Hitting Clonmel on vacation before trip (8)

I believe the answer is:

clouting

'hitting' is the definition.
(to clout someone is to hit them)

'clonmel on vacation before trip' is the wordplay.
'on vacation' suggests removing the centre.
'before' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'trip' becomes 'outing' (I've seen this before).
'clonmel' with its middle removed is 'cl'.
'cl'+'outing'='CLOUTING'

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app