Little Carlow Town in southern Ireland has a gigantic, grand, ancient Greek-style courthouse, which sums up a holiday to the region a small place with a big welcome.

In the 19th century, an architect was commissioned to design two courthouses at the same time one for the city of Cork and one for County Carlow.

At some stage the plans were muddled and the grand design intended for Cork was built in Carlow, and vice-versa.

Even today the Carlow Town courthouse is so big it is only used twice a month. It has dungeons and several court rooms.

In any other country they would be outraged at such a waste of money but when you mention it to locals they just laugh.

The whole of County Carlow, 51 miles south of Dublin, is like that calm and easy-going.

The county is made up of Carlow Town and many villages dotted around the green, arable and hilly countryside which gave farmers a gold mine in the past. Now the beautiful landscape is used to entice tourists as the rural economy is longer as profitable.

My first night was spent in Knockrigg House bed and breakfast in the village of Leighlinbridge, run by ex-farmer Sean and his wife Kathleen.

Their seven children moved on and none wanted to take on the farm, so they sold up and bought the brand new B & B last year.

This felt more like staying at a friend's rather than with strangers. They cooked amazing food, then ate with us in their dining room and accompanied us to a pub in the village for a night of Guinness and jokes. A massive breakfast in the morning helped ease the hangover.

Keeping busy is no problem in County Carlow. I raced around a farm on a quad bike in the village of Ballymurphy one morning, feeling exhilarated with child-like enjoyment.

Then, quite the opposite, I walked around St Mullins, a peaceful village of ecclesiastic importance and history that has gravestones dating back to early Celtic times.

Legend says it is also the place where Michael 'Lord of the Dance' Flatley learned his trade from his grandma.

I got tipsy in the Carlow Brewing Company's micro brewery, which was founded in 1998. Locals are proud of the beer but the hops are from Kent because Guinness has an exclusive agreement to buy the Irish variety.

Garden centres in Ireland are different to those in England. You can while away a morning there, eating in restaurants, exploring their vast grounds and shops. At Rathwood Home in Tullow, you can even watch workmen making wooden furniture.

Carlow Town itself has many independent local shops to explore and, for shopping-weary men, almost every store has a pub nearby.

Guided tours of the town and its history it has the remains of a castle are available and worth taking advantage of.

These activities filled my three days and there are many things I missed, such as a boat cruise along the River Barrow and a round at one of the golf clubs in the county.

My holiday ended with me already planning what to do on my next visit.

After I'd flown back from Dublin, I looked at Manchester and the efficiency with which it had been built and thought of that courthouse again and how I was somehow returning from another world.

f=helveticaHOLIDAY FACTS:

County Carlow is one hour from Dublin Airport and one-and-a-half hours from Rosslare, Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Ferryports. Cork Airport and Ferryport and Shannon Airport are about three hours away.

Knockrigg House B & B, tel. 353 503 22555 or e-mail knockriggse@eircom.net. Prices from 27.93 euros. Evening meal 17.78 euros extra.

For more information call Carlow Rural Tourism on 353 503 30477 or e-mail info@carlowtourism.com