Our Top 10 FREE days out…

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Admission to the following locations is FREE.

 

Ardgillan Castle, Dublin
Situated in North Dublin, Ardgillan Castle provides a lovely outdoor setting for family walks. Overlooking the east Dublin coastline, the location has a large outdoor playground with many features and obstacles – all FREE!

Burren Perfumery, Clare
Did you know that 70% of Ireland’s wild flowers are located in the Burren. The area has a floral diversity unlike anywhere else in Ireland. 40 years ago, the nice people at Burren Perfumery started using local floral and fauna to create unique soaps, perfumes and body scrubs. Visit the workshop and see these being made, stroll through the scented gardens a chat with staff. Admission is FREE.

Castlecomer Discovery Park, Kilkenny
Castlecomer Discovery park offers an outdoor paradise with 80 acres of stunning natural woodland and lakes. Take a picnic and pick up your complimentary park map outlining the nature trails and walks for all the family to enjoy. Entry to the park is FREE, with a nominal charge of €2 for all day car parking.

Colin Glen Forest Park, Antrim
The beautiful woodland glen is situated on the edge of Belfast and provides a stunning location for family walks and outings. Self guided routes are provided through way-marked trails and over 3.5 miles of wheelchair and pram friendly walkways, allow you to get out and get amongst nature. Admission is FREE, the fresh air and beautiful scenery are free too!

Coppercoast Geo Park, Waterford
A Geopark is an area with a geological heritage of European significance. This is an outdoor geology museum which runs along the coastline in South Ireland between the towns of Dungarvan & Tramore. Take self guided walks and explore different rock formations, read educational plagues along the route. It’s only a 460 million year old story captured in stone and is a UNESCO protected Global Geopark!

Glenveagh National Park, Donegal
Formerly managed as a private deer forest, Glenveagh became one of Ireland’s 6 National parks in 1975. This is an area of spectacular outdoor beauty with a vast array of natural woodland, fauna and animals. Enjoy outdoor walks in this spectacular setting or pop into the visitor centre which provides an interesting introduction to the area, Glenveagh castle and the many features and events available. Admission to the park and visitor centre are FREE.

National Museum(s) of Ireland, (Dublin & Sligo)
There are 4 National Museums in Ireland which continue to provide educational, audio visual and visitor exhibitions to generations of families and visitors from both home and abroad. The Natural History Museum in Dublin city centre is always a favorite with the kids where they can view large skeletons of mammals and exotic animals. The museums provide a fascinating glimpse of the world around around us, through exhibitions and displays of animals, people, machinery, science and technology. Admission to all museums is FREE.

Scrabo Country Park, Down
Situated in County Down, the park offers incredible views over Strangford Lough and the surrounding countryside. Scrabo Tower sits on top of Scrabo hill and is a well known landmark, built in 1857. Inside the tower you can see an exhibition and short video detailing its history and visitors can take the trek to the top of the tower where it’s said on a clear day, you can see Scotland! Enjoy walks along the many paths and disused quarry. Spring is a beautiful time of year at Scrabo park when the area becomes a matted carpet of spring flowers. Admission is FREE.

The Donkey Sanctuary, Cork
The Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland is an Irish registered charity working to improve conditions for donkeys and mules. Helping donkeys and rescuing them from some terrible conditions is the main work provided by the charity. We’ve included this in our free days out guide to recognise the hard and caring work that the sanctuary team carry out.Visitors are very welcome to the sanctuary where kids can get close to these lovely animals, pet them and offer them attention. Admission is FREE. Small donations at your own discretion but with no obligation. Many workshops on caring for animals are also FREE.

Wicklow Mountains National Park, Wicklow
Another National Park of stunning scenery, a visit to Wicklow is not complete without seeing Glendalough (the glen of the two lakes). Every Dublin school would have visited Glendaloguh at some stage on school tours and field trips and the St Kevin’s round tower is part of our heritage.Extensive work has been carried out on the area to make it more wheelchair and buggy friendly and it’s simply a stunning location and a wonderful family day out to walk near the Upper & Lower lakes. Take a look at some of the gravestones in the grounds of St Kevin’s church and then ask yourself if you feel old!

Please share your day out experience with us. Know somewhere that’s FREE or great value for money? Send us your comments and pictures and we’ll share the love…