One thing you’ll see a lot of in County Cavan, as you drive or walk around its beautiful countryside, is that post-glacial, geographical feature: the drumlin. These are small ridges – made up of earth, clay, stones – were left behind when glaciers last passed through, millions or at least hundreds of thousands of years ago. These charming hills are all over Ireland, but particularly visible in County Cavan. The County is also the source of many rivers, including the broad, majestic Shannon, which starts at Shannon Pot, a large pool about 50 feet wide (15m).

Cavan is the county town and has a narrow main shopping street, Farnham Street, which is a lovely place to linger. Of the 14th-century Franciscan friary, to which the town owes its origin, the belfry tower remains in a run-down churchyard near the bus station. The huge green rotunda and neoclassical facade of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, built in 1942, stand out in the north of the town. The whole county has a rich music and dance scene and many of the pubs and bars in Cavan have live traditional Irish music every week.