Facilities available around Kilcock when using self-catering accommodation as a holiday base

Royal Canal Court, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland
for the Academic Year or for self-catered Summer Letting

Sport and other Activities

Golf
This 18-hole parkland course is situated just two miles away. It is ideal for a pleasant round of golf - light rough, and flat greens with the trees that line the undulating fairways adding to the challenge. It has a Practice area, 18 holes totaling 5801 metres, S.S.S.70. Green fees are €15 on weekdays and €17 at weekends.

The K Club is a bit more expensive (!) but is only about 20 minutes away by car.

Imagine getting accommodation and a day's golf for as little as €22, which for our British tourists is £14.25, per person per day based on full occupancy of the three bedroom apartments.

Information on other golf clubs in Kildare.

Golf clubs in Meath are also on hand.

The Curragh Racecourse
The Curragh is the headquarters of Flat Racing in Ireland, hosting all five Classic Races including the Budweiser Irish Derby. The Racecourse includes restaurants, bars, hospitality suites and viewing areas. The racetrack lies on the Curragh Plains ca. 20 miles from Kilcock. The Curragh training ground spreads over 1500 acres and includes numerous gallops ranging from all-weather to grass to sand. Click on their website for further details and race meeting dates.

Fishing in the Royal Canal
The canal bank can be accessed directly from the apartments. The canal above and below the lock, which is about 100 metres away, is an excellent winter roach fishery and bags between 6-10lbs can be expected. Bread punch is the most effective winter bait. The pontoon below the lock contains large roach skimmers and hybrids in deep water. Caster and chopped worm are effective for the larger fish here. The level above the lock contains pike to specimen weight. The species available are roach, bream, rudd, pike, perch and trench.

More details of fishing in the area can be found at:
www.homepage.tinet.ie/~rcag/fish/fish.html
www.iwai.ie/maps/royal/maps.royal.fishing.html

Details of other fishing in Kildare.

Walking the Royal Canal Way
The Royal Canal Way will eventually link Dublin with the River Shannon at Clondra in Co. Longford along the towpath of the Royal Canal. The Royal Canal was closed in 1960, and the towpath and the channel both became overgrown. Today they are being restored for recreation, including walking. Until the restoration is completed, the Royal Canal Way will end in Mullingar. Being a canal bank walk, the gradient is never steep, making it an ideal introduction to long distance walking. However, walking the Royal Canal Way is possible already either as a long distance walk or as a series of short walks. The total distance of the walk is 48 miles while the longest stage is that between Enfield and Thomastown, a distance of 14 miles.

For example: Leixlip walk

Barge tours can be taken on the Grand Canal from Robertstown. details

Photographs of the canal

Canoeing
With such close proximity to the canal it is no surprise that Kilcock is the perfect village for canoeing. The International Canoe Polo Competition took place in Kilcock in September 2002 and was very successful attracting a huge crowd.

The 5th European Canoe Polo Championships 14th-17th August 2003 is in Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland.

Places of Interest, Trips and Tours

Heritage Tours
Kilcock is located on the Meath border with Kildare and so is within easy reach of all the heritage sites in county Meath. The World's most famous Archaeological Valley and world heritage site, the Boyne Valley, and it's Megalithic Monuments is, for the most part, based in County Meath.

A tour traces the development of the Valley from Neolithic to modern man and his beliefs from Pagan via Christian through to a Monastic age. The Anglo-Norman period also features strongly in this tour. A visit to the the Meath Tourism website will help.

Donadea Forest Park
Donadea Forest Park is located 8km south of Kilcock on the R407 to Naas and is also accessible via the R407 about 13km north of Naas on the Kilcock road. The Forest Park has a car park, picnic site, toilet and a variety of forest walks. The Park is situated in the lush pasture lands of Kildare and is fairly typical of a demesne landscape, comprising of mixed woodland.

Donadea originally belonged to the Bermingham family and it passed into the hands of the Aylmers in the first half of the 16th century. The ruin is an accumulation of rebuilding over the centuries and is a fascinating succession from a Norman keep, which can be readily distinguished, to a 1624 house, a 1775 reconstruction and a further reconstruction when the wings were enclosed in the 1830s. The last of the line of Donadea Aylmers died in 1935.

The Nature Trail is less than 2.5km long and winds through the various natural and man-made elements that make up Donadea. There is also the short Shrubbery Trail - only 300 meters long - which has been laid through the collection of trees and shrubs planted in the last century.

There is a magnificent grove of beech, approximately 150 years old, which covers an area of 1 hectare. Other broadleaved species include young oak - planted in 1938 and common ash. Sitka spruce, grand fir and Norway spruce are also present. The Shrubbery Trail has holm oak, horse chestnut, copper beech, silver birch, larch, hazel, yew, Lawson cypress and monkey puzzle.

Flora - Along the walls, the ivy-leaved toadflax, maidenhair spleenworth and hart's tongue fern can be observed. The muddy bottom of the shallow lake provides an ideal habitat for aquatic plants. Pond weed is abundant while reed mace is prominent in the shallow waters. The large-leaved yellow water lily can also be seen.
Fauna - In Donadea Woods both the red and grey squirrel can be seen. On the lake our most common duck, the mallard, is present all year round. Coots and moorhens can also be seen. The mute swan is an occasional visitor.

The Japanese Gardens
The symbolism of life the gardens portray traces the journey of a soul from Oblivion to Eternity. The human experiences of the soul's embodiment as it journeys through the paths of life are displayed in the symbolic surrounds of each of the twenty stages throughout the garden. Each stage absorbs the mood and atmosphere of its representation. On descending the 'Hill of Learning' to the level of his fellow students he resists the temptation of the easy path and follows the more challenging rugged path of adventure that leads step-by-step through his adolescent years to the 'Parting of the Ways'.

Descending from the summit of the 'Hill of Ambition' the couple pause by the waterfall to pray to their god who makes the way easier and the bridge across the water smooth. Upon crossing, they reach the 'Tea House' and the miniature Japanese Village. On reaching the 'Well of Wisdom' the couple pause to wish for enlightenment before crossing the 'Red Bridge of Life' which leads them into the 'Garden of Peace and Contentment' beyond.

The Irish National Stud
The farm at Tully, Kildare, which is today the home of the Irish National Stud, was the brainchild of Colonel William Hall-Walker, a Scotsman in 1900. He decided, much against the wishes of his father, to breed thoroughbred horses at Tully. Hall-Walker's views on breeding have been described as inspired, preposterous and eccentric. The ten stallion boxes with their distinctive lantern roofs stand as proof of his highly successful, extraordinary policies on breeding and management. He believed that the stars dictated the destiny of all living creatures. He therefore considered it very important that the moon and stars should exercise their maximum influence on their subjects and thus skylights were incorporated into the roofs of all stabling he built.

Bogs
For centuries, peat has been a vital part of rural life in Ireland. This can be seen at Peatland World, run by Jim Kenna, of Lullymore, Bog of Allen, Co. Kildare. Cutting and 'bringing home the turf' was a community activity. A cheap and efficient fuel in bad times and good, it provided a focal point in the hearths of cottages and farmhouses. Stories were told, songs were sung, music and games were played and school homework was done in the glow of turf fires. At Peatland World, you can discover the social impact of turf production through recreations, samples, models and photographs.

You will see: Pre-historic artifacts that were preserved in bogland; A typical Irish Cottage Kitchen from the early 1900's with a turf fire and traditional hearth; Mementoes of turf-cutting camps and competitions; Examples of turf-cutting implements and equipment.

As the 20th century progressed, peat became an important energy and employment source. Milled peat provided fuel for electric power generation. Smokeless compressed peat 'briquettes' reduced domestic fuel pollution problems. Peat moss won international acclaim as a growth medium for garden plants. Ireland's peat enterprise and technology became a model for the world. At Peatland World, you can follow the progress of these achievements through displays featuring: detailed scale models of briquette factories and peat-fuelled power stations; peat fuel samples from all over the world; examples of experimental peat-based products - from cosmetics to clothing, and from insulation to postcards; peat technology presentations.

Celbridge Abbey
Set amid the magnificent Celbridge Abbey Grounds, features of the abbey include historical guided tours, nature study tours, flora and fauna, themed walks and a model railway. There is also a restaurant, children's playground, natural woodland gardens and garden centre.

Castletown House
Castletown House is the first grand Palladian House in Ireland - the design of the building led to the construction of Leinster House and from thence to the White House in Washington, D.C. Begun in 1722 by Speaker William Conolly (1662-1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, the lands of the estate lie between Leixlip and Celbridge.

Conolly commissioned the Italian architect Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737) to prepare plans for the house. With Galilei's return to Italy in 1718 overseeing actual construction was left to Edward Lovett Pearse who was in possession of Palladio's 'Quattro Libri dell Architettura' - four books on Architecture which were printed in Venice in 1570. Palladio's books drew heavily on the classical orders and reflected the essence of High Renaissance philosophy of calm and balance or harmony. Castletown House reflects the balance of that philosophy with a great central block of grey stone flanked by golden Ardbraccan stone curved colonnades that join the kitchen and stables to the main house.

'The Wonderful Barn' - went up in 1743, with the stairs ascending upwards around the exterior of the building. It is flanked by two smaller towers. A granary, short tower and dovecote have all been put forward as reasons for building the unique structure. In Georgian times it was a custom to use doves as a delicacy when other animal sources of food were not in season. The height of structure would also lend itself to sport shooting, while a central hole through each of the floors would suggest a place to store grain.

Larchill Arcadian Gardens
Larchill is the sole surviving example in Ireland or England of the mid-18th century style of garden known as 'ferme ornée'. This unique ornamental farm represents a key link in the history of Irish landscape gardening between the formal garden and the fully-fledged landscaped park of the 18th century. There are some 10 follies set in 26 ha of parkland. The follies are situated along a circular walk through beech avenues of about 1 km. This scenic walk links the classical and gothic castellated follies: there are special resting places, and gazeboes with fabulous views of the Wicklow mountains. Along the walk there is a 3 ha restored lake with its island fortress and circular Greek temple.

The ornamental parkland is stocked with rare and exotic breeds of domestic farm animals and there is a walled garden within the demesne.

Try here for other gardens in the area.

Carton House
Carton House is situated about three miles (ca. 5 Km) from Kilcock beside the M4 motorway. This great house is nestled among a most beautiful setting of trees and lawns. The Rye Water weaves its way through the estate lands until it joins the river Liffey at Leixlip.
www.kildare.ie/Heritage/History/historic/houses/carton-house.htm
www.jamesfennell.com/irishcoutry_files/carton.html
www.leisureways.com/index.html

Other Tourist Attractions in Co. Kildare can be found on the Kildare.ie site

To find any of the places mentioned above including the apartments themselves try this site

For other helpful information try our LINKS PAGE


				Royal Canal Court, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland for the Academic Year or for self-catered Summer Letting Sport and other Activities Golf This 18-hole parkland course is situated just two miles away. It is ideal for a pleasant round of golf - light rough, and flat greens with the trees that line the undulating fairways adding to the challenge. It has a Practice area, 18 holes totaling 5801 metres, S.S.S.70. Green fees are €15 on weekdays and €17 at weekends. The K Club is a bit more expensive (!) but is only about 20 minutes away by car. Imagine getting accommodation and a day's golf for as little as €22, which for our British tourists is £14.25, per person per day based on full occupancy of the three bedroom apartments. Information on other golf clubs in Kildare. Golf clubs in Meath are also on hand. The Curragh Racecourse The Curragh is the headquarters of Flat Racing in Ireland, hosting all five Classic Races including the Budweiser Irish Derby. The Racecourse includes restaurants, bars, hospitality suites and viewing areas. The racetrack lies on the Curragh Plains ca. 20 miles from Kilcock. The Curragh training ground spreads over 1500 acres and includes numerous gallops ranging from all-weather to grass to sand. Click on their website for further details and race meeting dates. Fishing in the Royal Canal The canal bank can be accessed directly from the apartments. The canal above and below the lock, which is about 100 metres away, is an excellent winter roach fishery and bags between 6-10lbs can be expected. Bread punch is the most effective winter bait. The pontoon below the lock contains large roach skimmers and hybrids in deep water. Caster and chopped worm are effective for the larger fish here. The level above the lock contains pike to specimen weight. The species available are roach, bream, rudd, pike, perch and trench. More details of fishing in the area can be found at: www.homepage.tinet.ie/~rcag/fish/fish.html www.iwai.ie/maps/royal/maps.royal.fishing.html Details of other fishing in Kildare. Walking the Royal Canal Way The Royal Canal Way will eventually link Dublin with the River Shannon at Clondra in Co. Longford along the towpath of the Royal Canal. The Royal Canal was closed in 1960, and the towpath and the channel both became overgrown. Today they are being restored for recreation, including walking. Until the restoration is completed, the Royal Canal Way will end in Mullingar. Being a canal bank walk, the gradient is never steep, making it an ideal introduction to long distance walking. However, walking the Royal Canal Way is possible already either as a long distance walk or as a series of short walks. The total distance of the walk is 48 miles while the longest stage is that between Enfield and Thomastown, a distance of 14 miles. For example: Leixlip walk Barge tours can be taken on the Grand Canal from Robertstown. details Photographs of the canal Canoeing With such close proximity to the canal it is no surprise that Kilcock is the perfect village for canoeing. The International Canoe Polo Competition took place in Kilcock in September 2002 and was very successful attracting a huge crowd. The 5th European Canoe Polo Championships 14th-17th August 2003 is in Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Places of Interest, Trips and Tours Heritage Tours Kilcock is located on the Meath border with Kildare and so is within easy reach of all the heritage sites in county Meath. The World's most famous Archaeological Valley and world heritage site, the Boyne Valley, and it's Megalithic Monuments is, for the most part, based in County Meath. A tour traces the development of the Valley from Neolithic to modern man and his beliefs from Pagan via Christian through to a Monastic age. The Anglo-Norman period also features strongly in this tour. A visit to the the Meath Tourism website will help. Donadea Forest Park Donadea Forest Park is located 8km south of Kilcock on the R407 to Naas and is also accessible via the R407 about 13km north of Naas on the Kilcock road. The Forest Park has a car park, picnic site, toilet and a variety of forest walks. The Park is situated in the lush pasture lands of Kildare and is fairly typical of a demesne landscape, comprising of mixed woodland. Donadea originally belonged to the Bermingham family and it passed into the hands of the Aylmers in the first half of the 16th century. The ruin is an accumulation of rebuilding over the centuries and is a fascinating succession from a Norman keep, which can be readily distinguished, to a 1624 house, a 1775 reconstruction and a further reconstruction when the wings were enclosed in the 1830s. The last of the line of Donadea Aylmers died in 1935. The Nature Trail is less than 2.5km long and winds through the various natural and man-made elements that make up Donadea. There is also the short Shrubbery Trail - only 300 meters long - which has been laid through the collection of trees and shrubs planted in the last century. There is a magnificent grove of beech, approximately 150 years old, which covers an area of 1 hectare. Other broadleaved species include young oak - planted in 1938 and common ash. Sitka spruce, grand fir and Norway spruce are also present. The Shrubbery Trail has holm oak, horse chestnut, copper beech, silver birch, larch, hazel, yew, Lawson cypress and monkey puzzle. Flora - Along the walls, the ivy-leaved toadflax, maidenhair spleenworth and hart's tongue fern can be observed. The muddy bottom of the shallow lake provides an ideal habitat for aquatic plants. Pond weed is abundant while reed mace is prominent in the shallow waters. The large-leaved yellow water lily can also be seen. Fauna - In Donadea Woods both the red and grey squirrel can be seen. On the lake our most common duck, the mallard, is present all year round. Coots and moorhens can also be seen. The mute swan is an occasional visitor. The Japanese Gardens The symbolism of life the gardens portray traces the journey of a soul from Oblivion to Eternity. The human experiences of the soul's embodiment as it journeys through the paths of life are displayed in the symbolic surrounds of each of the twenty stages throughout the garden. Each stage absorbs the mood and atmosphere of its representation. On descending the 'Hill of Learning' to the level of his fellow students he resists the temptation of the easy path and follows the more challenging rugged path of adventure that leads step-by-step through his adolescent years to the 'Parting of the Ways'. Descending from the summit of the 'Hill of Ambition' the couple pause by the waterfall to pray to their god who makes the way easier and the bridge across the water smooth. Upon crossing, they reach the 'Tea House' and the miniature Japanese Village. On reaching the 'Well of Wisdom' the couple pause to wish for enlightenment before crossing the 'Red Bridge of Life' which leads them into the 'Garden of Peace and Contentment' beyond. The Irish National Stud The farm at Tully, Kildare, which is today the home of the Irish National Stud, was the brainchild of Colonel William Hall-Walker, a Scotsman in 1900. He decided, much against the wishes of his father, to breed thoroughbred horses at Tully. Hall-Walker's views on breeding have been described as inspired, preposterous and eccentric. The ten stallion boxes with their distinctive lantern roofs stand as proof of his highly successful, extraordinary policies on breeding and management. He believed that the stars dictated the destiny of all living creatures. He therefore considered it very important that the moon and stars should exercise their maximum influence on their subjects and thus skylights were incorporated into the roofs of all stabling he built. Bogs For centuries, peat has been a vital part of rural life in Ireland. This can be seen at Peatland World, run by Jim Kenna, of Lullymore, Bog of Allen, Co. Kildare. Cutting and 'bringing home the turf' was a community activity. A cheap and efficient fuel in bad times and good, it provided a focal point in the hearths of cottages and farmhouses. Stories were told, songs were sung, music and games were played and school homework was done in the glow of turf fires. At Peatland World, you can discover the social impact of turf production through recreations, samples, models and photographs. You will see: Pre-historic artifacts that were preserved in bogland; A typical Irish Cottage Kitchen from the early 1900's with a turf fire and traditional hearth; Mementoes of turf-cutting camps and competitions; Examples of turf-cutting implements and equipment. As the 20th century progressed, peat became an important energy and employment source. Milled peat provided fuel for electric power generation. Smokeless compressed peat 'briquettes' reduced domestic fuel pollution problems. Peat moss won international acclaim as a growth medium for garden plants. Ireland's peat enterprise and technology became a model for the world. At Peatland World, you can follow the progress of these achievements through displays featuring: detailed scale models of briquette factories and peat-fuelled power stations; peat fuel samples from all over the world; examples of experimental peat-based products - from cosmetics to clothing, and from insulation to postcards; peat technology presentations. Celbridge Abbey Set amid the magnificent Celbridge Abbey Grounds, features of the abbey include historical guided tours, nature study tours, flora and fauna, themed walks and a model railway. There is also a restaurant, children's playground, natural woodland gardens and garden centre. Castletown House Castletown House is the first grand Palladian House in Ireland - the design of the building led to the construction of Leinster House and from thence to the White House in Washington, D.C. Begun in 1722 by Speaker William Conolly (1662-1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, the lands of the estate lie between Leixlip and Celbridge. Conolly commissioned the Italian architect Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737) to prepare plans for the house. With Galilei's return to Italy in 1718 overseeing actual construction was left to Edward Lovett Pearse who was in possession of Palladio's 'Quattro Libri dell Architettura' - four books on Architecture which were printed in Venice in 1570. Palladio's books drew heavily on the classical orders and reflected the essence of High Renaissance philosophy of calm and balance or harmony. Castletown House reflects the balance of that philosophy with a great central block of grey stone flanked by golden Ardbraccan stone curved colonnades that join the kitchen and stables to the main house. 'The Wonderful Barn' - went up in 1743, with the stairs ascending upwards around the exterior of the building. It is flanked by two smaller towers. A granary, short tower and dovecote have all been put forward as reasons for building the unique structure. In Georgian times it was a custom to use doves as a delicacy when other animal sources of food were not in season. The height of structure would also lend itself to sport shooting, while a central hole through each of the floors would suggest a place to store grain. Larchill Arcadian Gardens Larchill is the sole surviving example in Ireland or England of the mid-18th century style of garden known as 'ferme ornée'. This unique ornamental farm represents a key link in the history of Irish landscape gardening between the formal garden and the fully-fledged landscaped park of the 18th century. There are some 10 follies set in 26 ha of parkland. The follies are situated along a circular walk through beech avenues of about 1 km. This scenic walk links the classical and gothic castellated follies: there are special resting places, and gazeboes with fabulous views of the Wicklow mountains. Along the walk there is a 3 ha restored lake with its island fortress and circular Greek temple. The ornamental parkland is stocked with rare and exotic breeds of domestic farm animals and there is a walled garden within the demesne. Try here for other gardens in the area. Carton House Carton House is situated about three miles (ca. 5 Km) from Kilcock beside the M4 motorway. This great house is nestled among a most beautiful setting of trees and lawns. The Rye Water weaves its way through the estate lands until it joins the river Liffey at Leixlip. www.kildare.ie/Heritage/History/historic/houses/carton-house.htm www.jamesfennell.com/irishcoutry_files/carton.html www.leisureways.com/index.html Other Tourist Attractions in Co. Kildare can be found on the Kildare.ie site To find any of the places mentioned above including the apartments themselves try this site For other helpful information try our LINKS PAGE