walking and sight-seeing holidays and packages on the Camino available for all ages and all abilities. Packages start at €590 for one week. www.followthecamino.

com Meanwhile a leading agent is offering a free Cuban visa, worth €25 per person, with every honey-moon booked.

Package price of €1,267 per person includes return fl ights from Dublin to Havana via Paris

7 nights accommodation in fully all-inclusive basis in Sandals Hica-cos Resort www.gohope.ie Catch some sun in Cyprus this month with these hot deals from Concorde Travel. Departures on

13th June include Flight only* from €374pp incl. tax 3* Petrosana Apts on a self catering basis in Ayia Napa from €514pp incl. tax 3* Hotel Nereus on a B&B basis in Paphos from €590pp incl. tax. www.concor-detravel.ie

Pet’s Corner...with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist

with Kathleen Murray

with Robert Walshe

icate local ingredients; every detail has been carefully chosen to cre-

■ Farnham Estate Exterior

with Robert Walshewith Robert WalsheLiving

low the Camino. The company

rant also forms part of the

Living

rant also forms part of the

LivingLiving

is located in the base-ment of the Great House, which also features a

The company have walking and sight-

seeing holidays and packages on the Camino available for all ages and all abilities. Packages start at €590 for one week. www.followthecamino.

com Meanwhile a leading agent is

low the Camino. The company Home and Away Extra

There is no substitute for the thrill of the sights, sounds and smells of a foreign country when it comes to escaping the offi ce and the mobile phone, a study has found. Psychologist Kairen Cullen, who interviewed focus groups for Thomson Holidays, said consumers preferred to “truly get away” by travelling to an environment that contrasted starkly with their normal routine. There was also evidence that long-haul holidays were more likely to reduce stress. Average stress reduction attributable to a trip to a long-distance destination was 60% compared with 20% for a British holiday, showed the study.Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and is guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland

■ Standard room at Farnham Estate

■ Original Living room at

Farnham Estate.

AS you may be aware there are some dogs that are now known as “Restricted breeds” in Ireland.

The dog breeds on the list are the American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, English Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull terrier, Doberman Pin-scher, Rottweiler, Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Ger-man Shepherd/Alsatian, Rho-desian Ridgeback and every dog commonly known as Ban Dog and every other strain or cross of every breed and type of dog named on this list.

By law, these dogs are to be securely muzzled and be led by

a strong enough chain or leash no longer than two metres and the dogs are only to be walked by someone over the age of 16 years that is capable of con-trolling the said dogs.

This law came about by a de-mand to have something done about dogs because of attacks on people and other animals by some of these breeds. While this is a short term/ part time answer to the problem, attacks are still occuring all the time... and not only by dogs on this list, and not always by dogs on this list.

I have worked with some of the most aggessive dogs

in this county and the dogs on this list are only a small minority when it comes to ag-gressive attacks towards peo-ple. Labradors (which are big dogs) were top of the list in recent years yet they are not on the list.

Very aggressive dogs (not on the list above) that have attacked people or other animals that I have worked with were Labradors, many Terriers, Cocker Spaniels, Springer Spaniels, Weimeran-ers, Collies, Irish Wolfhounds, Bernese Mountain dogs, Jack Russels, King Charles Span-iels, Bishon Frise dogs and

many more. Any dog can be aggressive and do harm if it is in the wrong hands. They can scar a child’s face or injure people that are walking past their house, or in their house. Owners of dogs that do harm should pay, not the dogs. They are the owners respon-sibility. The dogs can only do what they are let do.

Muzzles don’t stop aggres-sion, they often increase it.

Dogs that have never harmed anyone now have to wear a muzzle (which makes them look vicious) because it’s the law and dogs that have done harm are still not muzzled.

This law has not protected anyone but it has caused a lot of hardship for innocent, well behaved dogs. It has ru-ined my dog’s life and she has never harmed anyone.

While this law is an answer to a cry for help it does not cure the problem of dog at-tacks. More people than ever are buying dogs of these breeds, they are not all heed-ing the law and many of them do not know how to work with these dogs... or any dog. This is where the problem lies. The dogs should not have to pay for this... but unfortunately they will.

Restricted dog breeds