Family Fun in Tinahely

Even though I live only three miles from the Wicklow border, I always tend to head for Wexford attractions when we go off for a family day out. Today we went to the Railway walk in Tinahely. There is a large car park with picnic tables at the entrance. There is an information board at the entrance with an old photo of a train that used to run between Woodenbridge and Shillelagh and pass through this old railway line. There is information on plant life to watch out for also.

I really like this walk because it’s pretty flat and easy. There isn’t too much moaning about being ‘too tired’ to walk. We only walked 1 km down the walk and back today but it took the best part of an hour. There is plenty of adventures for small boys on the way. There is a big bridge to go under and shout to make your voice echo, a ‘trolls’ bridge over a small river, a stile to climb, cows and horses to spot, and some easy trees to climb. The walkway branches off almost straight away, we took the walkway towards Tomnafinnoge woods every time we’ve visited so I don’t know yet what is down the other way signposted Togher. I found out later on today that you can enter the railway walk from the other side on the Shillelagh Road and go straight into the woods from there. We will try this another day.

After our walk we went to find The Farm Shop which I had recently heard about. It is through Tinahely and about half a mile out the Shillelagh road. We went into the quaint little shop. It was full of local crafts, toys, gifts, local foodstuffs, organic foods and they carried some gluten and dairy free goods also. Had I been there alone, I could’ve spent half an hour looking at all the nice things, instead of pulling the boys away from the breakables. We ate lunch in a sunny spot outside the shop, I ordered a hummous plate and a smoked salmon plate between myself and the two boys. It came with delicious relish, the hummous was home made and all the food was delicious. The staff were knowledgable and helpful with choosing these options as they were dairy free. The owners Philip and Rebecca, came out to talk to us and they were very friendly. They told us how they used to have a dairy farm but they packed it in three years ago and the cow sheds are now the shop and restaurant part.

After lunch we walked along to look at all the animals, there is a walkway with several different animals to see, pot bellied pigs, sheep, llamas, donkeys, hens, ducks, goats. I believe there are emus coming in the near future too.

It was 5 euro per child for the play barn which is reasonable considering the amount of amusements inside. As I’d have bet my money on, the tractor course and the indoor beach were the favourites but there were lots of other options too – basketball, table tennis, chess, draughts, a giant blackboard, a kitchen complete with play food and a till to play restaurant, hoop throwing, giant dominoes and giant connect 4. I will definitely be returning to The Farm Shop with the boys, it was a big hit with them.

All in all Tinahely with its stunning mountain backdrop is a fab day out with the kids.