Carlow on Trip Advisor

byhookorbycrook

seems to be very little about Carlow on tripadvisor, might be good to start some chat going, at the moment tourists there seem to whizz past Carlow on their way to or from Wicklow/Kilkenny.

thesaharastyle

what is there to see in carlow?????????????????????

patrickc

if your here to troll with your first post don't bother, because it won't be tolerated.

if not back up your arguement with some of the non existent things to see in Carlow

like Carlow Castle, Duckets grove and gardens, duiske glass, the cathedral, the new arts centre, the dolmen stone, carlow military museum and many picturesque locations around Carlow..

byhookorbycrook

Off the top of my head, these are places we have brought the children from school

Browneshill and Haroldstown dolmens
Ducketts Grove
Carlow castle.
The Black castle.
Ballymoon castle
Oakpark, Altamont.
The beautiful cathedral in Old Leighlin
Milford and the Barrow track
St Mullins.


http://www.carlowcountymuseum.com/main_menu/places_to_visit/index.html

road_high

thesaharastyle wrote: »

what is there to see in carlow?????????????????????

I love County Carlow, definitely one of the prettiest in the country. Some real gems like Leighlinbridge, St. Mullins, Blackstairs Mtns, Borris.

And has the best farmland in Ireland. So yes, we can do without stupid comments like that thanks.

road_high

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

seems to be very little about Carlow on tripadvisor, might be good to start some chat going, at the moment tourists there seem to whizz past Carlow on their way to or from Wicklow/Kilkenny.

Didn't Carlow town get a great review a couple of years ago on the Lonely Planet- something to the effect its a place on the cusp of grestness or something. Definitely is, sure parts of it might be a bit rough (where isn't?) but there is a bit of life to the place imo.

Brownshill Dolmen should be properly developed with an Interuptive Centre etc; if it was in Kerry could you imagine what would be done? Not even a shop there, just a dirty car parking area.

SunnyP

At least they have cleaned up the carpark a little bit ie tarmac but def agree the dolmen should be developed afterall isnt it the biggest capstone in europe??

I had this argument a while ago with a Kerry friend of mine who was studying tourism she said there was 'nothing to see' in Carlow which I think is completely wrong look at the likes of the dolmen or ducketts grove not to mention the beauty of places such as st mullins or the weirs at milford. Carlow is just not advertised right when it comes to things like this

karlog

Scraggs is always a winner

byhookorbycrook

I've worked out a "historic and holy places "tour,around the county and surrounds, complete with pub stops. I find that many Carlow people don't even know of the beautiful places in the county much less visit them.

road_high

SunnyP wrote: »

At least they have cleaned up the carpark a little bit ie tarmac but def agree the dolmen should be developed afterall isnt it the biggest capstone in europe??

I had this argument a while ago with a Kerry friend of mine who was studying tourism she said there was 'nothing to see' in Carlow which I think is completely wrong look at the likes of the dolmen or ducketts grove not to mention the beauty of places such as st mullins or the weirs at milford. Carlow is just not advertised right when it comes to things like this

Tell him you can't eat scenery .
Yea I think it's the largest Dolmen in Europe iirc.

DO'Carlo/Wex

There's some fantastic walks & cycles along the Barrow available from Athy/Carlow all way down through Goresbridge & on to Graiguenamanagh & ST. Mullins which like Dolmen, Ducketts Grove, Carlow Fence aren't promoted enough.

byhookorbycrook

Dave, are you the same as the fearrua person?
There was a great book published on Carlow stone, fencing, buildings etc.
"Carlow Granite, years of history written in stone"
There is a country fair coming up on Sunday week in Duckett's Grove.

wheres me jumpa

There isnt enough done to highlight the gems around Carlow. There is plenty I havent seen from reading this thread. But imagine yourself as a tourist coming to Carlow, would you be aware of these locations? The Dolmen is hardly publicised at all. Sights like the Dolmen should be linked better to the Carlow brand. As a tourist I should arrive and be instantly aware of the Dolmen as apposed to having to go to a tourist information office to find out about it.

Im not aware of any tours that link all the sights together, i.e. jump on a bus and youre taken to five of the best sights around Carlow. The River Barrow is one of the few natural attactions we have and its not developed in any great way. Is there any boating (e.g. hire) company in Carlow? Are there any water sports carried out on the river? I know we have the rowing club but is that open to the public on a walk in basis?

A few small changes and we could have our very own Discover Carlow advertisement!

byhookorbycrook

As dolmens go, I actually prefer the Haroldstown dolmen. Story goes that an evicted family lived under it during the great famine.

Speaking of which, how many of you have visited the famine plot on Green road?

SunnyP

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

As dolmens go, I actually prefer the Haroldstown dolmen. Story goes that an evicted family lived under it during the great famine.

Speaking of which, how many of you have visited the famine plot on Green road?

I was visiting friends who live near newgrange a while ago so we decided to go up and have a look there was a photo exhibition there and I bought an absolutely stunning photo of the haroldstown dolmen taken at sunset

Famine plot?? never even knew one existed:eek:

byhookorbycrook

the famine plot gets even less visitors than the 1798 grave! It's on Green road, on the right handside as you leave town, near to the FCA or whatever headquarters. The workhouse would have been on the site off the VEC school.


Other less visited places I love to show people, the bridge and waterside path at Aghade ,
Ballymoon Castle,
the holy well and cathedral in old Leighlin (once the site of a huge synod that decided how the Easter date should be calculated for the whole church)
The real "Dinn rí" (which the pub is called after.)
The motte at St Mullins, holy well and riverside walk to Graiguenamanagh (do it in company, leave a car at both ends!) (It was said during the famine that people left their cows wander the roads on a sunday so that poorer people could bleed them to mix with the Indian meal, hence the term "St. Mullins cows know sundays,)
The holed stone in Adristan
The motte and doubleheaded carved cross at Castlemore
The lovely woods near the top of the Mile avenue .

And those are off the top of my head



Over the "borders " a bit, Duiske abbey
The ring of the rath (can't belive that this hugely significant site is so ignored)
High crosses at Mone and Castledermot,
round tour and viking burial stone in Castledermot
The rath in Mullachcreelan.
The walk around the walk in Killeshin, the Hiberno Romanesque doorway and the massrock.

paxo

Just returned from an overseas trip during which we spent 2 weeks in Carlow. Took my kids to see, the Brownshill Dolman, Carlow castle, Kellishen church, Ducketts grove, 9 stones Mt Leinster, Old Leighlin Church, St Mullins, carlow cathederal, Graiguenamanna, Borris Viaduct, Canal between Athy and Carlow, Castledermot Church, Balymoon castle, Rock of dunamase Dinn Ri etc. They really liked the history of the area. However this was mostly available to them as I grew up in Carlow there was very limited information available in Carlow. Most of these sites have little or no promotion or on site information. a lot more could be done to promote both the history and scenic areas of Carlow

SunnyP

I see a new chip van has moved into the brownshill dolmen that will really help the litter problem there!!

byhookorbycrook

paxo wrote: »

Just returned from an overseas trip during which we spent 2 weeks in Carlow. Took my kids to see, the Brownshill Dolman, Carlow castle, Kellishen church, Ducketts grove, 9 stones Mt Leinster, Old Leighlin Church, St Mullins, carlow cathederal, Graiguenamanna, Borris Viaduct, Canal between Athy and Carlow, Castledermot Church, Balymoon castle, Rock of dunamase Dinn Ri etc. They really liked the history of the area. However this was mostly available to them as I grew up in Carlow there was very limited information available in Carlow. Most of these sites have little or no promotion or on site information. a lot more could be done to promote both the history and scenic areas of Carlow

Great trip. Hazelnuts will be ripened at Dunamaise shortly, must make a raid.