Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [138]
The gardens are 5km north of Kilcock on Dunsaughlin Rd (R125).
Return to beginning of chapter
STRAFFAN
pop 439
Teeny Straffan has a few small attractions for the young (or at least the young at heart), and one huge one for golf enthusiasts.
Mechanical fanatics worship at the Steam Museum & Lodge Park Walled Garden ( 01-627 3155; www.steam-museum.com; adult/concession €7.50/5; 2-6pm Wed-Sun Jun-Aug), located in an old church, which traces the history of steam power and the Industrial Revolution. The collection includes working steam engines from breweries, distilleries, factories and ships. Next door, the 18th-century walled garden has traditional fruits, flowers and formal plantings.
Just down the road at the Straffan Butterfly Farm ( 01-627 1109; www.straffanbutterflyfarm.com; Ovidstown; adult/child €7.50/5; noon-5.30pm Jun-Aug), you can wander through a tropical greenhouse full of enormous exotic butterflies, or commune with critters like Larry, the leopard gecko.
Two of Ireland’s top golf courses can be found at the K Club (Kildare Hotel & Country Club; 01-601 7200; www.kclub.com; Straffan; r from €200; ), a Georgian estate and golfers’ paradise. Inside there are 92 well-appointed rooms and lots of public spaces for having a drink and lying about your exploits outside. There are two golf courses: one, with Arnold Palmer’s design imprimatur, is one of the best in Ireland and hosted the PGA European Open until 2008; the second course opened in 2003. Like everywhere else, the K Club is suffering the effects of the recession and has lowered its green fees from a prohibitive €250 to a more interesting €100. Not bad for the course where, in 2006, Europe won its third Ryder Cup in a row.
Bus Éireann ( 01-836 6111; www.buseireann.ie) runs buses from Dublin (one way/return €3.80/5.80, 30 minutes, every half hour, six buses Sunday).
Return to beginning of chapter
ALONG THE GRAND CANAL
Heading west from Straffan, there are some interesting sites as you follow the banks of the Grand Canal, which flows gently from Dublin to tiny, tranquil Robertstown, just past Clane and well worth a detour. This picturesque village has remained largely untouched and is dominated by the now-dilapidated Grand Canal Hotel, built in 1801. It’s a good place to start a canal walk (see the boxed text, below).
Just southwest of Robertstown and at the centre of the Kildare flatlands, the Hill of Allen (206m) was a strategic spot through the centuries due to its 360-degree view. Today the top is marked by a 19th-century folly and the ruins of some Iron Age fortifications said to mark the home of Fionn McCumhaill.
Further west you’ll find the wonderfully interpretive Bog of Allen Nature Centre ( 045-860 133; www.ipcc.ie; R414, Lullymore; adult/child €6/free; 9.30am-5pm Mon-Fri), a fascinating institution run by the nonprofit Irish Peatland Conservation Council. The centre traces the history of bogs and peat production, and has the largest carnivorous plant collection in Ireland, including sundews, butterwort and other bog-native protein-eaters. Much funding comes from the Netherlands, where the historic bogs are all gone. It’s common to find dewy-eyed Dutch volunteers assisting in the ongoing renovations. In an effort to bring the science of the bog to bear for Irish students, 2008 saw the opening of a dipping pond for freshwater invertebrates and facilities for observing how bog ‘grows’. A nearby boardwalk extends into the Bog of Allen.
A rather mangy rabbit mascot greets visitors to the cheerful Lullymore Heritage & Discovery Park ( 045-870 238; www.lullymoreheritagepark.com; Lullymore; admission €9; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, from 11am Sun Easter-Oct, 11am-6pm Sat & Sun Nov-Easter), about 1km north of the Bog of Allen Nature Centre. Aimed right at kids, a woodland trail leads you past various dwellings (including Neolithic huts, a not-so-festive Famine-era house and