Room with a view

‘VM’ at Viewmount House, Dublin Road, Longford; tel: [phone]; viewmounthouse.com

LONGFORD is the black hole of Irish tourism. Despite its rolling farmland and riches like Lough Ree and the Royal Canal, it merits just three of 700-plus pages in John & Sally McKennas’ Irish Food Guide. In my Lonely Planet, it’s even worse: the entire county gets just half a page.

Why is this? Perhaps Fáilte Ireland has invested elsewhere at its expense. Perhaps Longford town just doesn’t cut it as a hub. But there is one shining light. There is one venue, consistently recommended as a reason to visit: Viewmount House.