This Family Travels: We spent the weekend in Clare and I don’t know why we didn’t sooner

And yes, we did visit the Father Ted house.

The last couple of year my family and I have been all over Ireland, or so we had thought. When we started to think of the counties that we had crossed off our list we realised there was one we hadn't been to, County Clare. Knowing that Clare has some of the most gorgeous natural scenery in Ireland we made it our business to visit before the year is out and that's exactly what we did. Where we stayed We stayed at The Old Ground hotel which is very central to the town and has lots to do around it. Our room came with complimentary treats for ourselves and the children and included two kind sized beds, an ensuite bathroom and a small living room area with TV. The hotel has parking facilities on site, but do check if you will need to take an alternative route to the hotel as the weekend we visited the usual road to the hotel was closed to make way for outdoor seating. The Old Ground Hotel has established itself as the highest-rated hotel in Ennis town and has recently seen several celebrity guests including Mean Girls star Lacey Chabert. Where we ate For dinner we went to The Town Hall, which is right next door to The Old Ground. Everything we ordered was absolutely beautiful and the staff could not do enough for us. They even brought out a plate of cooked carrots for my daughter's toy rabbit to eat, so definitely a family friendly spot. What we did During our stay in Ennis we visited Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. On the grounds there is the beautiful 15th century Bunratty Castle which you can do a tour of, as well as the folk park which includes rural farmhouses, village shops and streets are recreated and furnished as they would have appeared at that time. There is also farm animals and a huge playground complete with Viking ship! If you're feeling peckish during your visit, don't worry there is an on site café, as well as lots of toilets and a gift shop. Honestly, it was hard to get the kids to leave. The highlight of our trip The highlight of our trip definitely had to be driving through The Burren, which is an absolute must if you've never gone before. There's nothing like it anywhere in Ireland, it's absolutely breathtaking. Of course while we were there it would have been rude not to stop and grab a snap of the iconic Father Ted house. Fair warning it is on a tiny road with very few places to pull in and park, I literally had to jump out of the car, grab the pic and jump back in the car again but it was worth it.