Nore Valley Park
For children who adore animals, Nore Valley Park offers families an opportunity to bottle feed the baby kids and lambs, or handle a small rabbit. Picnics are encouraged and a small on-site shop offers coffee and tea and home baked treats. They also have archery, mini golf, go karts and picnics are encouraged and a small on-site shop offers coffee and tea and home baked treats.
Nore Valley’s special Halloween event will be a torch light treasure hunt around the spooktacular farm followed by a blazing bonfire at the end where guests can enjoy toasting marshmallows. They will also be hosting their annual Pumpkin Patch on the farm from the 17th – 31st October while stocks last. Bookings must be made online for both activities as there is limited availability. Pumpkins can also be ordered online too!
Visit: www.norevalleypark.com
Castlecomer Discovery Park
For families who love an adrenaline filled day followed by a picnic, then Castlecomer Discovery Park is the ideal place. The 80-acre activity park features a wide range of exhilarating activities for all ages, from the fun and challenging tree-top walk high amongst the sycamore trees to archery and zip lines. For the younger children, there’s a playground, an elf and fairy village, a giant bouncing net and a Junior Woodland Adventure Course where children navigate a series of low-risk challenges, balancing and steering their way through the obstacles.
This Halloween, in a world behind their closet doors, monsters reign supreme. Castlecomer Discovery Park have created a Monster’s Inc Family Scavenger Hunt around the park that uses the movie favourite “Monsters Inc” as its theme. Families can also Be a Nature Detective and enjoy Bug & Nature hunts in the stunning forest. Children are natural born explorers and this activity gives them the opportunity to search out the abundance of insect life under rocks, logs and in ponds.
Visit: www.discoverypark.ie
Woodstock Gardens & Arboretum
Mid-term is the perfect excuse to get outdoors and tire little legs. The restored Victorian Woodstock Gardens are located in the south east of Kilkenny just outside the picturesque village of Inistioge and are one of Ireland’s finest. The gardens, overlooking the River Nore Valley, offer visitors a wide variety of attractions and are a relaxing and beautiful environment in which to spend a day with a picnic! The kids will love the Monkey Puzzle Avenue and Noble Fir Avenue. Also, of interest is a rustic summer house constructed from materials from the garden. Explore Woodstock Gardens this Autumn!
Visit: www.woodstock.ie
Pure Adventure
Explore the Rivers Barrow and the Nore by canoe or stand up paddle board with Pure Adventure. Enjoy a great family day out over the mid-trem in the heart of the Barrow Valley in Graiguenamanagh. Pure Adventure offers families with children of all ages the opportunity to experience the natural beauty of Kilkenny’s rivers on an action packed day they will never forget!
Visit: www.pureadventure.ie
National Reptile Museum
Meet some of the world’s rarest and most unusual animals at Ireland’s only reptile zoo! Situated in Kilkenny City, the National Reptile Zoo is dedicated to the conservation of these amazing creatures and their habitats. Open 10am to 6pm, seven days a week, year round, the zoo has over 50 exhibits, Animal Encounter Zone, Nocturnal Realm, Media Room, Education Rooms, Coffee Shop, Souvenir Shop and Play Area, they can keep the entire family entertained and educated all at once! When it comes to looking for things to do, the Reptile Zoo is the obvious answer!
Visit: www.nationalreptilezoo.ie
Go With The Flow River Adventures
Go with the Flow is an award winning company that offers incredible trails, eco safaris and white-water adventures in Kilkenny. Choose from the traditional Canadian canoes, kayaks or new river surfers. Qualified guides with years of experience will help you and your family all the way. Choose thrilling white-water adventures or a safari trail through wild and wonderful natural valleys that offer wild swimming and a host of interesting features like ancient oak woods, old navigation channels, weirs to shoot and rapids to ride. The perfect mid-term activity!
Visit: www.gowiththeflow.ie
Hawkeye Falconry Experience
Take part in the most noble of field sports in an up close and personal outdoor experience like no other. Meet the magnificent birds of prey at Hawkeye Falconry and try your hand at this ancient sport of Kings! Enjoy this experience as a family group and even if you have never encountered Falconry before, the team at Hawkeye will give you the opportunity to handle these marvellous creatures. Learn to let them fly into the surrounding countryside from your gloved hand and return to feed. This is a profound experience where all the family will get to interact so closely with such a haunting animal.
Visit: www.hawkeyefalconry.ie.
Boatrips.ie
Join us on the historic river Nore as it flows through Kilkenny city. Tours run approximately every half hour, each day throughout the Irish summer, April to October. Learn of the often unspoken and local history that the river holds. Witness the wildlife that thrive in the urban environment and that have shared the waterways with man for thousands of years. Our guides are friendly, entertaining and possess a love for the job they do. You’ll find our boat trips relaxing, informative and most of all memorable.
Visit: www.boattrips.ie
Art It
From life drawing to action-packed paintballing on canvas, Art it offers something to suit everyone. Children can join art and craft classes over the mid term and they can take advantage of the popular “drop in “ service where parents can leave children in a safe, creative environment to get crafty for an hour or two, painting, decorating and decopatching paper macce’ pieces, glassware, pottery, T-Shirts and jewellery, while parents tour Kilkenny or shop. Art It is for all ages, so parents can have great fun here too spending family time together!
The Watershed
The Watershed Kilkenny is one of Ireland’s finest leisure facilities and is equipped with a Pool and Fitness Gym facilities. Bring the family on a fun and refreshing day out and take a dip in the 25m Fina Standard Swimming Pool followed by a visit to the Jacuzzi. Young children will love the Toddler Fun Pool with aqua play features. The Watershed also run a popular Multi-Activity Camp programme specially developed for children of primary school age, throughout the school holiday periods – the ideal way to keep your children active and entertained while you take part in some local retail therapy or sightseeing.
Visit the www.thewatershed.ie to find out more!
Kilkenny Activity Centre
If you’re looking for the very best activities in Kilkenny, then Kilkenny Activity Centre, a purpose built activity centre just outside the city is the right choice for your daycation. The activities suit families and groups of all ages from 7 years and up. They have a huge range of activities on offer including bubble soccer, splatball, paintball, giant darts, an outdoor assault course, brand new cube games, an escape room and loads of fun! See the full list of activities and plan your family trip today!
Visit: kilkennyactivitycentre.ie
Kiltorcan Raceway
Kiltorcan Raceway is one of Ireland’s best go-kart circuit’s and is known to be challenging, exhilarating and fun, while still being an extremely safe track. Bring the whole family down for a day trip of fun and your day will be packed with excitement while ensuring your safety at all times. If you are new to go-kart racing or are an experienced driver the state of the art karts which are paired with the outdoor super smooth 1000 metre, all weather, floodlit go-kart track will offer families on midterm the thrill of a lifetime.
Visit: kiltorcan.com
Kids Afternoon Tea at Langtons
Treat the kids to a very special and elegant afternoon tea at Langton’s Viennese Style Tea Rooms. With a wide range of delectable bites and sweet treats, a Kid’s Afternoon Tea can be a perfect reward after a hard first semester back at school. To find out more and book a table call 056 776 5133.
Visit: www.langtons.ie
Kilkenny Ghost Tours
This one of a kind Kilkenny ghost tour takes you trough the medieval capital of Ireland. Kilkenny with its narrow cobbled lanes, remnants of its city walls and with its mystic charm, it should be no surprise that Kilkenny is bursting with tales of the paranormal. Its people have told stories for generations, handed down to become far more than hearsay. Kilkenny’s ghostly tales all have one very important thing in common they are all based around fact and arise from genuine historic tragedies. Book now if you dare!
Visit: www.kilkennyghosttours.com
