Hikes in Ireland by County

Family Friendly Hikes & Activities in Ireland

We have compiled a list of all our Ireland Hikes by County. We hope to keep the list updated with family-friendly walks, activities, and Irish holiday ideas. Throughout our family adventures, we had some pretty epic road trips and discovered unbelievable Irish gems.

• Hikes

• Family Activities

• Food Recommendations

Antrim Walks

Armagh Walks

Carlow Hikes

Cavan Hikes

Clare Hikes

Cork Hikes

Derry Hikes

Donegal Hikes

Down Hikes

Dublin Hikes

Fermanagh Hikes

Kerry Hikes

Kilkenny Hikes

Laois Hikes

Leitrim Hikes

Limerick Hike

Longford Hikes

Louth Hikes

Mayo Hikes

Meath Hikes

Monaghan Hikes

Roscommon Hikes

Sligo Hikes

Tipperary Hike

Tyrone Hikes

Waterford Hikes

Wexford Hikes

Wicklow Hikes

The post Ireland Hikes by County appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

Ardmore Cliff Walk

Ardmore Cliff walk is a beautiful family-friendly walk in Ardmore County Waterford. Young kids love it. We walked this cliff walk route with our 3 young children. The walk is steep in places and has one small section with steps. Dangerous sections are fenced off.

• 4km loop, Buggy Friendly (except for about 15/20 steps. We carried the buggy up these)
• We parked @cliffhousehotel (try to start early as there are not many car spaces)
• Beautiful Coastal Views
• Coffee horsebox near the end
• It has a road walking section- Care required
• Walks past the round tower

Visit Goat Island Beach after Ardmore Cliff Walk

Goat Island Beach  It is nearby, such a beautiful hidden gem with little caves. (The road down is very long and narrow, I was glad I wasn’t driving )

• Park here
• Limited spaces
• Very tight access road
• Amazing little hidden gem of a beach

Lismore Castle and Gardens

Lismore Castle is so beautiful and there is also a playground beside the Carpark. The castle and grounds fees can be seen here. Our kids loved exploring the gardens and coffee shop treats.

Dromana Gate

Dromana Gate is a beautiful Hindu style Gothic Gate Lodge. You can park on either side of the bridge but be mindful of oncoming traffic while walking across it.

• Be careful crossing, as it is a live road
• Only 4-5 car parking spaces
• Dromana Gate location here

Mahon Falls

This is one of our favourite walks, that we do every year. Beautiful short flat walk to the waterfall which is also buggy Friendly. Make sure to call in to @crough_coffee before/after for some tasty treats.

• Park here to walk down to Mahon falls (Free)
• Come early on the weekend, this is very busy
• 1.2 km walk to the base of the waterfall
• Buggy friendly- Gravel path
• Have a picnic and dip your feet into the water at the end

Waterford Greenway

The Waterford Greenway is one of Waterford’s famous walks and we love it. We have walked the whole greenway before we had kids. The Greenway is great for kids that love bikes and scooters, even if you only do a small section of it. If this is the case, we recommend walking through the tunnel section and exploring all the fairy doors.

• Park here for the Tunnell Section
• Out and back walk
• Kids love the fairy doors
• The tunnel is fully lit up and the kids love exploring
• We stayed in Kiereys in Kilmacthomas previously,  when we walked the whole Greenway

Waterford Suir Valley Railway.

This is a train ride, great for kids and very fun. They get a little map to tick off all the different things they see along the way, the train stops for a few minutes at a fairy village where you stay on the train and keep an eye out for fairies.

• It cost us €25 for 3 of us, kids under 3 go free
• 10 km train ride
• Stop to view the fairy village on the way
• Bring ear muffs for smaller kids- it is very loud

Anne Valley Nature and Wildlife Walk

Anne Valley Wildlife walk is a beautiful buggy Friendly Walk. We recommend bringing your kid’s scooters/bikes. (Adult bikes not allowed) You can park on either side of the walk- Dunhill or Annestown Village. There is also a parking mid-way at Dunhill Castle. You can climb up into the castle where you will be greeted with spectacular views.

• Mid-way parking available
• Good surface for kids’ scooters
• 5km walk along the river
• Start point here
• Midway car park and Dunhill castle here

The Vee Mountain Pass- Bay Lough

Bay Lough at the Knockmealdowns. This is a Lovely walk to the lake. You can access the lake from the top or bottom car park. We walked up from the bottom car park.

• The walk is not buggy friendly
• It is steep but our 4-year-old daughter walked it all
• 500m from the car park here
• Amazing lake and very quiet
• 1km from this car park here

Knockmealdown mountain and Sugarloaf Hill loop walk –

We previously wrote a blog post here on this so you can decide for yourself if it would suit your family. We hiked the Knockmealdowns in 2017 when we only had one little hiker to carry. Like all mountains climb with care, at the summit, there is a drop to one side, so if it’s foggy then turn around. Have the correct gear, navigation etc with you. There is also a section of road walking if you do the loop. The views are amazing

The post Waterford Top Family Friendly Walks & Activities appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

Please note this is a paid partnership with Failte Ireland and Discover Ireland but all opinions and reviews are our own.

Breakfast at Bere Island Lodge

We woke up to beautiful views of the sea and the ferry which was just across the road from us. We had a massive tasty breastfast made by our wonderful host, Edel. Edel was like a second mammy to us. She was so homely and welcoming.

For breakfast, we had a selection of cereals, fruit, and yoghurts, and then a beautiful Full Irish. She also served us tea, coffee, fruit juice, and fresh scones straight from the oven.

When Breakfast was finished, Edel offered to make us some sandwiches for our hike on Dursey Island, how amazing is that? So she sent us off with lovely cheese sandwiches and some fresh scones and of course not to mention a little souvenir magnet of Bere Island that she Gave to Ourlittlehikers to remember their adventures here on the Island. The hospitality of the Murphy family just blew us away.

Before we drove our car onto Murphy’s Ferry, we went up the road to Murphy’s shop to buy some food supplies for a trip (Note–there are no shops on Dursey Island so make sure to bring plenty of water and food with you)

Murphy’s Car Ferry – Rerrin to Pontoon

Click here to view the timetable

We arrived at Pontoon at 9:50 am and drove straight to Dursey which took about 40 minutes and is 27km away.

Dursey Island Cable Car Parking

We arrived at Dursey sound and parked our car underneath the cable car just to look at it in action. It is amazing to see the cable car traverse the open sea. There was great excitement in our car.

We packed up all our hiking gear, food and water and started walking up the hill toward to ticket office to buy tickets and wait our turn to go into the cable car.

Tickets cost to Dursey Island

• Adult- €10
• child- €5

Dursey Island cable car opening hours

The Cable Car runs every 15mins, It can fit 6 people in it. You can bring your bike, buggy or even your dog on it.

• Opens 9.30-7.30pm
• Closes for lunch from 1-1.30
• Closes at 4.30 pm from Nov-Feb

Note–Make sure to ask for a map as it wasn’t offered to us and I just happened to ask about a map. The map is really nice and a beautiful painting of the landscape and a great keepsake.

Covid-19 Precautions on Dursey Island

Hand sanitiser stations were present to use before you enter the cable car and more on Dursey Island before you exit the station. Make sure to bring your mask to wear especially if you are sharing cable car with strangers. We were lucky to have it all to ourselves both times.

Dursey Cable Car Experience

While approaching the cable car you can’t but help notice the distance the cable car travels across open water, extremely scary. Then your eye is drawn immediately to the age of the cable car and the large posts that support the cable car.

This is one of Ireland’s most unique experiences

Stepping into the cable car was a little nerve-racking as it kept swayed, especially going over the water. Everyone was a little nervous, to be honest, but also excited as it was such a unique experience. The views while crossing the water were amazing. It is the only Cable car in Europe to traverse open seawater.

Dursey Island

Dursey Island is on the south-west coast of the Beara Peninsula in County Cork. Dursey Island is 1.5 kilometres wide and 6.5 kilometres long. There are only a small number of people living on the island and it has no shops or restaurants. It’s a very quiet and peaceful island, where you can walk in the middle without being a nuisance to the locals or sheep.

Dursey Island walking Loop:

Trailhead: Cablecar, Dursey, Co. Cork

Distance: 14km

Time: 3.5 to 4hrs

Difficulty: Moderate

Terrain: Roadways, paths and tracks

Hiking Gear: Walking boots, rain gear, food and water

Points of Interest on Dursey Island:

• Great for bird watching
• Ruins of a Monastery
• Signal tower from the Napoleonic era.
• Dursey Head- views to the bull and the cow (this is off the loop so the out and back journey will take an extra 1hr/1hr30mins)
• The Island has a small village called Ballynacallagh, Kilmichael,

The walk gives you great views of the rugged coastline and cliffs. The road is parallel to the Atlantic Ocean packed full of sheep roaming on little roads. It is amazingly relaxing. We saw a few families with buggies which is a great idea as the roads were very good. A compact buggy will be needed to load onto the cable car.

Exploring Dursey Island

We had a very busy schedule and couldn’t explore the whole island. We would love to come back one day to explore this beautiful island fully.

We stopped and had a lovely picnic at a beautiful stone bench and table, we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed our food and soaked in the beautiful views while listing to the waves crashing against the cliff, pure paradise.

We walked to the small village of Ballynacallagh and decided to return as we were running out of time for our next adventure. On the return, we walked down to the ruins of the church and explored the area.

Food Options at Dusrsey Sound

We then returned to the mainland after our cable car adventures. We went straight for Murphys mobile dining for an Al Fresco lunch followed by icecreams.

The mobile dining options were parked beside our car. We sat out and enjoyed our food while watching the cablecar go back and forth from the island. We ordered fish, chips, nuggets and battered sausages. Since returning we were advised that the scampi and the chilli battered fish and it is amazing, I guess we have another excuse to return.

Driving from Dursey to Glengarriff via Lauragh and the Healy Pass

This is an extremely scenic mountain pass drive and is really beautiful. We drove through curved steep small roads between Cork and Kerry on the Beara Peninsula. We were surrounded by two of the highest summits of the Caha mountain range. We would have loved more opportunities to stop the car and soak up the views but there were not many safe parking areas to stop the car.

We did get to stop twice and soak up the beautiful surroundings and we were blessed with good weather and amazing views.

Glengarriff

Glengarriff is a picturesque tourist area, lined with little souvenir shops, coffee and crêpe pods.

Things to see in Glengarriff:

• The Ewe Experience
• Glengarriff Bamboo Park
• Garinish Island
• Beara Way
• The Blue Pool Ferry
• Knockboy and Priest Leap

Our Accommodation near Glenngarriff – The Botanical B&B

This little hidden gem is nestled away in the countryside just 10mins outside Glengarriff. It is a fabulous house surrounded by a “Willy Wonka style edible garden”.

The owners Khloe and Adam are very welcoming and passionate about the whole experience of living off the land and being sustainable. Adam gave us a tour of ”The Garden of Re-Imagination” We really enjoyed the tour and tasting all the edible flowers and plants. Adam is a wealth of knowledge and we learned so much from him and he has inspired us to try to grow more in our own garden.

Botanical B&B

The drive up to the house is beautiful. We parked right beside our own private entrance. We were expecting a room like a b&b but we had a huge section of the house all to ourselves. It is very well presented and laid out, Kloe and Adam live in one part of the house, which you never see so you feel you have the entire house to yourself.

Before we entered the B&B, there was hand sanitizer outside and when we opened the door we were greeted by a beautiful dining area, surrounded by glass looking onto the garden. (this is where we enjoyed a beautiful unique breakfast the next morning).

The beautiful living area has sofas, a stove, a little fridge with chilled water, a cupboard full of board games (whatever board game that you play with you leave out and Kloe will disinfect it for the next guest). We felt very safe here which is great with whats going on in the world right now with Covid-19.

As we walked up the stairs, we noticed the whole ceiling was done in broken mirrors which is very fun to look at. On the landing, there is a glass door and soon to be balcony area with the most beautiful views.

There are four gorgeous botanical-themed rooms available, each named after tree/plants:

• Fern (Double)
• Willow(two single beds)
• Lichen(single)
• Silver Birch(single)

Each room was decorated with handcrafted artwork and pieces made from natural materials. You could see all the love and care put into each piece.

We stayed in the Fern and Willow rooms ( we had views of the garden and the willow tree that was made into a seating area)

There is one bathroom with a bath/shower filled with additional unique artwork that we admired. The attention to detail was second to none in this house.

After dinner, we came back and lit the fire and relaxed and played a board game. We love the fact there is no television here. The simplicity of it all and the quality family time we had was just perfect.

Dinner at Mannings Emporium

We had dinner at Mannings Emporium which is a lovely gourmet shop and Cafe in Ballylicky, Bantry. We wore our masks in and used the had sanitizer and were shown to our table. The tables were in an outdoor area which was enclosed. Looking at the menu, it looked to be a pizza menu more or less which I was delighted about as I’m a huge pizza fan. We had a lovely view of the big stone pizza oven.

Mannings review

Well, hand on heart they were the nicest pizzas we all have ever eaten. We would definitely go back and would highly recommend it.

Breakfast at Botanical B&B

Khloe texted us our very unique breakfast options and a selection of times to choose from.

Nearly everything was from their garden that Kloe had picked herself that morning. We Picked 8.30 am for our breakfast time and right at that time Kloe came through the secret passageway from her house to where she was serving our food in the dining room.

Words can’t explain all the beautiful tastes and detail that went into our breakfast experience. We have never tasted food like this before and it opened our eyes to a new way of eating and living off the land.

Collecting Eggs from the Chickens at the Botanical B&B

After Breakfast Kloe brought the girls and me to collect some eggs from the chicken coop. This was such a special experience for the children, it was one of the girls highlights from our trip.

We then explored the beautiful garden as we didn’t get a chance to the night before as we had to rush out to dinner. We then packed up our bags and said our goodbyes. Close by we called into The Ewe Experience before driving home.

The Ewe Experience

The Ewe Experience is Irelands only interactive and interpretative sculpture garden in a waterfall oasis.

It was voted Irelands #1 garden by the Irish times and we can see why. It is very well set out, filled with a lot of creativity, Some amazing imagination has gone into creating this wonderful experience, that the kids absolutely loved.

This is upcycling on steroids.

It is a one-way route with amazing sculptures and quotes around every corner, the higher you climb the better the view of the surrounding countryside becomes.

This walk is great for all ages, especially children. A great family day out.

Is the Ewe experience buggy friendly?

No, as there is a lot of steps and uneven paths. if you have a young child we would recommend a sling or carrier.

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We have been going to see Santa in Enniscorthy Castle for the past 2 years and it has always been magical. It blows us away, the attention to detail they put into each tour. Their magical characters are from the Rathnure Panto Society which includes both children and adults.

The cost of Santa enchanted castle in Enniscorthy 

Children(all ages):€20

Off-Peak: €15

Big People: €10 (includes Festive Snack)

Santa Photo pack: €10

Tour Duration: approx 60 minutes

You can buy your tickets here 

The Christmas Disneyland of Ireland in an Irish Castle

The first year we went to the Santa enchanted castle for Christmas 2018, there was a great mixture of characters like Charlie and the chocolate factory, beauty and the beast, ice age, frozen, Mrs Clause with her vintage sweet shop, The big man himself-Santa along with many many more Disney Characters, including the amazing Minnie and Mickey Mouse. It was like been back in Euro Disney again.

This Santa experience is for any age, we all really enjoyed it, from my 73-year-old mother to my two-year-old little daughter.

If I had to describe this Santa Experience in one word, I would have to say “Magical“.

Parking at the Santa Enchanted Castle in Enniscorthy

There is no onsite parking at Enniscorthy Castle itself but there is street parking nearby. We parked at the Abbey square, which was free at the time we were there.

There is also parking in the following places:

• The old Dunnes car park (5-minute walk)
• Abbey Square (3-minute walk)
• Riverside Park Hotel (7-minute walk)

Arriving at our Santa enchanted castle experience

Try to arrive early and enjoy the waiting area in the castle. We were greeted by elves, who will check your tickets and hang up your coats.

Tip: The castle is warm throughout the Santa experience, so I would advise you to give your coat in the waiting area, as its one less thing to carry.

You will receive a special coin to spend at the Mrs. Clause shop near the end of your Santa experience. There are elves doing face paintings for the kids. There is also a giant sleigh where you can take pictures in.

There was also a gingerbread house and spiderman was in a little room where you could go to a meet him. (Ourlittlehiker was scared but Nannyhiker went in to get her photo taken with him :) )

The Santa Tour that keeps on giving

We got so many treats and surprises in each room we went into, like the lollypops, biscuits, nuggets of honeycomb, ice pops, sweets, juices, teas, coffees and your present from Santa.

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Micky & Minnie Mouse

As you walk through the different rooms and magical chambers of the castle you will see a different theme in each room, the first room was Charlie and the chocolate factory where you could meet willie Wonka, get some lollypops, hop inside the Wonka machine and you also have a chance to meet cinderella. Then Minnie and Mickey arrived and played a little video for us and we all got a chance to get our pictures with them.

We then walked through a little hallway with music from the little mermaid, “under the sea” the fish were lit up with UV lights and bubbles were blowing everywhere. Everyone was super excited and very amused

Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too

We walked up the spiral castle stairs to another level where we could hear elves snoring. We saw them asleep in bunk beds. We then entered a woodland themed room where we saw a sad Tigger because it was Winnie the poohs birthday but he was hibernating in a tree so we had to sing happy birthday to wake him up. We all got a lump of yummy honeycomb to celebrate his birthday.

Beauty & the Beast

We then wandered along into the Beauty and the beast room. It was like stepping into the cartoon especially with the music playing in the background. One part of this room was the library scene with the candlesticks, Mrs pots and a giant “chip” cup that we could sit into. We then met the beautiful snow-white. As we walked around the room we saw “the Beast” up on the balcony. We walked up the steps to meet him, I was so surprised that Ourlittlehiker was not scared and actually really loved him. Beauty was in another section. All the children were then asked to sit down at a big banquet table just like in the movie and we got to enjoy digestive biscuits with the Beauty and the Beast.

Ice Age and Frozen

The next room we entered was a scene from Ice Age and Frozen. The whole room was white with the ice castle and it looked like it was covered with snow. We got to meet the characters and got ice pops from the characters.

Alice in Wonderland, Mrs.Claus sweet shop and Santa Clause

We moved into another area of the Castle which was like an elf school full of games/puzzles. There was a teacher here and loads of elves and lovely Christmas music. Two Paw Patrol dogs came out and Ourlittlehiker had a great time dancing with them. I got a little recording of it that will be great to show her when she’s older. I have some videos clips saved to my highlights on my Instagram page @ourlittlehiker

We then went into a room which was the last “waiting area” for Santa. We made it to Mrs Claus vintage sweet shop. We handed in our special Santa coins and got to pick a lovely bag of sweets and the adults could have teas/coffees or juices, The shop was the exact shop they used in the Film Brooklyn which was very cool to see.

While we waited for our names to be called to see Santa, we did some colouring in and listened to stories read by Alice in wonderland and the elves. The time flew by and we got to have lovely chats with Mrs. Claus, which was so nice, she had a great amount of time for everyone in the group.

Finally, we got called to meet the big man himself, Santa Claus. He knew exactly what Ourlittlehiker wanted from him and he also knew she has been up 29 of Ireland’s highest mountains.

Note: when booking this, you can write a little info about your child like their hobbies, pet names, what they want from Santa. It’s a lovely personal touch.

Santa was so nice and the magic selfie mirror said we were on the nice list, thank god for that. We received our photograph when we left Santas room and we made our way back down the stairs to the start to get our coats.

Santas enchanted castle 2019

Again, we were so excited to see what was in store for this year at the Santa experience, I brought my little nephew with us, as well as Babyhiker who was in my tummy last year when we went.

When we entered the castle there was a Santa sleigh as well as Aladdin’s Cave, cut-outs of Aladin and Princess Jazmine were here, where you could pop your head through, there was also a little post office, and a sleeping elf. We each got coins for a special surprise in Mrs.Claus’ Icecream Palour (it was icecream, yes ice cream for everyone. AMAZING.) and we also got a Christmas star decoration to protect us from the evil snow queen.

Toy Story

In the first room, it was like we stepped into toy story where there were large toys in their boxes not moving, the elf told us that they won’t come alive once the parents were there but if we all truly believed they would come alive and so they did, there was great excitement.

The Elfport & Security

We had to go through the elf port Security to make sure we were not working for the evil snow queen. We watched a little video in this room and then we lined up and put our hand into a security scanner. If the light turned green, we were safe to go through to the next level, luckily it didn’t turn red so all the boys and girls could continue on. This was such a fun part of the adventure, the room was like an airport with suitcases and elves.

We then went up the Castle spiral stairs to the Elf workshop, where noisy elves working were away on toys and Santa’s sleigh. We got to see the very first Santa Sleigh here before Santa modified it and made it bigger.

The Lion King

We then went into a dark room, filled with cardboard cutouts light up with scenes from the Lion King, along with music from the Circle of Life.

The greatest Show

We walked into another room which was made to like a theatre. Dorty was in a Hot Air ballon, there was a wicked witch and a popcorn machine. We all sat down and the witch put out pots of popcorn for us to wait for the show to begin. Great music was played into the room, such as the lion king, baby shark, superheroes, the greatest showman just to name a few.

Ice-Age & Frozen

In this Ice room we saw the characters from the Ice age movie and the princesses from frozen, who put on a great show with the Ice Queen, it even started to snow in here.

Mrs Claus Ice-cream Parlor

Mrs Claus gave everyone ice-cream in exchange for their coins in her ice-cream parlour (this was in the same place as last year’s sweet shop). Mrs Clause helpers served the icecream while Mrs Claus herself gave you a choice of syrup and sprinkles. Everyone got an ice cream even the grownups, which I thought was great. After our ice cream cone, we coloured in while we waited for Santa and the kids got to sit into the Ice queens carriage.

Santa and his Magic Mirror

Santa was lovely, he chatted to the kids and knew all about them, they got a toy and found out they were on the nice list. We had our picture taking with the magic selfie mirror and moments later we received our picture and were on our way.

We are already looking forward to Santa enchanted castle 2020

Sensitive Sensory-Friendly Santa Tour in Ireland 2020

There are specific dates allocated for specially designed tours to help support children with autism and other physical, developmental and sensory needs.

Overnight Santa sleepover experience in Ireland 2020

We have not stayed overnight here, as we only live 20 minutes drive away but there are some great options if you are interested in enjoying an overnight Santa sleepover.

Both Hotels below have a package that includes an overnight stay with a full Irish breakfast, Tickets to Santas Enchanted Castle with a free photo pack from the Magic selfie mirror along with other little Christmas treats. You can check out more from links below:

Riverside Park Hotel and Leisure Club https://www.riversideparkhotel.com/santas-enchanted-castle.html

Traceys Hotel and Slaney suites https://www.treacyshotel.com/things-to-do/santas-enchanted-castle/

Family-Friendly Walks In Wexford

If you happen to stay the night for the Santa sleepover and want some fresh air you can try some of these beautiful Irish Historic 1798 rebellion walks- Vinegar Hill and Ourlert Hill.

Vinegar Hill is a 7 min drive from Enniscorthy Town (2.9km in the car) – It is a Short stroll with lovely views.

Oulart Hill is a 14 min drive from Enniscorthy (13.2km in the car) – You can do a short walk from the car park up to the Tulach a’tSolais monument or you could do a longer walk called The Jean Kennedy Smith Walk, you can read about it here https://www.ourlittlehiker.com/oulart-hill-wexford-walk/

The best Santa Experience In Co.Wexford

We have enjoyed so many Santa visits all over the Wexford area and this Santas Enchanted castle experience is by far the best in our opinion.

Review of Santas enchanted castle experience in Co.Wexford

Overall we really enjoyed every minute of both our Santa experiences in 2018 and 2019. Here is a list of why we love it so much:

• Its all indoors, so once you arrive it doesn’t matter what the weather is like outside
• Most of the cast are from Rathnure Pantamine so they were great characters full of enthusiasm.
• They had so much time for you, we never felt rushed and had loads of time to take pictures, etc
• You get a little treat in each room that you enter
• The attention to detail was incredible, a lot of thought and effort has gone into this Santa experience

Just to take note: You cant bring your pram/buggies, we didn’t mind this as we have been using our ergo baby carrier while hiking, so if you have a baby bring your sling/carrier with you, as there is a lot of stairs in the castle.

Enniscorthy Castle is wheelchair accessible as there is a lift to each floor.

There is a charge for babies, €20 or €15 for off-peak. Our Babyhiker was 10months so as well as getting her present from Santa, she also received a Santas enchanted castle bib which was a lovely keepsake.

In 2019 I dressed the girls in matching Christmas outfits that I bought in Penneys. In 2018 I bought a beautiful Minnie Mouse dress from the online Disney Store, I also got her name on it. https://www.shopdisney.co.uk/

Santas Enchanted Castle 2019 Santas Enchanted Castle 2020

Tickets for this year’s magical Santa experience will go on sale later in August 2020. You can go and explore many chambers of the enchanted castle in the Enniscorthy Castle. It is a wonderful family experience that is not to be missed, you will have memories that will last a lifetime. Enjoy xx

The post Santa Enchanted Castle Enniscorthy appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

to holiday accommodation, than to stay in standard 3-4 star hotels. On our previous family holidays, we stayed in a treehouse in Westport, a bell tent in Derry, a glamping pod in Cork, a campervan and we once stayed in a beautiful air-BnB above a photography studio with views on the Cuilaigh mountains and we had a family photo shoot which was included in our package.

So when we came across an air-BnB Double Decker bus in Cobh Cork (which is pronounced “Cove Cork”) we were very much ‘on board’ with the idea. It’s our little girls 1st birthday so we booked the bus for two nights to celebrate. We had Double celebrations on the Double Decker bus, two little cakes, 1 to represent our precious little girl turning one and other to celebrate a year of our lovely breastfeeding journey together.

About our unique Family BnB Accommodation in Cobh

The bus was a vintage London red Double Decker bus that has been converted into a modern unique accommodation experience. It was perfectly situated accommodation near Fota island for young kids. It’s main features are:

• It can sleep, 7 guests
• It has 2 bedrooms
• 4 beds
• 1 bathroom
• kitchen- microwave, sink, hob, fridge, freezer, toaster, coffee machine (lots of free coffee) pots, pans, tableware for adults and children, cutlery, etc
• Indoor gas fire
• A TV downstairs and one in each bedroom
• Heating (central heating)
• WiFi
• Hot Water
• Shower
• Essentials-Towels, bed sheets, soap, toilet paper
• Children’s books and board games
• High chair
• Travel cot
• Private outdoor area with table and benches, bbq and firepit. Bbq coal and fire logs/coal can be provided on request.
• Self-check-in. (the key is left in the door)
• Space for 2 cars.

Our First Impressions of the Double Decker Bus BnB Accommodation

We put the coordinates into google maps and it brought us about 5 mins outside of Cobh. The gate entrance has a sign near the road saying ”The Lux Bus”. Once we drove up the driveway we could see the bus and it looked like it was parked in the front of the owner’s garden. But it is very well done as it’s just before their house into the right and there is a fence at either side and you have your own car spaces and private bbq area beside the back end of the Bus. It was all very private, just the way we like it.

There was such excitement when Ourlittlehikers saw the bus.

We all jumped out of the car and ran inside the Bus. We pulled open the original Bus doors to walk up the steps to the bus driver’s seat and steering wheel. Of course, we all had a go at ”driving” the bus (which was done about 100 times throughout our stay while singing “The Wheels on the bus go round and round”).

The key was left in the main front door, when we opened the door we could see a modern kitchen at either side of the bus where the bus seats would have originally been. As we walked down the aisle of the bus we saw a lovely gas fire to our right, on our left there were stairs up to the top deck, under the stairs there was a mini couch with storage underneath for books, jigsaws, and games. At the end of the bus, there were steps up to the dining/seating area. The sofa was U shaped and it was the coziest sofa ever, you would happily sleep there. There is also a glass table, tv, heaters in the roof and more books and games in the back window area.

Upstairs there were 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. In the ”kids room” there is 1 bunk bed and 1 single bed (3 single beds), tv, bedside locker which was filled with kid’s books, chest of drawers filled with extra towels, blankets and pillows. There was also a travel cot which we were kindly asked if we needed one when we made our booking.

The other bedroom had a double bed that felt like you were sleeping in a marshmallow, very comfy. There was a tv, chest of drawers again filled with extra blankets, etc, hairdryer, an essential box which contained shampoos, conditioners, toothpaste, new toothbrushes, cotton buds, tissues, etc.

The bathroom had a toilet, a shower, and a sink.

Pros for staying on the Double Decker Lux Bus BnB:

• Such a fun and unique experience especially with children
• It has everything you would need when holidaying with children. ( I read that there is a place in town if you want to get clothes washed if you are there for longer than we were as there is no washing machine).
• Very cozy, comfortable and sparkling clean.
• WiFi throughout the Bus
• Great attention to detail, like lovely signs and messages.
• Very homely.
• great location.
• Great value for money, it cost us €100 per night.
• Very friendly and helpful owners, They left us fresh bread, milk and there was also cereals, choice of coffees, teas, butter, jams salt, pepper and oil for cooking.
• fire pit and bbq area outside for fine weather
• A dream place to stay with kids esp with the Bus driver’s seat and steering wheel.

Cons for staying on the Double Decker Lux Bus

• It wasn’t a problem for us as we are not the tallest of people, but just to note that the ceilings upstairs are 5ft 9inches which are lower than normal. Its to keep the bus as original as possible.
• Just to be mindful that if you have young children there are no stairgates on the stairs and also some of the windows on the top of the deck are emergency windows therefore they are not childproof.
• Just keep in mind during winter months it can get a little cold at night as you would expect just like a campervan but there are extra blankets to keep you warm. Once the heaters are on the Bus heats up very quickly.

Things to do and see on our Family Holiday in Cobh Cork

We found the Bus to be a great base for our family holiday in Cobh Cork. It is a 10min drive to Fota island Wildlife and a 5 min drive into Cobh. Which is filled with beautiful walks around the town, the amazing titanic experience, and the magnificent Colman’s Cathedral.

On our first day of the Family Holiday in Cobh Cork, we had breakfast on the double-decker Bus. We then went to Fota island park at the opening time for 10 am, it had just opened and was nice and quiet. We had the best experience. You can read about it below.

After our Fota island experience, we went back to the bus to relax and made lunch from the food we bought in Lidl. We find it so relaxing and stress-free to do it this way when you have small kids instead of going to a restaurant, it’s also much cheaper when you’re on a budget.

After lunch, we drove into Cobh, which was only 5 minutes in a car. We explored the beautiful Cobh, we find that you really get to know an area when you walk around it.

The Titanic Museum Cobh

We were hesitant about signing up for the titanic museum in Cobh with two young kids. We spoke to the lovely ticket saleswomen and they assured us that there would be no problem bringing young kids on the tour.

The cost of the tickets was very reasonable:

Adult: €10

Child: €7

Children under 4: FREE

The guided tour was 30 minutes with plenty of time in the end to explore, there is also a lovely gift shop.

We previously did the Belfast titanic experience before but we found the Cobh museum experience is a very personal tour. The group size that did the tour was small and it felt the tour guide spoke to everyone individually. We all got boarding cards with names of real people that boarded the Titanic in Cobh.

At the end of the museum tour, we found out if we survived the crash into the iceberg or not. Which is so sad but it makes you feel part of the experience. Just before the end of the tour, you enter a room where you can sit on seats in the shape of a lifeboat. Here you will have a chilling cinematographic experience where you listen to eyewitness accounts of their own experience while watching the Titanic sink. We also got to see the original pier (Heartbreak Pier) which was the last point of land contact for Cobh passengers (know as Queenstown back then)

We all loved the tour, it was super informative and very interesting. This is a totally different type of museum tour of the titanic compared to the Belfast titanic experience. We found this to be much more enjoyable.

Cobh Cork- Walking Trails

The Cobh historical Walking Trail starts at the Titanic Memorial in the center of the town with a large map board that outlines each of the 3 routes.

We picked the shortest route (around 1.3km) which brought us north towards St.Colmans Cathedral. It was a steep climb but we really got an amazing panoramic view of Cobh. We walked around the side entrance by the base structure of the Cathedral, it really is an outstanding structure. The views from outside the Cathedral was breathtaking (not just the climb that took our breath away). We had a great view of the Habour and surrounding islands including Spike Island.

St Colman’s Cathedral Cobh

The inside of St Colman’s Cathedral Cobh is Magfincant, Ourlittlehiker was mesmerized by it all. We lit candles, made a donation and got a lovely card with children prayers, there was also a book you can sign, which means they will pray for you at the 3 pm mass. It is a must-see when you visit Cobh, the architecture is so beautiful, along with the amazing views of the cathedral.

Fota Island Park Cobh

Fota Island wildlife park in Cobh was a 5 minutes drive from our double-decker bus BnB accommodation and 10 minutes from Cobh. This makes Cobh a perfect location to explore Fota island wildlife park.

Fota island opening hours are from: 10 am- 4:30 pm.

We arrived at Fota Island park’s main gates at 10am and we were one of the first people into the park. It was very exciting, as all the animals were just let out of their enclosures and they were all full of energy. Ourlittlehiker loved all the noises of the lions, the peacocks following her for food and the kangaroos hopping straight past her.

We all really enjoyed Fota Island park and would highly recommend it. If we were to give any tips, it would be to try to arrive mid-week and as early as possible. We felt that we had the whole park to ourselves and we had a really unique experience.

Cost- Adults: €16.90

Children under 16: €11.50

Toddlers up to 36 months: FREE

Would we recommend a Family Holiday in Cobh Cork?

Yes, definitely. Our Family Holiday in Cobh Cork was a great little two-day trip. It was jam-packed with wonderful experiences and amazing tours. We would highly recommend Cobh Cork as a family holiday. The next time we go to Cobh for a family holiday, we will allow some additional time to explore more of its hidden treasures.

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About our Pumpkin patch Ireland Experience:

Ballycross apple farm is a real working farm and it’s home to the delicious Ballycross apple juice. There is a great mixture of woodland walks, meeting the witch at the amazing witches village, pumpkin picking, tractor rides,  animals, go-karts, bouncy castles, coffee shops, food stands, and ice cream vans. There is a long drive up to it and there is a big field on your left-hand side where you can park free of charge.

How to get to the Pumpkin Picking at Ballycross Wexford:

Ballycross Apple farm is around 15mins drive from Wexford town and is a 10-minute drive from Kilmore Quay which is famous for its delicious fresh fish. It is just outside the Village of Bridgetown. If you are coming from the Wexford direction you turn left at the t-junction at Centra in Bridgetown and then take a right, you will pass St. David’s Well housing estate, Ballycross is on the right-hand side on this road. you will see a sign at the entrance.

General opening times:

Open every Saturday and Sunday 12pm-6pm

Open throughout Mid-term 26th October-3rd November from 12pm-6pm daily.

Cost:

Child: €4.50

Adult: €5.50

Family (2+2) €19

Family (2+3) €20

The walk to the witches village

On the way in, when you pay, you get a lovely colorful map to show you where everything is. Before we got started exploring we bought some hotdogs and sat at a picnic table in the courtyard. The sun was shining and it was lovely there, we couldn’t have asked for a nicer picnic location.

Once we finished our snacks we started our journey to find some witches and pumpkins. We could have queued up to go on the trailer ride (€1.50 each) to the witches village but it was such a lovely Autumn day and we love a good walk so it was an easy decision to make. The walk was very well signposted and there was a lovely mixture of woodland and wildflower meadows, then more woodland and you cross a little wooden bridge and then walk along the edge of an apple orchard and a field where there is a pumpkin patch until you reach the witches village on your right

The witch was far too nice to be a bad witch, Our girls loved her, she was so nice and friendly. My phone ran out of memory and my mam left her phone in the car, so the witch gave me a lend of her phone to take pictures and then she sent them to my phone. She was so sweet and Ourlittlehikers loved her, she was so good with young kids.

Once we explored the witches village we went into the next field to pick pumpkins. We walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere and then made our way back to the start. We already had a pumpkin at home so we decided to buy a forever pumpkin back in the gift shop, It was a lovely big metal pumpkin.

We finished our day with Icecream cones from the retro icecream van. It’s not a day trip if it isn’t finished with Icecream.

The witches Village

Conclusion of Ballycross Pumpkin Picking

We loved our day trip to Ballycross Apple Farm, it was a lovely family outing. The day was very entertaining and filled to the neck with little details that our little girls loved. We found it well set up with extremely friendly staff that went above and beyond in their customer service. We highly recommend this pumpkin picking experience to everyone we meet.

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The Rathwood Teddybear picnic is a mixture of a train ride around Rathwood grounds, songs, games and teddy bear making. It is a fun day for kids and parents alike. Everyone will leave this days adventure looking for a similar day out. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day with polite staff and good value for money.

Cost of Rathwood Teddybear picnic:

• Adult- €7
• Child- €11
• Baby- €0

Try to be there 10-15 minutes before the beginning as it starts exactly on-time and lasts for an hour. We started our adventure at 1 o clock and arrived at the end picnic at 2pm, we relaxed at the picnic area for a further 15-20 minutes.

We have no affiliation with Rathwood, we just wanted to share our nice experience. For more information, you can check out the Rathwood website: https://www.rathwood.com/teddy

Our Rathwood Teddybear picnic Adventure

We started our Teddy Bear picnic adventure in a small cinema type room in Rathwood. A lovely girl called Goldilocks came on stage to greet all the boys, girls and parents. She explained to everyone that she didn’t eat her porridge for breakfast and because of this she didn’t have golden hair today. Goldilocks showed all the Boys and Girls a  greeting dance that they should do if they meet any Bears.

Goldilocks lead everyone on a walk to the teddybears house. Where everyone found Mamma Bear. This is where we all did the Bear dance that we learned with Goldilocks. Goldilocks and Mamma bear joined in and had everyone laughing with their dance moves and jokes.

We then hopped aboard the Yellow ”Rathwood Express” Train where the train driver secured the doors so we were all safe inside. Mamma Bear and Goldilocks got on the train as well and she sang ”all aboard choo choo”

The train brought us down past the maze towards the woods and everyone had to look out for Baby and Daddy Bear. This was great fun, the kids all loved the train and the sense of adventure.

Along the train ride, we passed all the animals in Rathwood, we also passed a number of fairy houses. One of the Fairy houses even belonged to the tooth fairy. Goldilocks and Mamma bear kept us entertained along the way and had everyone looking out for baby bear, we had to shout ”where are you Baby Bear” eventually we found baby bear near the woods.

Baby bear got on the train to help us lookout for Daddy bear. The train started moving again and there was great excitement by everyone trying to spot daddy bear. We stopped at the teddy bear factory to see if daddy bear was inside.

The teddybear factory was a timber building hidden away in the forest. It was lit up with fairy lights and gave off an amazing atmosphere of adventure and playfulness. When we went into the workshop, we found daddy bear sleeping. Goldilocks and Mamma bear asked everyone to sing a song to help wake Daddy bear up, so when we sang the ”bear greeting” song he jumped up from underneeth his blanket.

Each child got a small teddy bear and stuffing. They all sat around at small tables to stuff their bears. Goldilocks and the three bears were dancing around the factory and Ourlittlehiker was amazed by all their energy and amazing dance moves. She followed them around staring up in their faces.

I had to help her finish stuffing her Teddy bear as she couldn’t take her eyes off the three bears singing and dancing. We then brought our newly stuffed bears with us on the train and went through the woods to feed the geese at the lake.

We stopped at the lake and stayed on the train while Goldilocks went to all the boys and girls giving them bread to feed the geese. Everyone started to feed the geese and they loved it. All the birds ran toward the train, which was very exciting for the boys and girls and the Mammys and Daddys . As the train started to drive off, all the geese followed the train around the lake. It was very exciting and everyone loved it.

On the train journey, we all sang little duck songs and played games like which train carriage could shout the loudest. As there were four train carriages this lead to lots of shouting but great fun too.

Rathwood Teddybear Picnic

We then arrived at our last train stop, the Teddy bear picnic. Little tartan blankets were scattered around the grass under a blown-up rainbow beside a small cottage.

Each child received a Picnic Bag here, which included:

• 1 bottle of water
• An Apple
• 1 Smarty cookie

Ourlittlehiker loves drinking water, so I was delighted that it was a healthy lunch choice that they provided water instead of fizzy drinks.

The three bears sat on a bench to give each family an opportunity to have pictures taken with the bears. The picnic was so relaxing with the sun shining with proved to be a perfect location.

The bears then left and we finished our picnic. Ourlittlehiker was not quite ready to go home yet so we went over to Rathwoods newly built Playzone called Ark. Where she played with her little friends and we got a bite to eat.

Tips:

1. I carried Ourbabyhiker in the Ergo carrier, which was so helpful because it allowed me to have 2 free hands to look after a 2.5 year old while also to breastfeed on the train and give me privacy in tight situations.
2. I also noticed some parents brought their buggies and there was space at the end of the train carriage for these and wheelchairs.
3. At the picnic, we saw some parents had brought their own packed lunches of sandwiches, fruit, and drinks for themselves. We forgot that this is a picnic for kids and not adults. We were looking at the people with the sandwiches thinking these people are geniuses. So our top tip,  bring a packed lunch for the adults, this will make the kid’s picnic far more enjoyable. Obviously, we overindulged in the Rathwood restaurant afterward .
4. Picture opportunity. If your anything like us and love taking pictures to help capture an adventure, remember this one. The picnic is the last stop on the train ride. The three bears sit on a bench and you will have an opportunity to get a photograph with the bears here. If you want this picture get it before the picnic starts, as the bears only stay a short while because they go off quickly to greet other boys and girls for the next train. 

Conclusion on Rathwood Teddybear Picnic

Overall I would highly recommend the teddybear picnic in Rathwood. As a parent, I enjoyed every second of it. It was made even better by the excitement on Ourlittlehikers face throughout the whole experience.

Throughout all our hiking adventures people constantly ask us, why do we bring such young kids hiking, they won’t remember it. We never think this way, we will always remember our amazing adventures together as the kids grow up so quickly, we are making life memories as a family and will enjoy telling stories and showing the girls all the pictures when they are older. We started this blog for them, a place where they can look back and read about their earliest adventures.

Ourlittlehiker is 2.5 years old and ourlittlebabyhiker is 6 months old now and our 6 month old loved looking around at all the different shapes, colors, and sounds of the whole day while taking it all in.

The staff was extremely friendly, we forgot Ourlittlhikers sunglasses in the factory and they went back and got them for us.  The teddy bears that we all stuffed looked very good quality and you’d imagine that they would be expensive to buy.

And remember ”If you go down to the woods today, You’re sure of a big surprise……….Because today’s the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic”

Enjoy xx

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Buying cheap Tickets for Disneyland online

I was in Disneyland for one day on our Honeymoon in 2015 and we bought our tickets at the gate. But I had previously read that you can buy the park tickets online for half the price. So I looked up https://www.attractiontix.co.uk/ and bought two adult tickets for the price of one.

The pros are:

•  You get it cheaper (which is always a bonus)
• You get to skip the long ques and scan your own ticket at the gate
• We got vouchers for lunch and dinner in Disney Village (10 euro off when you spend more than 25 in planet Hollywood and 5 euro off in Earl of sandwich) both are meant to be lovely restaurants. But we never got a chance to go that way as our busy day schedule wouldn’t allow it)

The only negative about buying your Disneyland tickets online is that you don’t get the lovely souvenir Disney tickets. I thought, I read somewhere that you can swap the online tickets that you printed out for their park tickets but I asked on two different occasions and they said no since we bought online, that we couldn’t get them. I love making scrapbooks and collecting souvenirs like that but we saved nearly €100, so it was well worth it.

I just googled what the tickets looked like and printed a copy and then cut them out for our scrapbook.

Booking transfer from the Airport to our Hotel for Disneyland with a Toddler

I had previously read you have to change trains a few times to get from the airport, Charles de Gaulle to Disneyland, so I researched transfers as it was the most direct and easy way to travel to Disneyland with a toddler. Below is who we booked with – http://www.parisdisneyshuttle.com/ These cost €60 but it is an amazing value for the service that they offer.

We would highly recommend them for so many reasons:

• You can book online and do not need to give any credit card details or payment, you pay when they drop you at your destination.
• We kept our driver waiting about 40 minutes as our bags were slow coming out and he was waiting with a big smile holding our name card and offered to carry our bags straight away.
• It was a 9 seater van, with a baby seat and it was very comfortable.
• When collecting us for the airport at the end of our trip I rang the 24hour call service to move my pick up time from 10am to 9am as we wanted some extra time in the airport and that was no problem.
• They arrived at our hotel 15 minutes early which was great.
• They are €60 each way and in my opinion, they are worth every penny.

There are no negatives about this shuttle service, it had everything we needed for a quick and seamless transfer from the airport to our Disneyland accommodation with a toddler.

Our Hotel at Disneyland Paris

We stayed in a lovely hotel called HiPark Val d/Europe Disneyland Paris.

It is a modern, clean hotel which has a small indoor kids play area with a few toys and books, an outdoor swimming pool (only suitable during summer months) It serves breakfast and has a vending machine. We all know that we aren’t in this hotel to play in the kid’s area or use the leisure facilities. We are here to explore Disneyland with a Toddler and on a budget preferably.

Note: There is no Restaurant in this hotel but there are loads of restaurants just a short walk away.

We stayed in this hotel in 2015 for 2 nights on our honeymoon. We booked the hotel slightly randomly as we were in Paris the previous day googling cheap accommodation after completing the TMB 11-day hike. Luckily the hotel turned out to be in a perfect location and extremely clean with friendly staff.

The hotel is within walking distance to the shopping centre, which is about a 5-10 minute walk away. The shopping centre is over 1,000,000 sqft in size and has over 190 shops. I have never seen such a large food supermarket, I don’t think there is anything of similar size in Ireland. The Supermarket had every possible item I could have ever wanted.

The hotel provides a free shuttle bus to Disneyland for the family. One of the positives about the hotel location is that we are the last people to get onto the shuttle bus, which also means that we are the first off on the return trip.

When checking into the hotel, ask for an extra room key card as we only got one, you need the card to open your room, turn on the electricity to your room but also activate the elevators and open the doors to the stairs. So two cards are handy, especially if one person wants to stay in the room and the other person wants to explore the hotel and surrounding areas.

We booked a studio room which had a

• double bed
• Air Conditioning
• Kitchenette
• Microwave
• Electric Kettle
• Stovetop
• Iron
• Refrigerator
• Dishwasher
• Dining Table
• flat-screen TV
• Free WiFi
• Bathroom
• Bath/Shower
• Hairdryer

There is a laundry room on the ground floor which has a washing machine and drying facilities which we used extensively on both occasions.

Disneyland Park Paris with a Toddler

There are 3 sections in Disneyland Paris:

• Disneyland Park
• Walt Disney Studios
• Disney Village

Disneyland Park and Studios require tickets for admission but the Disney Village has no entrance fee.

The Disney Village is full of Disney shops, shows and restaurants. The beauty about the Disney Village being free is that it allows you to go to Disneyland for a few hours without paying for a full days ticket and the kids love this taster and it builds even more anticipation for Disneyland park.

**If you take nothing more from this blog post, please remember this as it took us loads of research to find out this little nugget of information and we feel that we were able to get extra time in Disneyland**

We arrived on a Thursday evening in March around 6pm. We loved that we could start our Disneyland Adventure so late on a spring evening. We headed straight for the Disneyland Village and we knew we didn’t have to worry about tickets.

When we got to Disneyland Village we went shopping in the Disney store first as we wanted to buy an autograph book for all the Disney characters to sign. We then went to dinner at Cafe Mickey, where we booked a dinner for 8pm. I would highly recommend this as we got to meet all the Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie and all their friends without a 3-hour queue in the park to just meet 1 character.

We all sat down for dinner and all the Disney characters randomly walked around and came over to all the tables and pose for pictures and sign autographs. All the kids loved this amazing experience. We are slightly amazed that more people don’t do this as you only get small glimpses of the characters in the park but we actually got to hug kiss and dance with all the Disney family while having dinner… Simply amazing.

Below is a picture of My Yummy Mickey Mouse Desert. Here is a link to where you can see the menu, Prices and Phone Number where you can ring and book your Meal with Mickey and Friends. https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/dining/disney-village/cafe-mickey/

After our dinner, we walked around the Disney Village. It was all lit up and there was a great atmosphere around the place. We really enjoyed looking around the shops and just getting into the Disneyland spirit.

Here is a list of some of the stores at Disneyland Village

• World of Disney
• LEGO store ( There was loads of lego artwork and statues here, also there was like a pick n mix where you could purchase single lego and mix and match)
• Disney Fashion
• Disney Store

There are Cinemas, Live shows, Bars and live music, we didn’t want to go to any of these as we felt our daughter was too young to properly enjoy them.

Near Cafe Mickey, you will see the Worlds Largest tethered Hot Air Balloon. I was interested in going up in the balloon but we ran out of time and didn’t get a chance to it. The views are meant to be amazing from it. The times for the tethered hot air balloon can change but when we were there they had them listed as:

• Opening 10am – 8pm
• Cost: 12+ older is €12, 3-11 is €6, 3 years and under is free
• Duration: 6 minutes

OUR DAY IN DISNEYLAND WITH A TODDLER

We woke up bursting with excitement, we popped on our Minne Mouse ears and all our Disney outfits. We packed our day bags and went down to have some breakfast in the hotel, none of us had much of an appetite but we ate what we could.

We brought our Deuter Kids Comfort 3 carrier (Ourlittlehikers carrier) with us and used it most of the time,  We think this is a perfect carrier for walking around Disneyland with a Toddler. It was so handy for walking around, climbing the stairs in Sleeping Beauties Castle and for standing in queues.

Note: you are not allowed to bring your pram/pushchair inside restaurants and shops. you have to leave them outside. I saw a lot of people bringing bike locks for their prams.

Stroller/ Pushchair rental

You can also rent daily pushchairs and chairs for bigger children like 5/6-year-olds from the park as well if you didn’t want to bring your own.

Cost: Daily hire is €20 with a €75 deposit cash/card

Where to Collect them?

• On the right passing under Main Street Station, next to the transportation building ( Main Street U.S.A., Disneyland park
• Next to Studio Photo, to the right of the Disney Studio 1 entrance.

You can not reserve them and there can be a long queue for them.  Also, they are not meant to be that comfortable, so maybe bring a cushion. We brought our own light travel buggy for when our daughter got tired in the Deuter carrier.

Breakfast in the hotel

We had toast, tea, cereal and croissants and lovely Nutella. After breakfast, we waited for the shuttle bus outside our hotel to Disneyland.

We hopped on the shuttle bus, which was about 3-5 minute drive to the Disneyland Parks. We were so excited when we arrived. You can hear the Disney Music pipped all around the place and the shops and restaurants are like what you see in Disney films.

We passed through metal detectors and security where they scan your bags similar to what they do in the airports. We then skipped the long queues for the tickets as we already had our tickets printed online. We scanned our tickets and went straight through the gates.

Free Badge in City Hall 

Our first place on our list was to go to City Hall to collect our FREE Disneyland button (Badge). It says ”I’m celebrating” in French

They will write your name on it and your special occasions for example:

• 1st time in Disneyland
• Birthday
• Communion/ Confirmation
• Honeymoon
• Anniversary

They only have a certain amount that they give out each day, so when they are gone, they are gone. That’s why we went there first and we were delighted to get our Badges. They are lovely souvenirs to have,**so don’t forget these**

Another lovely Keepsake is the free Disney Programs and maps you can collect at the entrance so don’t forget to collect them all.

Fast Pass tickets

If you know there are popular Rides that you want to go on and you want to avoid queues, then you can print out fast pass tickets for that ride and the pass will tell you what time to go to that particular ride and you can avoid waiting in the queue, pure genius.

Top 13 Tips while visiting Disneyland with a Toddler

1. When booking Avoid French School Holidays, as the parks are packed
2. If anyone that you are travelling with has a disability or is pregnant, then check with the parks to see about getting a pass to reduce waiting times and to get a better place to watch the parades and fireworks show.
3. On your program, you can look at the symbols beside each attraction to see if its suitable for your child/children
4. Go to City Hall to get your Free Disneyland Button.
5. Have lunch before 12 or after 2.30 to avoid long queues or you can bring your own lunch and eat it in one of the dining areas.
6. Bring plenty of snacks for your toddler. we brought Fruit, Rolls, yoghurts and bottles of water with us, that we got in the supermarket near our hotel.
7. There are a few water fountains around the parks if you want to refill your water bottles, check your maps to see the symbols and also to see where the baby changing facilities are.
8. Get your Fast Pass tickets to reduce waiting time.
9. Download the Disneyland Paris app as you can check waiting times on each of the rides and locate restrooms etc.
10. Bring extra clothes in case of weather change.
11. Don’t forget when facing sleeping beauty Castle if you look to your left you will see a sign on the stone wall saying ”La Taniere Du Dragon ” If you go in here you will see the Dragan that breaths fire. It’s the dungeon part of the castle and is dark with dim lights. The Dragon works on sensors and will be asleep but will wake up, move and make noises and breath fire and smoke as you walk by. It’s very good and it’s so easy to miss and walk past if you are not aware of it. It is a walk-through attraction that only takes a few minutes. I’ve read that the Dragon is one of the largest ever animatronics made by Disney and measures 89 feet from head to tail.
12. Just outside Auberge du Centrillion, you will see Cinderellas Carriage, you can’t get inside but you can take lovely photos in front of it. We found it was quiet there and we bumped into a few characters and got some quick photos. Also, you can book lunch for inside and get to meet the princess like the way the dinner was with mickey mouse. We didn’t get lunch here as when I rang to book it, they said it was booked up. Maybe next time.
13. Before you go you could buy cheaper Disney Costumes, t-shirts, jumpers, pyjamas and accessories in your local Pennys, Primark or online to save money.

The Parade in Disneyland with a Toddler

Make sure to check what times the parades start by looking at your program. Go early to get a good place to stand. A lot of people like standing at the start so when the parade passes you can go off to the different rides to avoid huge queues.

We stood in the middle section and we loved the parade, it is a great way to see all the different Disney characters walk by.

I had my daughter on my back in her Deuter carrier so she could see everything as she was up high.

Our Favourite Toddler Disneyland Attraction – It’s a Small World

You will find It’s a small world in Fantasyland. If you look at your Disney map you will find it easy enough.

I would highly recommend this for all ages. It was just magical. My daughter who was 16 months old at the time absolutely loved it and it was so priceless to see all the expressions on her face.

We left the travel buggy outside the ride, where there is an area for them and carried our daughter in the Deuter carrier the whole way to the boats where the ride starts, it’s about a 3/5 minute walk. We were only waiting about 10 minutes to go to this attraction. We were able to bring the carrier bag on the little boat with us, which was extremely handy.

The boats are all attached like a train and slowly float along the stream. When you go inside its dark and all the little puppets light up and move and sing.

It features over 300 audio-animatronic children in traditional costumes from cultures all around the world.

**Tip: We only went on it once but we wish we went on it the second time as it’s hard to take it all in, as there is so much going on at either side of you and above you. My mam and I still talk about how much we loved it.**

The Perfect picture Opportunity at Disneyland Paris with a Toddler

To be at Disneyland with my mam and my daughter was a dream come true for me. Three generations at the magical world of Disney. So I really wanted to capture this magical moment with the perfect picture.

I came across a very good Disney Youtuber called Sarah Louise Porter http://www.sarahlouiseporter.com/ And this is where I learned this brilliant tip and I’m so excited to share it.

When the fireworks Lumanation Display finishes you will notice the crowds flock towards the exits. So if you wait about 15 mins all the crowds just disappear with the exception of a handful floating around.

You will nearly have the Sleeping Beauty Castle to yourself. We got a few amazing pictures taken in front of the castle with no one in the background of the photo, which is a very rare thing to happen at Disneyland Paris.

Three Generations looking at the castle lit up., it was such a special memorable moment and we were so happy to have it captured. We asked one of the workers who was sweeping up the area at the time to take the picture and he was very happy to do so.

On the way out some of the shops were still open so we got to look around for a few minutes when it was nice and quiet.

So if you are in no rush back to your accommodation it’s well worth the wait.

Overall, we really enjoyed our day in Disneyland Paris with our Toddler. If we had to sum it all up in one word it would be magical. 

We fitted in so much in one day, if you have older children, you would need at least two or three days as a lot of time would be gone queueing for the bigger rides. But for us, a day was just perfect, we got to see so much like how the cartoons were made in the studios, the parades, captain Hooks ship, and skull rock, Alice in Wonderland maze (Alice’s Curious Labyrinth), Sleeping beauties castle and the fireworks display which were breathtaking.

What would I do differently if I was going to Disneyland with a Toddler again?

If going again, we would love to book lunch with the princess and go to the following attractions that we didn’t have time for on this trip.

• Peter Pans Flight
• Pinocchios Fantastic Journey
• Ratatouille

The next day after Disneyland we enjoyed a full day in Paris, but that’s another day’s blog post coming soon.

One Thing Not To Miss in Disneyland with a Toddler

If there is one thing that we would highly recommend, it would be, not to miss the Disney Illumination and fireworks show. Check the times on your program. It is just amazing.  The show features projection Mapping of all the Disney characters onto the Sleeping Beauty Castle, There is a Disney cartoon show, music, fireworks, water fountains that light up, fire, music lasers, mist screens, lasers, searchlights, and other special effects. You will have goosebumps after it. What a way to finish our day at the Disneyland Paris trip.

Our Daughter loved it, we wrapped her up well with her all in one Snow/hiking Columbia suit, Hat, gloves and blankets, she was happy out in her Deuter Carrier, we also had earmuffs to help keep out the loud noises.

Just remember you’re never too young or too old to enjoy Disneyland – this coming from a 1-year-old, a 32-year-old, and a 72-year-old who had the time of their lives.

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We often find ourselves browsing classified websites looking to buy our own campervan or even make one from an old work van but our budget is extremely tight. We always felt that a VW transporter camper would have suited us best, as most of our adventures are done around mountain areas and the beauty of this sort of camper is that it will allow you to park anywhere to stay the night.

We previously hired a campervan before from www.Lazydays.ie and we immediately got hooked but after researching the cost to buy this type of campervan, we just could not spend that kind of money on a luxury item, so we needed another plan.

(Plan B) Our Retro Tent Camper

Gina’s dad bought a tent camper in 1980 and used it for a few road trips with her and her siblings. The kids all grew up and the campervan was demoted to a corner of the garage. Gina’s dad is a man that takes great pride in his vehicles and always keeps his cars spotlessly clean and the same applied to the camper. He thinks the camper went into storage in the mid-90s and was took out in the late 2000s for a kids party for Gina. Unfortunately, at the party a few too many kids jumped on one of the beds and broke the sliding rails, we needed to fix this. The broken sliding rail and a small bit of stitching on the tarps are all that is needed to make the camper useable again. If we could fix both of these things the camper would be immaculate.

We wheeled the camper out of the garage and into the daylight, we think this was the first time it was outside in 20 years. The first thing we noticed, was that the camper body is amazingly clean. We put down the trailer legs to stabilise the body, then we erected the roof using the roller handle.

We pulled out the bed on one side and the sliding rail, after attaching, zipping and joining all the sections of the camper together now we could fully assess all the previous damage. From our initial inspection, we could see the missing aluminium slider was the only thing really stopping us from using the camper. I ordered a new slider rail from an American website that owns the “Coleman Camper” franchise but unfortunately, the supplier does not ship to Ireland, can you believe that!!!

We did a temporary fix with some metal bars and bolts to stop the bed from pivoting off the frame of the camper. As we are in the middle of a heat wave in Ireland, we didn’t even attempt to fix the damaged stitching on the tarps. We did buy new tires for €130 and a cylinder of gas for €30. So we essentially have a camper ready to use for the grand total of €160 and a few bruised knuckles.

Ourlittlehiker testing the new bed base

Our Retro Camper holiday

As we are still in the middle of doing the 32 County high point challenge we decided to have a few days holidays in County Sligo and County Donegal. While we were over in the west of Ireland we may as well climb the county high points. As this was our maiden voyage with the camper, we decided to drive to Sligo first as it was only 3 hours away in the car.

Neither of us had any experience with towing another vehicle, so we took great care attempting this drive. We stopped every 35-40 minutes continuously checking to make sure everything was alright with the trailer and basically checking to see if it was still there. We eventually arrived in Sligo, now all we had to do was find a campsite. The first campsite was full, we were getting nervous now. Luckily The second campsite still had parking spaces, thankfully.

We stayed at Strandhill caravan and camping and it cost €24 per night without electricity. It was interesting trying to survive without electricity for 4 days but fun trying to figure out how to charge our devices.

Strandhill Campsite

When we arrived at Strandhill campsite the only area left to park our camper was a green area beside a carpark and apartment block, not ideal but we did have a 30-second walk to the beach. We reversed into our space (this took us about 30 manoeuvres) but eventually we got into position.

Now the real test started, erecting the tent without Gina’s dad giving me verbal instructions. Amazingly enough, I must have been listening to him when he initially showed me how to erect the tent, as I had it fully upright within 20 minutes. Now that we had a home for the night, we could start to explore the area and get some food.

The campsite is situated perfectly beside the small village and the beach. We really enjoyed walking down to the nice restaurants in the evenings while also been only 5 minutes away from our camper. Ourlittlehiker loved exploring the beach and making sand castles, this was her first time doing this, especially in 30 degrees heat. We used this campsite as a base to hike Sligo and Leitrim highest points, Truskmore, which was a 50-minute drive away.

Unfortunately, we found 2 pretty big negatives about Strandhill campsite:

1. We could not get the keys to work for the toilets and showers, they would work for the women’s toilets but not for the men’s toilets.
2. Our location on the site was maybe a poor choice and we probably didn’t have anywhere else to stay so maybe we shouldn’t complain about this but there was were noisy neighbours beside the campsite.

We only stayed in Strandhill Campsite for one night as we couldn’t stay any longer due to the noise from the apartments and carpark. After hiking Truskmore mountain we came back to the campsite and packed up the camper.

We were back on the road driving to our new destination, Donegal.

Killybegs Campsite

I would say we are a family that love keeps moving and we would generally never return to previously visited holiday locations but we stayed at this campsite in 2016 and it was amazing, so we decided to visit it again. The campsite is in Killybegs and was only 1 hour 15 minutes drive away from our current location in Sligo, so we plugged in the coordinates and started our road trip for Killybegs Donegal.

We arrived at the campsite and was immediately greeted by a familiar friendly face. The owner works at the gate and I’m 100% sure he did not recognise us but we told him that we stayed here in 2016 and we had a pleasant chat and he told us all the information about the campsite that we needed to know. We drove down to park up the camper and thankfully the campsite was very similar to what we remembered previously. The only notable difference was, that the owner had expanded slightly since we were here previously. He had added in additional parking bays further down the hill. This was a massive bonus for us as we would have more privacy.

We parked in the second lowest bay and set up the camper again. 20 minutes later we had a home again, I’m getting good at his now. We did a quick walk around the campsite to check to see were the toilets like similar in condition to our last visit. They were BETTER, the toilets at this campsite are probably the best toilets that we have ever used, anywhere. They seem to be cleaned and filled up every 30 minutes, it is a true credit to the owner how well he keeps the toilets, I think its the small things that make me happy.

The views from this campsite are simply amazing, we look right over Killybegs bay. We parked our camper in such a way to wake up looking at the views in the morning. Where parked our camper sandwiched between some very expensive campervans but thankfully we all had at least 30 meters between each other. The campsite has its own private lagoon, that has crystal clear water which felt like the perfect temperature. Killybegs campsite was pure heaven and a total gem, we loved it here.

We have planned to use Killybegs campsite as a base to explore the Slieve League cliffs and the climb Errigal Mountain.

Slieve League Cliffs Donegal

We woke up nice and early for our first morning in Killybegs campsite. We got the stove and gas working and had a nice sausage breakfast and coffee while enjoying the amazing views looking over the bay below. The peace and quiet at the campsite was pure heaven.

Slieve League was a 30-minute drive away so we were in no rush today. We decided that we were going to take a break from hiking and do some tourist sightseeing. The road below the campsite has a big sign pointing for Slive League, so we just hoped in the car and decided to follow it. This quite possibly wasn’t the brightest idea, we quickly became lost and we couldn’t get a signal on our phones to download google maps. We missed a signpost in the town of Carrick to turn left off the Wild Atlantic way road. After a small detour and us retracing our original route we eventually found the right road to Slieve League cliffs.

We arrived up at the lower car parks for Slive League cliffs, not realising that the gate that was closed over on the road and it could actually be opened and you can drive the whole way to the cliffs. We parked our car in the carpark and started our walk up the hill to Slieve League. The road walk to the attraction is about 1.5km and provides some amazing views, this is well worth doing. Be careful on this section of road as there is only a small area to stand in to allow cars past and some car drivers don’t seem to be aware of the dangers.

On our walk up to Slieve League, it became very obvious that there was an ice cream shop at the viewing point. The knowledge of ice cream spurred us on to reach the top of the road. When we reached the viewing point we all got some ice creams and admired the outstanding cliff views of Slive League. Gina and Ourlittlehiker were loving the ice cream and they disappeared very quickly with the 30-degree heat overhead.

Slieve League Cliff walk

While sitting looking at the Cliffs we saw that a lot of the other people were walking up to the top of the cliffs. The path to the top of Slieve League looked in good condition, we decided to tackle a small hike, after all, we are on a hiking holiday. The slive league cliff walk was quite easy and in a short distance up the cliffs, we had left the crowds behind and were pretty amazing panoramic views of the cliffs below.

We walked to the top of the ridge and decided it wasn’t worth going any further as we were at the highest point at this stage and the views wouldn’t have improved plus the heat was far too hot for pale Irish people. On top of the cliffs, the crowds dwindled massively and we felt that we had far more privacy to soak in the amazing sights of the oceans, wildlife and obviously the cliff.

We sat at the top and decided that we would indulge ourselves and get another ice cream for our walk back down the road, sure why not we were on holidays.

We loved the Slive League cliff walk and would highly recommend it to other holidaymakers looking for good tourist attractions in Donegal. If the weather is bad or you are not able to walk long distances just open the gate on the main road and drive up to the Slieve League Cliff viewing point. Slive League cliffs are a must-see attraction when you are visiting Donegal, just remember to download your google maps for offline viewing as the phone signal is poor in most of the rural towns of Donegal.

Hiking Errigal Mountain Donegal

Unfortunately, we left to climb Errigal mountain until our last day in Donegal and the weather changed drastically, when we reached the mountain there was a low fog hanging over half the mountain and the wind was quite strong even at the base. We hiked halfway up the mountain and decided the conditions were far too poor, so we turned around and cut our losses. We were sad at the time that we had to abandon our hike but we both felt that we made the right move and the safest move for our little family.

Our thoughts on our first Retro camper holiday

We loved our first holiday with the retro camper. We have even decided to go on a small weekend away in Kilkenny the next weekend that we have free. This is a great way to see Ireland, as most of the campsites are only €24 and the peace and quiet in these locations are better than any hotel room. We are looking forward to all our new adventures in our new (old) camper.

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Northern Ireland is in the top northern section of Ireland. The Island of Ireland is separated into two countries, the Republic of Ireland (26 Counties) and Northern Ireland (6 Counties). Northern Ireland belongs to the United Kingdom but it still has its own soccer team similar to Scotland and Wales.

Road Tripping to Northern Ireland top attractions

As we live in the South of Ireland and our house is 4 hours from the main attractions in Northern Ireland, we needed to plan a road trip. We are used to these long driving expeditions, as we are currently undertaking the 32 counties high point challenge (See here).

Preparation for our road trip consists of doing a large grocery shop in our local supermarket for picnics and loads of small breaks. Packing all our hiking and adventure gear and having the car fully stocked for an early start on the morning of the road trip.

Our drive to northern Ireland starts at 5 am on a Saturday morning, we all wake and quickly prepare for the drive. Ourlittlehiker is getting used the early starts and loves a good drive, as she knows at the end she is going on a big adventure. Our road trip consisted of Ourlittlehiker sleeping for 3 hours straight then a small break for snacks and to stretch our legs, then a sing-song for the final hour. You cannot beat a good road trip to build up excitement on the way to Northern Ireland’s top attractions.

Northern Ireland top attractions

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

Our honeymoon in 2015

We previously visited Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge on our honeymoon in 2015, so we knew what was ahead of us but we were still super excited. Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is in the County of Antrim and in the small coastal town of Ballintoy.

The Northern Ireland rope bridge opens at 9:30 am. We arrived at Carrick-a-rede car park at 10 am and the carpark already seemed very busy, car parking in Carrick-A-Rede is free. Our main goal here was to try to get to the rope bridge early to try and beat any possible large queue to cross the bridge.

We all quickly changed our clothes (it was a long drive) and had a small snack and walked down toward the ticket office to buy our tickets to cross the bridge.

How much does it cost to cross Carrick a Rede rope bridge?

The Tickets to walk over the rope bridge cost £8.00 per adult and £4 for a child but Ourlittlehiker was free as she is still a baby.

Walking up to Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge’s ticket office

How long is the walk to Carrick a Rede rope bridge?

The walk from the Carrick-a-rede ticket office to the rope bridge is slightly over 1km but the surface of the footpath is extremely good. The walk to the rope bridge was filled with small footbridges over gorges, viewing points with telescopes and nice seating areas to admire the pure beauty of the cliffs below.

We met many older people walking the footpath to the rope bridge and they all seemed to be struggling slightly with the steep steps on the final section of the footpath descending down to the entrance of Carrick-a-rede. The Map below here shows the sections that have the stepped areas.

The Map of Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge

Carrick a rede rope bridge walk

As we approached the rope bridge we walked down to the entrance of the bridge that has a National Trust Employee checking tickets and that also ensures that only 8 people cross the bridge at one time.

Gina carried Ourlittlehiker in her Deuter backpack for half the walk from the ticket office to the rope bridge, Ourlittlehiker loves being independent lately and has started to walk small safe sections of our trails. We love looking at the excitement in Ourlittlehikers eyes at all the great attraction she gets to explore with us.

We were really lucky and only had to wait to cross the bridge for 2 minutes (this is why we tried to be here early). After the gated entrance, we walked down an extremely steep steel bridge to the start of the rope bridge. The Steel steps are very steep and you will need to hold onto the railing with both hands.

Our first impression of the bridge and crossing onto the island was the scale of the sheer depth of the drop (30m high) and as you would expect, the high standard of maintenance to the bridge, everything on the bridge looks brand new and super safe. While walking over I still kept thinking I was going to trip up and fall from being super clumsy.

Gina carried Ourlittlehiker over the rope bridge and she looked very nervous. I can’t blame her for being nervous because the bridge was swaying in the wind. But it was great fun walking onto Carrick a rede island using the rope bridge and after the adrenaline wore off we were ready to walk back over to the mainland again. We did a small bit of bird watching on the Island but Ourlittlehiker is more interested in sheep at the minute, so we couldn’t keep her attention looking at the birds for too long.

When we were walking back over the rope bridge the wind seemed to pick up slightly, so poor gina and Ourlittlehiker got blown around a little bit more on the return walk to the mainland. As we were walking back out past the entrance gate to the bridge we noticed about a 15-minute queue to get onto the island, so come early to avoid the ques.

We walked back to the main ticket office and got a certificate free of charge from the lovely staff in the office to say that Ourlittlehiker walked over the bridge. The certificate also meant that we got a free Hot chocolate in the Cafe. She also got a free book with “50 things to do before you turn 11 1/3” by the national trust.

Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge Verdict

This is a great tourist attraction and it is easy to see how this is one of Northern Ireland’s top tourist attractions. We loved the rope bridge but we were very lucky with the weather and the crowds were very small when we were there.

• We highly recommend this when visiting Northern Ireland as this is truly one of Northern Ireland’s top Attractions.
• Remember to look for your free Certificate for your child, and hot chocolate ;)

The Giants Causeway- Northern Ireland top attractions

After leaving Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, we drove to the Giants Causeway. This took us around 20 minutes because we stopped a couple of times to admire the beautiful scenery along the coastal road. This is regarded as one of Northern Ireland’s top attractions by many people.

The Giant’s Causeway Facts

The Giants Causeway is in the County of Antrim and beside the town of Bushmills, that is also famous for its Whiskey (the Whiskey tours here are very good). The Giants Causeway rock formation was formed because of volcanic activity around 50 million years ago. Folklore stories suggest that the Giant Finn Mac Cool built the causeway to fight a Scottish giant, this is the story we told Ourlittlehiker, the volcanic stuff can wait for another time.

The Giants Causeway Visitor Centre is one of Northern Ireland top attractions

The Giants Causeway has a large car park that is fully attended by helpful staff to direct you to unoccupied spaces. The visitor centre is built into the side of the hill and is very conspicuously concealed, it has a lovely green roof (my construction lecturer would be proud that I remembered that) and stone columns on the side giving it an appearance of the unique rock formation at the sea, which is pretty cool.

It cost £11.50 each per adult to park at the visitor and to enter the visitor centre. It is actually free to walk down to the Giants Causeway but the whole area and facilities at the Giants Causeway are definitely some of the best on the island of Ireland in terms of tourist amenities, so I do not mind paying for better quality facilities.

We did our usual quick look around the visitor centre and went straight out to the main tourist attraction. We walked out into an area that had a queue for a bus that delivers people from the visitor centre to the Giants Causeway attraction.

As we love a good hike, we walked down the road towards the sea, about 20 meters down the road, we saw the rock that marked Giants Causeway. We loved the walk down the road to the Giants Causeway, we walked along the side of the road on a tarmac footpath but as it was sunny out, the footpath was very crowded and we sometimes had to step onto the road. This was not the safest option as the bus drivers delivering tourist’s down to the Causeway seemed to drive pretty hard, so keep an eye out for this if you walk down,

We quickly reached the start of the Giants Causeway, the rock formation on the coastline is an amazing sight. We walked down toward the sea to get a few pictures but the crowds were pretty big in every direction we turned so we decided to walk back toward the higher section of the volcanic rocks.

After hanging around for 10 minutes trying to get some space from the growing crowds we finally got a nice picture. We were on a pretty tight time schedule as we had only budgeted enough time to walk down to the Northern Ireland top attraction and then walk back to the car but we decided we would try to get a quick hike in while we were here at the causeway.

The Giants Causeway Hiking trails

Views from the Giants Causeway Cliff walk

We decided to hike the “Red Trail” up over the top of the hill behind the giant’s causeway. The trail starts by following the edge of Port Noffer along a gravel track, which then starts to rise until we reached a Y in the path. The path that we followed was signposted for 162 steps which cut through the side of the Giants causeway cliff. The views from here are amazing.

The path rises really quickly and the steps are very manageable. There are really good handrails on the sides of the steps and rest stops, so we reached the top of the Red trial really quickly. When we reached the top of the path we noticed that the majority of the crowd stay down at the coastline of the giant’s causeway and don’t venture up into the hill, so it was really nice to get breathing room to chat and play with Ourlittlehiker.

The path on the top of the Giants Causeway Red trail hike was flooded with lovely yellow Gorse flowers that gave off an amazing smell of coconut. It was lovely walking along the cliff edge looking down at the Giants Causeway with a lovely smell of Coconut in the air.

When we reached the peak of the hill we could look right down on to the Giants Causeway and the views of the coastline were simply amazing. It’s a pity that more people do not walk this trail when they are visiting this tourist attraction. As for us, we feel this provided the best views along the Giants Causeway coastline.

We continued along the trail which now had sheep on one side and Coconut smelling flowers on the other. The trail was leading us back toward the visitor centre and within 10 minutes we were back at the visitor centre. When we walked into the visitor centre, we took Ourlittlehiker out of her bag and she was loving all the animated Giants on the big screens and the cartoons.

Ourlittlehiker enjoying the movie

The Giants Causeway Verdict

The Giants Causeway is one of northern Ireland top attractions, and it deserves to be as well. Okay, they charge you to access the visitor centre and neglect to tell you that it’s actually free to walk down to the Giants Causeway. The visitor centre cost is a little bit pricey too, I do not mind paying for a good experience and good facilities but I felt we only spent 10 minutes here and the rest of the time down at the Giants Causeway.

The crowds at this attraction are massive and way bigger than we had expected, many of the tourists here seemed to forget basic manners and would nearly push you out of the way to get a photograph.

If you are visiting the Giants Causeway consider walking the “Red Trial” to get the best views and some space to soak in the beauty of the Giants Causeway.

Slieve Donard Mountain Hike

We previously hiked Slieve Donard, see here for some hiking tips. If you are into good mountain hikes or even amazing mountain views, this hike is located in the town of Newcastle and is one Northern Ireland’s top attractions and it’s totally free. This is the best hike in Northern Ireland. Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in Ulster and Northern Ireland. The views on this hike are amazing, the Woodland trails run parallel to a river and waterfalls and the pathway provides a perfectly safe access route to the mountain peak. This hike will take 3-5 hours to walk but it is worth every second.

Family Friendly Accommodation in Northern Ireland

Glamping

After we did all our exploring around Northern Ireland, we were ready to check into our Glamping accommodation. Our Glamping site was called Carrowmena activity centre and was located near Limavady. This suited us perfectly as we were going to hike a County high point near here the following day. The Glamping site is situated on an old school grounds in the centre of the local town.

We booked into the Glamping site 1 week previous to our arrival, as we were over 4 hours drive away from our house. We were really lucky to get the last available Bell tent in the campsite. It cost £70 to stay in the Bell tent for the night, the tent has 2 single beds and 1 double bed so potentially sleeps, 4 people. The Northern Ireland Glamping experience was Ourlittlehikers first time in a tent and she loved it, I’m not too sure if it was that the bed were at perfect height for her to run and jump onto or she simply just loved the tent but she laughed for 1 hour straight, so that made us two very happy parents.

Like many campsites, the Carrowmena glamping site had a shared a kitchen, shower and toilets with the other glampers, for us, this makes the experience even more fun. All the kids at the campsite were all running around laughing and joking all night. We have stayed in a lot of campsites and Carrowmena has possibly the nicest, most polite staff we have ever met. The staff could not have been any more helpful and super informative.

Carrowmena Activity Centre Verdict

Carrowmena Glamping gets a 10 out of 10 for the staff alone, we will be coming back here the next time we are in Northern Ireland hiking and camping.

Thank you.

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