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Travel Ireland & Scotland

Travel Ireland & Scotland

Marc Gunn

Celtfather Music & Travel gives you an inside look into the life of musicians. You'll hear interviews with people I meet on the road and online who are involved in the Celtic and Geek communites. You'll enjoy stories from my Celtic Invasion Vacations and travels around the world. Plus, you'll get my inside thoughts on music marketing, cats, science fiction conventions, and the ideas that move me. This is more than Celtic music and culture. It's more than a Geek lifestyle audio blog or travel show. This is about what it means to be Scots-Irish and a Geek.
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Top 10 Travel Ireland & Scotland Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Travel Ireland & Scotland episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Travel Ireland & Scotland for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Travel Ireland & Scotland episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Travel Ireland & Scotland - Jig to a Milestone - Celtic Music Spotlight
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11/26/15 • 0 min

Jig to a Milestone is a Celtic folk duo from Gainesville, Florida, playing your favorite ballads, pub classics, instrumentals, sea shanties, and the occasional bawdy tune. Jig to a Milestone focuses on traditional acoustic sounds. They bring unique instrumentation to a repertoire that spans the centuries.

Jason Catron is the voice and rhythm of the group. He plays a barrage of stringed instruments including guitar, Irish bouzouki, mandocello, tenor banjo, and mandolin. Tearing through jigs at a breakneck speed, Jason's fingers of fire take flight on his handy tin whistle. His rich, lilting baritone fills the air with the purest tone that will make you believe you’re kissing the Blarney Stone!

Victoria Van Arnam plays the Hammered Dulcimer, she’s the cornerstone of their signature sound. Her tiny wooden hammers dance over the strings to produce haunting melodies. The delightful ambiance of the dulcimer is not one to be missed!

Personal Fact: Lead singer gained an octave when he quit smoking.

Band: Jig to a Milestone Homepage: www.jigtoamilestone.com from CD: Crawford's Pub (2015) Hometown: Gainesville, Florida

Listen to Jig to a Milestone on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast.

You can subscribe to the show at www.celtfather.com where you can join my mailing list to download a free album of my Celtic geek music. Special thanks to all of my Patrons. For as little as $1 per month, you can become a patron and show your support for The Celtfather.

You can hear their music in the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Follow the link in the shownotes where you can also post feedback. Use the hashtag #celtfather on social media, or email me [email protected]

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - You Can Own 20+ Celtic Albums of Marc Gunn for Just $25!
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11/18/15 • 5 min

I've been playing Celtic music since 1999. I've given away millions of MP3s. I would love to give it all away, but I have a family to feed. I started a Patreon page to support my musical and creative endeavors. Now I also found a way to give away all my music. For a limited time, I'm giving it away to all of my Platinum Patrons.

Since 2004, I have released over 20 albums. There's some great music in that list that much of it may never be heard. Until now.

You see, I make music because I want it to be heard and enjoyed. If I could give it all away for free, I would love to. But I still have a family to feed and lots of bills. That's why I started a Patreon page for my music and art. I wanted a way for fans to show their appreciation for all the great music and content that I give away. And a way for me to earn a regular paycheck.

The site is already working great so far, but I just opened up the Platinum membership level and was looking for a great reward. Then it hit me. Why not give away my entire solo catalog to my Platinum Gunn Runners, fans who pledge $25 per month.

You can find out more about What is Patreon? here.

What do you get when you become a Patron of Marc Gunn?

I asked that of my current Patrons. The overwhelming response was, "We don't care. It's not about what we get. It's about supporting your music."

That's incredibly awesome! Nevertheless, I do offer some cool rewards depending on your level. Silver Patrons get early access to new music. Gold Patrons get early access to new videos. And of course, Platinum Patrons get full access to my entire catalog. Plus, you'll also get HUGE discounts on autographed, physical CDs.

How long is this offer available?

I don't know exactly how long I will keep this offer open. Right now, I'm doing this for a limited time. I'm gonna keep it open until the end of December 2015. I'll probably stop it when I'm back from the holidays in January. That's the current plan. But you never know. It may last much longer.

So signup now at www.marcgunn.net or www.marcgunn.com/patron

---

I make this show for free thanks to the generosity of my Patrons. You can support my music, podcasts, and creative endeavors for as little as $5 per month. Plus you'll get bonus content including rough cuts of songs I release, exclusive podcasts, even some videos. Go to www.marcgunn.com/patron to join. Special thanks to my newest patrons. If you enjoy this episode, then please post a review on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher where you can also subscribe to the show. Go to www.celtfather.com where you can join my mailing list to download a free album of my Celtic and comedy music.

Post feedback in the shownotes, use the hashtag #celtfather on social media, or email me [email protected]

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - Irish & Celtic Music Podcast on Spotify?
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04/04/20 • 2 min

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is no longer on Spotify. But it is still coming out each and every week. Spotify announced at the beginning of 2020 that they will no longer host music podcasts like ours. So in February, they pulled it from their app. This stinks, but it is understandable. And it doesn't affect the delivery of the podcast into the future. The podcast still comes out every week. You can subscribe at BestCelticMusic.net. Subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and to our Celtic Music Magazine so you're up-to-date on all of our podcast news. While you're there, you can download our free app and never, ever miss a single episode. Thanks for listening on Spotify while you did. Slainte! Marc Gunn, The Celtfather, show #261 Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
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Travel Ireland & Scotland - News and Goals 2020 | January Celtfather Monthly
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01/06/20 • 47 min

It's a brand new year. Compiling stats to watch my growth each month is a little time consuming. But it is also pretty fantastic for plotting statistical growth. I know exactly where I was this time last year.

I’m gonna start the show with the usual updates. Then I’ll go into stats and finish up with goals for 2020.

1:53 - PODCASTS

I published a bonus episode of the Pub Songs Podcast to 2019. I shared my love of the new Frozen 2 movie. The next couple of episodes I’m gonna share thoughts about my next album, Selcouth, as well as talk about individual songs on the album. I think February will move towards promoting St Patrick's Day featuring some top 5 and 10s.

I don’t have any specific Stories from the Road episodes planned. But I hope to get ahead when I get a full work day next week.

The first episode of the 2020 season of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast kicks off next week. I took a much needed break. You can still expect more features of women in the upcoming year. I also want to draw attention to our environment, something close to the heart of the Celts.

The Celtic Christmas Podcast released three episodes last year. I'm already planning to launch an early fundraiser for the show in 2020.

Mikey Mason and I recorded an episode of In the ‘Verse back in December. We did not release it because with the holiday, I think we both had trouble making time to write a song. But I finally sat down with my song.

The episode we wrote songs for was "War Stories". It's one of my favorites. I had trouble writing a song for the episode though. But right before we left for Christmas vacation, I wrote "My Man". It's from the perspective of Zoe, and wow, I love it. It kinda helped me understand Wash better than ever. Hopefully, we'll release it soon.

I'll see Andrew McKee at Georgia Filk next weekend. I suspect we will record a Brobdingnagian Bards podcast while we're together. We also have some videos we need to record together to complete our Kickstarter rewards.

4:20 - VIDEOS

Season 5 of Coffee with the Celtfather begins on January 8. The show will continue at 10:30 AM Eastern on Wednesday. However, It will be exclusively available on Facebook.

I made quite a few updates to my YouTube channel. In particular, I deleted many of my most-successful videos. That's because they were episodes of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast... and they were blocked by Facebook. It seems Facebook will only keep podcasts up if it's not primarily a music show.

I'm still debating whether I want to keep episodes of the Pub Songs Podcast up there. I talk in a lot of those so many of those aren't getting blocked. But I think I might just rework the entire channel into a Marc Gunn music channel.

It's wild looking at the most-popular videos now that all the Celtic podcast videos are gone. Bizarre!

My top video is a review of my portable amp. Then comes a "Whiskey in the Jar" video featuring the Bedlam Bards. "Danny Boy for Cat Lovers" is after that. Then just a recording of my version of "Whiskey in the Jar" with just the album cover. And #5 is Funny Irish Pub Songs, a live video I made.

Wild! The channel will see a big change in the days to come.

7:07 - MERCH

I posted a Gunn Runners Card on Patreon. This card gives Heroic Gunn Runners on Patreon a 25% discount on all merch in my store and at shows.

Seems like a lot of Gunn Runners are happy to pay full price to support my music. I am very grateful to all of you. But if you need or want the discount. It's there for you.

Selcouth is the name of my next album. The Kickstarter officially launches on January 27 and goes through February 14. I still have a TON of videos and text to write for this Kickstarter. Heck! I still don't have an album cover. So stay tuned.

Oh! And make sure you subscribe to my mailing list if you're not already. I will let you know when it goes live.

In the middle of that, the Brobdingnagian Bards officially release I Will Not Sing Along, our 10th studio album on February 2, 2020--GROUNDHOG DAY!

9:00 - TRAVEL

I still have space for my Celtic Invasion of Venice. You can listen to the Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. To find out how amazing this trip will be. Email me if you have questions. The deadline to sign up is February 15.

9:51 - SHOWS PLANNED FOR JANUARY

JAN 10-12: GaFilk in Atlanta, GA JAN 16: Internet Concert on YouTube @ 8:30 PM JAN 18: The Lost Druid, Decatur...

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - What's the Name of the Next Album?

What's the Name of the Next Album?

Travel Ireland & Scotland

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11/01/19 • 22 min

Greetings Gunn Runner

Life in Atlanta is finally settling down, at least a little bit. I'm starting to get ahead on podcasts, book local gigs, and I have news about my next album. I'll even tell you the name...

First, my blog is becoming packed. I always considered blogs to be very important for any entrepreneur, especially musicians. Once upon a time, when Google was trying not to be evil, it was a great source of traffic. That's no longer the case. But it is still important.

That's why I'm keeping the blog updated. I post most of my podcasts there. I'm starting to share my newsletter there. But I'm also getting back to just blogging to share new interesting things in my career.

So if you haven't check it out in a while, please head on over.

PODCASTS

Andrew and I are trying to release a monthly Brobdingnagian Bard Podcast. We've been mostly successful. But we've also been trying to come up with fun and unique and regular content for our Nagians Only Club. We finally have that. Members of the Bards Patreon page now get to hear us talk about individual songs from our CDs. And more. We recorded two last week. The first is online. So if you're a fan of the Bards, I think you'll enjoy these short bits.

The Pub Songs Podcast is now on its every other week schedule. I'm starting to plan ahead for that show. I'm also planning episodes of its sister podcast Stories from the Road.

This one is exclusive to $5+ members of the Gunn Runners Club. Twice a week, I am chatting about songs or travels or thoughts in my head. And I share them in podcast form on Monday and Friday. And yes, this is now a part of that schedule. But most of them are private. Just for my generous supporters like you!

The latest Pub Songs Podcast tackles the new Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. I finally published it online. But it's short. So I go into more detail to try and help you better understand what kind of fun we will have in Italy next year. Because that's where we're going...

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is gearing up for the holidays. I did a Celtic Halloween episode. I shared a couple years of feedback that I hadn't before published. And I answer the question "Why do I use the term Celtic music" for the podcast.

I also hope to have the first of two Celtic Christmas Podcast episodes coming out in a couple weeks. I kinda wonder why I do this podcast. But a couple new episodes a year is not too bad a thing for the good will it provides.

Hunting Dragons is a new podcast. Actually, it is the old Pirates vs Dragons podcast I released a few years back to promote the CD. The feed had issues and was killed by iTunes. I fixed all that and renamed it. You can now listen to the true story of how I was shanghaied by air pirates to hunt dragons.

SHOWS PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER

Nov 15: Brennan's Irish Pub, Birmingham, AL Nov 16: Pepper Place Farmer's Market, Birmingham, AL Nov 29-31: Starbase Indy, Indianapolis, IN

Jan 10-12: GaFilk, Atlanta, GA (not a guest) Jan 24: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co, Alabaster, AL Jan 25: Maggie McGuinness Pub, Huntsville, AL Mar 20-22: Cleveland ConCoction, Cleveland, OH May 14-17: California Autoharp Gathering, Dunlap, CA Sep 30-Oct 4: ALEP 5, Shakerstown, KY

Weds 10:30 AM EDT: Coffee with The Celtfather, Facebook, YouTube Restream. Venmo. Tips.

The Celtic Halloween concert was a big attendance success and fun show. But tips and sales were not so great.

STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1015 is up from 1006

YouTube Subscribers = 4285 is up 22 from 4263 YouTube Watch Time = 26.3 is down from 30.0K and I figured out why YouTube Views = 9.4K is down from 11.6K

Facebook Likes = 3642 is up from 3630 FB Page Views = 481 is slightly down from 486 FB Reach = 5808 is up from 4357 FB Video Views = 3386 is up from 2325

Spotify Latest Single Stats: "When She Held Me in Her Arms": 647 is up from 578 Spotify followers: 1375 is up 22 from 1353 # Number of listens on Spotify: 2053 is down from 2061 Most-popular songs on Spotify: The Widow and the Devil (1.3K), Doctor of Gallifrey (469), Reavers, Malcolm Reavers (251)

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 398 is up from 394 Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 1433 is down from 1539 in February

Patreon Subscribers: 158 is up 2 Patreon Monthly Income: $962 is up from $961

CD News

I have a new CD in the works. It's called SELCOUTH which means "When everything feels strange and different yet you find it marvel...

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - St Patrick's Day 2019

St Patrick's Day 2019

Travel Ireland & Scotland

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03/06/19 • 14 min

There’s a lot of great Celtic music that you can enjoy for St. Patrick’s Day in 2019. I’m going to share with you for awesome resources to get you in the mood for your St. Paddy’s Day celebrations.

You can subscribe to

This show is brought to you by Marc's Gunn Runners Club on Patreon. Sign up and support my music, podcasts, and videos. Follow the links at Celtfather.net

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - Portrait of The Celtfather

Portrait of The Celtfather

Travel Ireland & Scotland

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11/04/18 • 8 min

"Slainte mhaith". That means "here's to your good health".

"Slainte" means "cheers" or "here's to your health".

"Mhaith" is good.

Greetings my name is Marc Gunn. I play Celtic Geek music. I'm originally from Texas, though now residing in Birmingham, Alabama. Despite that introduction, I don't speak Gaelic. But I love Celtic culture and music. And yes, I am a geek. My entire life revolves around music, science fiction and fantasy, traveling, and Celtic culture.

Welcome to Celtfather Music & Travel!

This is a podcast where I bring my passions together. I rarely follow the status quo. In fact, you could say I strive to be different. You can hear in in that I play an autoharp. And I celebrate the differences of all people. I fight for the underdogs. In fact, when I was a kid my dad would watch football. I would root for the team that was losing, even if that changed in the middle of the game. I just switched team. I try to help out the little guy. Hmm I wonder if that's part of the reason I love Firefly.

And that's what the next few episodes are all about.

We're gonna start with music: how I fell in love with it and how it completes me. Then we're gonna talk about some of the biggest influences in my life. As a hint, it started on the big screen. Then I'll share with you how I fell in love my Celtic culture. And finally, I'm gonna take you on a trip, both literally and figuratively, as we explore how I fell in love with traveling.

Before we dig deeper, I want to share with you a quick glimpse of what I have to offer you.

I learned at the beginning of my music career that if I want to make it in the music business, I had to be more than just a musician. I knew that no record label was gonna sign me as a Celtic artist, let alone a Celtic Geek musician.

If I want to be successful, then I need to know how to promote my music, and I need people like you to not just listen, but be an active part of our community.

More than likely, you've never thought of yourself as a Celtic Geek. Perhaps you love Celtic music. Perhaps you are a Geek. But the two together don't make much sense on the outside.

And yet, when I when I went to my first science fiction convention, I-Con in Stony Brook, New York, I was dumbfounded by the number of kilts and Celts at the convention. I realized there were a lot of Celtic Geeks out there. I was not alone. But no one had yet put two and two together.

So I created an album that I call Celtic Geek. It features 21 songs from my first 20 albums. You'll hear some traditional Irish and Scottish songs. You'll laugh along to some parodies of those same songs. You'll breathe peacefully with some instrumental tunes on the autoharp. You'll smile to original songs inspired by science fiction and fantasy. It's a fun album. It's 100% free to you when you subscribe to my mailing list.

Some musicians cling their music to their chests. The only way you can hear it is if you buy a CD.

That is not me.

I learned long ago that if I want to be successful with music, then I have to let go. I have to let you be a part of the music. Not just listen to it. But to be involved in it.

So I share my music freely. I offer free licenses for podcasters to play music on their shows. I encourage you to share my songs and CDs with your friends. I want you to send me your song lyrics. I've recorded a number of songs by fans. I want you to record your own version of my songs or to sing them around the campfire or the water cooler.

No, I'm not gonna sue you if you copy an album and give it to someone. I want you to.

It turns out, I was right to have this philosophy. Because now with streaming services, anyone can listen to my music for virtually free. You'll find me on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Google Play, Pandora, pretty much everywhere online. And I want you to listen.

Yes. Please follow me on Spotify or whatever streaming service you're on. Those services are doing me a great favor. They are getting my music heard. Anonymity is my greatest challenge. But streaming music helps me overcome that. You can listen for free.

Sure, I won't begrudge you if you decide to go to CelticMusic.org to buy digital downloads or a CD. I would love it. But I don't expect it.

My hope is that you love my music so much that it inspires you... to listen, to share it, to try and watch a live show, to sing or play along, and well, to be a better, happier person. I want you to have a little bit more fun in your life.

I try to make it easy for you too. Right now, I have weekly live streaming concerts online. In fact, I have two shows at present. On Monday, you can hear me sing a couple songs and catch up on my latest news on

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - Oban Scotland Flashback: Celtic Invasion Vacations 2010
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10/27/18 • 24 min

Scotland is an incredible country. In 2010, I led my third Celtic Invasion Vacations to Scotland. I learned a lot from this trip which helped form future invasions. I'm gonna share the comments from some of those invaders in #249 of Celtfather Music & Travel.

Greetings my name is Marc Gunn. This show is about the many amazing experiences I have as a musician and an adventurer.

In 2010, I hooked with John Wilmott of Celtic Ways, who now runs the Carrowcrory Cottage and Labyrinth Gardens in County Sligo.

John used to live in Oban. So he offered to organize my third Celtic Invasion Vacations to Scotland. Unfortunately, he had health issues a few months before the trip. So I was forced to make this trip come to life.

It's now eight years since that trip happened. But I was looking for Bootleg Concerts to share for my Heroic Gunn Runners on Patreon when I found the comments of invaders from that trip.

Every year, I ask my invaders to share their thoughts of what was cool and what wasn't. This invasion had some of amazing pieces of synchronicity and challenges and fun. It might've helped or hurt that this was the year a volcano erupted in Iceland which grounded a lot of airplanes. So a few invaders arrived late.

I wish I kept a more details journal of the invasion. But alas...

Interestingly, my wife did keep a little journal. However, this was also the trip where she was pregnant and got sick the first day we arrived. So I think journal was cut short.

Now since I don't have a detailed list of what we did. I thought instead, I would share the itinerary, some of my memories of the invasion and then you could hear the feedback from invaders.

And then I will comment respond to some of their comments.

The Celtic Invasion of Oban, Scotland began in Glasgow. We met up with all the invaders and then drove three cars to Oban.

The accommodations were really nice, but sadly, we had such a big group that we were separated into two houses, and separated also by about a 1/2 mile. I actually never saw the second house.

The second day was in Oban was scheduled to walk around and see the town. It was a fairly open day, which was good because we were waiting for invaders to arrive, since a couple at least were stopped by the volcano.

Day 3, we took a boat to Iona. I honestly don't remember much except for the photo that Gwen I took in front of some church on the island. I used for the release of my single "Christmas in Scotland" which was inspired by this invasion.

Day 4, lists oban area chill out, time out, everyone do their thing, shopping, fishing, maybe go walking on nearby islands.

That's hilarious because I couldn't tell you what was involved in that.

However, I do remember that some folks decided to take a trip to see a castle from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. So I'm assuming that that was this day.

Day 5 mentions Kilmartin. Again, no clue. But this might've been the day when we got a private tour of a cemetery from Liam Griffin, as well as lunch.

Day 6 took us to Edinburgh. I think we might've stopped in Stirling to climb the William Wallace memorial. But I'm not sure. That evening, we enjoyed bagpipes from Jimi McRae and Sam Ooko.

Day 7 was the final exploration of Edinburgh and of course music from me.

Okay. Let's see if this recording will jog my memory and I share a few more thoughts about the invasion.

INVADER COMMENTS

Alright, a few things stuck for me. First, second ferry ride? What the heck?

I don't think I remember that ride at all. I maybe remember some musicians on a ferry. But I don't remember if it was to Scotland.

I think this was the trip that I realized I have to better plan. After this, I started creating a sort of cookie cutter plan for each trip. A loose one, but a plan nonetheless.

I also mention a bus tour. I have no recollection of that.

Someone mentioned the late starting times. That was remedied on future trips. I think we were leaving around 10 am, which was just way too late. I think future trips vary between and 8 and 9 am.

What was incredible for me was the number of folks who commented on the time with Liam Griffin.

So what happened was we had dinner a couple nights at a place called the Barn. I asked them if I could play music. They said that was fine.

So we ate dinner. I pulled out the autoharp and sang for an hour or two. I don't really remember.

What I do remember is one of the locals, Liam, got really into the show. He called all of his friends to come out. He sang us a song. And he invited all thirteen of us to his place for lunch the following day. Then he gave us a tour of his private historical cemetery.

It was an amazing e...

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Travel Ireland & Scotland - Fear and Creativity Struggles

Fear and Creativity Struggles

Travel Ireland & Scotland

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08/12/18 • 13 min

It isn't difficult enough to be an artist who creates something original, exciting and new. We also allow ourselves to be judged by our creations. We let other people's opinions influence our own. I'm having that trouble with creating videos. I want perfection. And there's no such thing. See this episode on Perfect Imperfection. Fear affects most creative people. We are constantly afraid of what will people say about what we create. Is it good enough? Will people love it? I ignore those fears most of the time. I just create. In this episode I share some of my own fears and how they are holding me back from creating. If you have your down creative worries, share them below. -- If you enjoyed this episode and want more behind the scenes glimpses of my music, please join my awesome Gunn Runners on Patreon. Now I want to ask you to head on over to Spotify and Follow My Music. You will find links to everything I mentioned in the shownotes at Celtfather.com where you can also subscribe to this podcast and download 21 songs for free.
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Travel Ireland & Scotland - Celtic Invasion Vacations FAQ

Celtic Invasion Vacations FAQ

Travel Ireland & Scotland

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08/29/22 • 18 min

Celebrate Celtic culture and music through travel. I'm gonna tell you what you can expect on my Celtic Invasion Vacations?

If you go to the website you won’t find much information. I usually list the itinerary when it becomes available but that can be January or March before the trip. You will find podcasts and links to pictures and videos. I don't know that any of it really paints a good picture.

So I thought I would try to break down how these trips work to help you decide if you want to join me in the future.

Celtic Invasion Vacations are not your typical travel tour experience. Most tourists travel on big buses. They go place to place. You stay up late. You get up early. There’s 30, 60 or even 90 people packed on one to three tour buses.

If you’re like me, that sounds pretty miserable. My first two trips were on tour buses. Everyone was a fan of my music. So that was pretty awesome. The bus drivers were awesome too. But that's a lot of people for an introvert like me.

I don’t know how much of the fatigue was from so many people or the staying up late/getting-up-early business. But it’s not my preferred way of traveling. I like small groups.

My mom moved to Italy in 1985. So I’ve gone back-and-forth to Europe for a long time.

My mom is an awesome adventurer. I went to school on an American military base in Vicenza, Italy for my senior year of high school. While all the other high school seniors went to Remini to get drunk, my mom and I went on in artistic pilgrimage following the works of Piero Della Francesca. She instilled in me the value of planning as well as spontaneity.

You see that in my Celtic Invasion Vacations itinerary. When I finally make one that is. Typically, I don't have a full itinerary when I announce the latest trip. I have... ideas.

In fact, I usually have one big idea. Then I find a way to make it work.

One person told me he was disappointed when my trip to the Highlands of Scotland a few years back did not also include the Isle of Skye, like it was initially listed on the early itinerary.

That was because I had a big idea. But when I finally settled on details, I realized it was impractical. I learned from that error. If I make any big changes to what was planned, you are welcome to back out.

I don’t usually settle on solid itineraries until December or January. I just don’t have enough details to make a solid decision.

That might make some people uncomfortable, especially when you’re putting down nearly $3000, plus air travel, to join me.

The adventure is worth it!

The great thing about traveling on the Celtic Invasion Vacation in my opinion is that it is a small group. That means maximum flexibility for adventure.

So let’s answer some questions.

3:11 - WHEN ARE THE CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS?

This can always vary. But typically I run my trips in late May or early June. This seems to be the best time to travel to Ireland and Scotland. People talk about rain in Ireland. June seems to invariably have one of the lightest rain falls ever. It's just... perfect!

3:32 - HOW LONG IS EACH TRIP?

Celtic Invasion Vacations are about seven days long. The trips are officially scheduled from Saturday to Saturday. That’s because that’s how long most vacation rentals book. But I’m not going to be taking you to seven hotels in seven days. We stay in one place most of the week.

If the vacation rental is more than a couple hours from the airport or there's something cool to see closer, we may stay in a hotel near the airport on the last night of the Invasion. It just depends on how soon everyone on the trip has booked their departure.

4:04 - WHEN SHOULD I ARRIVE?

I usually ask Invaders to arrive the day before the trip. That way you can recover from jet lag and adjust to the time change. But that also allows us to leave first thing in the morning on Saturday to drive to our vacation rental.

While it is recommended, it is not required. As long as you arrive by 11 am on Saturday, we will adjust. You are also responsible for the hotel on Friday night. But you might find a roommate with other Invaders.

4:43 - WHEN SHOULD I DEPART?

Again, it’s up to you. I prefer you to set your departure after noon on Saturday. You can stay as long as you want.

I usually leave on Sunday after the trip is over.

4:54 - HOW DO YOU SELECT THE DESTINATIONS?

Destinations are chosen by invaders and of course me. I usually have an idea of a place I want to see. I look for a suitable vacation spot.

But sometimes I ask for suggestions from Invaders. Our trip to Brittany and Cornwall were both chosen because some regular Invaders wanted to visit all seven Celtic nations.

Of course, I get the final say. And if I can't get enough people to attend one of these more remote spots, I may make adjustments.

...

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Travel Ireland & Scotland currently has 284 episodes available.

What topics does Travel Ireland & Scotland cover?

The podcast is about Geek, Irish, Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Ireland, Star, Magic, Trek, Personal Journals, Wars, Celtic and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Travel Ireland & Scotland?

The episode title 'Mazz O'Flaherty Interview in Dingle Record Shop' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Travel Ireland & Scotland?

The average episode length on Travel Ireland & Scotland is 15 minutes.

How often are episodes of Travel Ireland & Scotland released?

Episodes of Travel Ireland & Scotland are typically released every 5 days, 6 hours.

When was the first episode of Travel Ireland & Scotland?

The first episode of Travel Ireland & Scotland was released on Mar 4, 2014.

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