Things to do in the area with visitor this wknd?

PetraMac

This weekend a friend is visiting from abroad and I'm a bit stuck for things to do given the time of year and the weather. A lot of things are still closed or not operating at full service. E.g. I was going to take her to Kilmokea but see on the website that the garden and tea room only open in March. On the list so far are: walk on Woodstown beach (weather permitting), cinema one of the evenings, lunch somewhere nice. We are not much into sitting in pubs. Any other suggestions much appreciated!

ZiMZuM

A drive upto Mahon Falls/Magic Road is always nice!

SUNGOD

tour of the glass factory (before its closed), kilmeaden railway ,garter lane and christ church has its jan-march listings out at the moment.copper coast .rent surf boards in tramore or the dunmore adventure centre does stuff like canoeing /absailing i think.not sure if they are open this time of year though.

and a visit to the lovely modern art exhibition of recycled metal on the citys north quays intitled "a pile of scrap" its a must for any tourist

CantGetNoSleep

The water in tramore is absolutely freezing, be warned before you go

Sully

If your going to the cinema make sure you avoid the old scrap heap on Patrick Street and make your way out to the new one Storm Cinema.

If heading out to Tramore, check out this useful site for places to see/go: Discover Tramore. Laserblast is a fun place to go, and if the weather permits get a surf board and head out for a paddle. Take a stroll down the the sand dunnes (while we still have them!) or take the Doneraille Walk (follow the walk signs). Vic Cafe is a popular place for lunch, and the Esquire is nice for an evening meal. Nightlife in Tramore isnt what it used to be, but the pubs are a great craic. The Vic is a popular choice. Afterwards, you could take a stroll up to one of the chipers like Tonys.

deise-lady

What about Reginalds Tower? Is that closed for the winter?

mayordenis

lunch somewhere real nice would be l'atmosphere

fricatus

mayordenis wrote: »

lunch somewhere real nice would be l'atmosphere

Yep, deaf-a-nightly... that gets my vote!

paul666

mayordenis wrote: »

lunch somewhere real nice would be l'atmosphere

make sure u bring plenty money though

Freddie59

Not strictly Waterford, but how about the Passage East Car Ferry and down the Hook Peninsula? If it's a bit breezy on the day the rugged terrain can be strangely beautiful, especially down at the land's end by the Lighthouse.:)

fricatus

paul666 wrote: »

make sure u bring plenty money though

It's no more expensive than any other restaurant around town (not counting pubs, panini-and-chips places or McDonald's). For dinner, a friend and I paid €40 a head, for (IMHO) the best restaurant in Waterford.

I don't know how much lunch costs, but they have a fantastic early-bird deal: €20 per person for starter, main and dessert, plus a glass of wine. You don't have the choice of the à-la-carte menu, maybe only two options for each course, but who cares? There's not a thing on their menu that I wouldn't relish eating.

fricatus

Freddie59 wrote: »

Not strictly Waterford, but how about the Passage East Car Ferry and down the Hook Peninsula? If it's a bit breezy on the day the rugged terrain can be strangely beautiful, especially down at the land's end by the Lighthouse.:)

Oh yeah, Wexico... that's a fantastic idea... and you could quickly detour on the way up around the Minaun, just for the views. The Geneva Barracks in Arthurstown are worth a stop too, as is a spine-chilling peek through the gates of Loftus Hall, bwa ha ha ha haaaaaa!!!! That whole Hook area really has an atmosphere to it. Nice one Freddie.

If your friend is into ships, maybe the Dunbrody is open for viewing if you spin around by New Ross on the way back?

PetraMac

Sully wrote: »

If your going to the cinema make sure you avoid the old scrap heap on Patrick Street and make your way out to the new one Storm Cinema.

If heading out to Tramore, check out this useful site for places to see/go: Discover Tramore. Laserblast is a fun place to go, and if the weather permits get a surf board and head out for a paddle. Take a stroll down the the sand dunnes (while we still have them!) or take the Doneraille Walk (follow the walk signs). Vic Cafe is a popular place for lunch, and the Esquire is nice for an evening meal. Nightlife in Tramore isnt what it used to be, but the pubs are a great craic. The Vic is a popular choice. Afterwards, you could take a stroll up to one of the chipers like Tonys.

Lots of good suggestions here! Sully, the Doneraile Walk sounds good, where exactly in Tramore do you start out from?

Freddie59

fricatus wrote: »

Oh yeah, Wexico... that's a fantastic idea... and you could quickly detour on the way up around the Minaun, just for the views. The Geneva Barracks in Arthurstown are worth a stop too, as is a spine-chilling peek through the gates of Loftus Hall, bwa ha ha ha haaaaaa!!!! That whole Hook area really has an atmosphere to it. Nice one Freddie.

If your friend is into ships, maybe the Dunbrody is open for viewing if you spin around by New Ross on the way back?

Good idea Fric. Forgot that one. It is a lovely part of the world alright. Another nice spot (if you don't mind driving the 30 or so miles) is Graiguenamangh in Kilkenny.:o:eek::D

Sully

PetraMac wrote: »

Lots of good suggestions here! Sully, the Doneraile Walk sounds good, where exactly in Tramore do you start out from?

How well do you know Tramore? The Doneraile Walk itself is just a stretch that overlooks the bay, its a handy shorcut thats very popular - it starts on Church Road below the Prosident Church (go up the hill, Galways Hill, and continue walking until you see an enterance to the walkway at the bend).

However, you can do a walk around Tramore in general. There is a map at the start of the Doneraile Walk which provides a map of the walk. I do believe that walk starts around the Prom area - it covers the walk to the Dunes (I think) also. That walk is the Sli na Slainte walk.

Im doing an update to the map on Discover Tramore, which will cover the walk. If we get it done before your visitor is down ill let you know.

mike65

The Kilmeadan Railway is'nt running at this time of year.

Is Johnstown Castle open? Or the JFK Arbortium? Okay its not like being there in May/June but if the day is fine you can have a nice walk.

Edit - the weather will be wretched http://www.rte.ie/weather/

Mike.

paul666

Take a drive out the coast road. beautiful views of the sea for miles. go for a walk down to the sand hils too, that will kill off at least 2 hours.

curraghmore in portlaw is also a must go. a huge estate/gardens with the biggest tree in ireland and the history too portlaw and curraghmore is fasinating stuff.

PetraMac

Just to say thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions. In the end, I took Sully's advice about the Doneraile walk / Sli na Slainte in Tramore. The weather was damp and views not as good as usual due to the heavy mist, but no major wind, thankfully. My friend and I had a great walk and rewarded ourselves with a nice hot whisky in the Esquire at the end of it. The walk took care of most of Saturday afternoon.

Sully

PetraMac wrote: »

Just to say thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions. In the end, I took Sully's advice about the Doneraile walk / Sli na Slainte in Tramore. The weather was damp and views not as good as usual due to the heavy mist, but no major wind, thankfully. My friend and I had a great walk and rewarded ourselves with a nice hot whisky in the Esquire at the end of it. The walk took care of most of Saturday afternoon.

Yup its a nice walk. I think the Doneraile is fantastic in the summer, stunning views!

Sully

Sully wrote: »

Im doing an update to the map on Discover Tramore, which will cover the walk. If we get it done before your visitor is down ill let you know.

Just to let people know, we did a big update to the Holiday Map of Tramore. The map now shows the Tramore Costal Walk - starting at the Tourist Office and heading up around Doneraile Walk etc. It also indicates other locations such as where the beach is, fishing spots, swimming areas etc. If anybody thinks I missed a spot, made an error or thinks I should add something - just let me know.

I think the map will be great for visitors of the town. Its located in the Transport section of the Discover Tramore website.

jimmytheman

try the waterfrod city walking tour - leaves from tourist office and granville hotel daily --- excellent way to spend a few hours in the afternoon - was on it last year - friends from the states thought it was funny, entertaining and god for its historic content - good on ya Jack Burchall

waterford crystal tour is great too

and Waterford treasures @ the granary - take in lunch at the granary - alsolutally excellent!

trishw78

Mellery to visit the Monks