Goddesses, haunted castles, happy hens and snails – welcome to Carlow’s new food trail. Christine Tobin writes about a tourist trail that blends quirky tours with artisan food.

You might think that snail farming is slow business, but Eva Milka is ready to start harvesting over half a million Carlow-born snails this month for the Dubai and Singapore markets. She’s one of 26 great experiences on the newly launched Taste In Carlow Discovery Trail. Eva and her partner Eoin breed the 600,000 free-range edible snails on a half-acre in Garryhill and have put Carlow on the map as the innovative home of snail farming in Ireland.

The pair, who were the first snail farmers in Ireland, kick-started Gaelic Escargot in 2013 and are now supporting 13 new breeders across the country. “We can create a viable and sustainable industry in Ireland exporting worldwide. We provide the initial snail breeding stock for Helix Aspersa Muller snails, with baby snails and snail feed for farmers, as well as mentoring with snailfarming courses,” says Eva.

The Irish weather conditions, with high rainfall and mild temperatures, are ideal for outdoor snail farming, she says. Gaelic Escargot also supply the Irish market and have a developed a range of products around the slimy delicacy, also known to have aphrodisiac benefits.

“The past 18 months has seen demand dry up for product, with restaurants closed,” admits Eva, who says they are ready now to jump-start the business with visits to the farm through the newly launched Taste In Carlow Discovery Trail.

The trail links Carlow’s new wave of artisan food and beverage producers and eateries, with the mythical heritage, “big houses” and castles in the belly of Ireland.

It celebrates the dolmen county’s ancient love for the land and its bounty and is a guide to 26 of the hidden foodie gems with quirky experiences.

THE SEAT OF DIVINE FEMININE

One such experience is located in the dungeons of a 17th century castle in Clonegal. ­The Temple of the Goddess of Isis is a collection of alters that serves as the seat of the global Devine Feminine Fellowship and is located in the basement of Huntington Castle.

It might sound like the preamble of a magical movie, but the mystical scene is real.

Occupied now by Alexander Durdin- Robertson, his artist wife Clare, and their three young sons, the castle and grounds have been in the family since 1625. Alex and Clare operate castle and garden tours, B&B accommodation, as well as a tearoom which sources 95 per cent of its produce locally. ­They also farm sheep and Christmas trees.

Alex admits that life at the castle and farm is hard work. “We’ve never been on a family holiday and it’s non-stop all day. But it’s not about making a profit, it’s the privilege and responsibility of keeping the castle in the family name.”

“It’s an incredible environment to work and raise kids in, as these castles and big houses, if they are to survive, must be lived in,” says Alex, who was raised at Huntington Castle.

While an Anglo-Catholic Chapel was built in the basement in 1907, it was Alex’s late great-aunt Olivia who converted it to the Temple of the Goddess in 1976, with her brother Lawrence and his wife Bobby.

Olivia was the high priestess of the religion which now boasts over 25,000 global followers. However, the castle had been a centre for druids, 'Golden Dawn' believers, occultists and meditation practitioners since the 1960s – much to the curiosity of neighbours in rural Carlow during those decades.

Members of the public can visit the chapels, the gardens, and the incredible castle which has been visited over the decades by the likes of Phil Lynott, Stanley Kubrick, Mick Jagger, Calista Flockhart and Michelle Pfeiffer.

However, the castle has also had other notable visitors, such as the ghosts of Cromwellian soldiers and a few 13th century Franciscan monks. Alex admits it’s a unique upbringing for children but one that he and his family embrace fully.

He believes that the tourism appetite for unique food experiences is increasing, too.

“­The market is there and is a growing one that we will continue to embrace,” he says, adding that our connection to our heritage and Irish food is more than a trend, it should be engrained in our culture.

FORAGING FOR WILD FOOD

Reconnecting Irish people to food, nature and the seasons is the mission of former Green Party TD Mary White, who is teaching people how to forage for wild food at the bountiful Blackstairs Eco Trail in Borris. While foraging for food is now seen as an ancient part of human survival, it is a skill that Mary really believes we should reconnect with.

She teaches people to forage for nuts, berries, leaves, stalks, mushrooms, flowers and blossoms – to turn them into things like Rowanberry Schnapps, rose petal ice-cream, nettle cake, beech leaf gin and hawthorn blossom Turkish delight.

“Irish people were agricultural people but now, we are more urbanised and have disconnected with the seasons, the land and with nature.

Foraging is what our ancestors did to survive – we need to get back to our roots,” Mary says.

L-R Helen Demetriou on her brothers organic farm, where she gets her vegetables for her cafe Thrive in Tullow, Sisters Grace (9) and Anna Woods (6) enjoy some local Malone's strawberries served by head chef at Ballykealey House James Murray;Woodford Dolmen Hotel food, Mary White foraging on Blackstairs Ecotrails.

CONNECTING WITH FOOD ROOTS

Along with Mary, Eva and Alex are 23 other businesses that feature along the Taste In Carlow Discovery Trail, from hotels, restaurants, cafés and pubs - to happy hens, fruit and veg growers, juice producers and more. Maria Couchman, Business Advisor with Carlow County Council’s Local Enterprise Office, which kicked-started the discovery trail, says it was inspired by the innovation in Carlow.

“We wanted to wrap Carlow’s food and beverage story into one cohesive off erring for local staycationers, food lovers and cross county travellers seeking out new experiences. In time, it will also cater for the many curious, cultural adventurers from abroad,” she says.

“­The Sunny South-East has offered the ideal climate for produce for generations and our food producers have a long history of hard work, innovation and a strong connection to the land,” says Maria.

“But it’s not a story that has ever been shared – until now.” Eateries on the Carlow trail are far from dull too, with outlets such as Lennon’s at the Visual Arts Centre, Teach Dolmain, Sha-Roe Bistro, Seven Oaks Hotel, The Step House Hotel, Ballykealey House and the Plum Tree Bistro at ­The Woodford Dolmen Hotel.

­ There is no escaping Carlow’s mystical and spiritual relationship with the land and food, as seen in its temple to the goddess of fertility, its megalithic standing stones or in modern times, how families are still toiling the land and creating artisan foods and beverages.

It’s as though the Goddess herself has smiled upon their devotion and hard work.

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