Few questions about Willie Clancy summer school 2009.

Hello everybody!

I’m planning to visit next Willie Clancy summer school as a heard nothing but great things about this festival. I want to improve my flute playing, enjoy sessions and listening to great players. Probably there’s no better place for that then to visit Miltown Malbay on july.

Few things I’d like to know about it…

1. Camping: is it possible? How is the weather there usually on that part of the year?

2. I saw on the WCSS website that classes, recitals, sessions etc. are in and around Miltown Malbay. Is it possible to reach all of the things by foot, or you must have some motorized transport? Can you rent a bike there and cycle around?

3. Is there anyone who’s looking for a roomate at next year’s festival?

4. What is the cheapest way to eat there? Is there a supermarket where you can buy cheap food and beers…?

5. Any advise from you about the topic would be great!

Thanks in advance and merry Christmas to all of you!

Cheers!

Last time I camped they didnt have a designated camping spot close to town - only out at spanish point which is a fair walk away. We had to camp in a farmers field - no running water one toilet between about 100 people, it was horrible. The weather was crap rained the whole time. I never camped again. Its expensive but it was b&b all the way for me after that. Ive heard the camping situation is better out at spanish point though.

Try here:

http://www.setdancingnews.net/wcss/

1. Camping: is it possible? How is the weather there usually on that part of the year?

There is camping at Lahiffe’s caravan and camping park in Spanish Point. They have toilets and showers. It does cost a fair number of euros. Your tent will need to withstand very high winds.

2. Can you rent a bike there and cycle around?

A bike is very helpful if you are staying down at Spanish Point, but not essential. Don’t know where to rent one.
Classes, recitals, sessions are all close together.

4. What is the cheapest way to eat there? Is there a supermarket where you can buy cheap food and beers…?

Yes.

I can’t comment on the down side or benefits of camping as I haven’t done it but it is Ireland after all and rain is always a possibilty and as you probably know rain, fields and tents do not really work at the one time ! As for classes, sessions etc, they are and they aren’t close by to each other. Some classes are held out at Spanish Point which is a fair walk( see rain above) and sessions are also held out there and in Mullagh. So if you stay in around Miltown itself and classes are out in Spanish Point, you have a bit of travelling to do every day. Having said that there is usually no problem getting a lift on the road. There are two mini( compared to Tesco types) supermarkets in the town and there is no such thing as cheap food and drink in Ireland ! When camping there is also the issue of the safety of your instrument and so you need to bring it with you wherever you go. Try and get the loot together for a B&B or start to get in touch with the advertisers immediately in Jan telling them you want to share a place. Best of luck and I hope you enjoy it. There are a lot of other good festivals around Ireland at other times all giving flute classes.

One year my friends had everything stolen out of their tent - including their clothes. So deffo always keep your instruments with you at all time.

Last year I camped at Lahiff’s in Spanish Point. When I got back to the campsite at 4 or 5am it was always very quite. Never had any trouble. It was about a tenner per night but the free camping on the beach was dodgy - you risked people falling on your tent, mad parties etc. I was very happy with the Lahiff’s site and will probably do it again next year. It’s still much cheaper than a B&B. That said, the weather sucked and it was windy and rainy and you are very exposed in the campsite. You get a beautiful view of the Atlantic but you also get slammed by the weather off the Atlantic. We cooked on the camp stove when we could but were very willing to eat in town if we couldn’t be arsed to cook in p*ssing rain.

I also drove from the UK. The car is super convenient when going from Miltown to Spanish Point and also allows you to go to places like Mullagh and Quilty for sessions, which are a little bit less mental than the Miltown pubs. If you can bring your own car or afford to rent one, I would strongly recommend it.

Camping in Spanish Point !! Yeah, right. There’s nothing like waking up in the middle of the night in six inches of water in your tent to cure you of camping. Are you talking about camping in tents or in vehicles? If it’s a tent, I reckon it’d end up in Ennistymon by morning, thrashing away in the top of a tree somewhere.

I think the best go for accommodation over there is for a few people to get together and hire a self-catering cottage for a few weeks. Unfortunately, in the high season they can be a bit pricey, but if you shop around on the net, you’ll find some excellent accommodation. Be prepared, I think to spend up to 400 Euro, but there is a range. Most of these houses have multiple bedrooms and are advertised as accommodating 8 or 10 people or more. You know, 450 Euro a week between 10 people isn’t too bad.
There seems to be a bottom line on self-catering accommodation, if you go for a smaller place, the price isn’t that much cheaper, so may as well go for the bigger houses and share. That is another really good thing about this site, co-ordinating these sorts of things should be a breeze, and you would have a group sharing a house who are all interested in the music. You should have great sessions then, and not have to worry about getting kicked out of pubs, or your B&B at the crack of dawn…or camping in the rain.

Watch the heating and power costs though, they are almost always extra, and could be in the range of 50 to 100 Euro a week ! That’s if you have a family sized group…any more and it could be very expensive…unless you want to leave the heating off - like in a tent!

Make sure you have a good rain fly on your tent!

Thank you for your answers! And one question more: how long does it take from centre of Miltown to Spanish point by foot?

An hour at the most - depends how fast you walk.

It’s about two miles and as Kenny says, it all depends from there onward.

Last year we camped at the lay by in Spanish point, absolutely great and free. Mind you we did have sofa beds, a large barbecue, cases of wine and such, which meant we were enjoying 5 star conditions at the picnic table.

Also I think it was the only three nights last year when it didn’t rain. But it was good craic and enjoyable.

Never walked it but I can tell you the shortest distance from Lahiff’s campsite to Miltown is 3km - that’s hopping across the fields to the nearest road. So I suppose about 30 mins depending on your state of inebriation! Mind you, there’d be lots of traffic on the (longer) main road going backwards and forwards so you might also try hitching. Flute classes are generally held in the National School in Miltown. There would be the usual campsite sessions in Spanish Point and in the Armada and Bellbridge hotels which are close enough by. Plenty of small supermarkets in Miltown - small shop at Lahiff’s in Spanish Point.