Athlone area, touristy things you can recommend

simo28

Hi,
I have some friends visiting from London and we've booked the Hodson Bay hotel as they regularly stay with us in Dublin and we thought it would be nice to get out of the city instead.
Now I've never been around Westmeath much aside from a wedding in the Hodson Bay and I'm looking for some help/recommendations for things to do/visit in that area. We have a car so travelling isn't an issue.
Good pubs and restaurants would also be a help. We wouldn't be into loud pubs with music blaring but certainly if there was pubs that had a live band or just with atmosphere would be great.
Thanks in advance for any help received.

rje66

as im sure you know its not a great time of year for touristy things,presuming its around now, but you could check if the following are open this time of year.for pubs and restaurants there are plenty of posts on here about them.

athlone castle, plenty of spots for lunch and a pint very close by.
clonmacnoise, its about 35min drive.
bog train.
galway is 45mins away.
tullynally house-north westmeath
belvedere hse and gardens
golf???
if in summer - viking boat on the river
hope this helps

whyulittle

Castle & Art Gallery across the road, http://www.athloneartandheritage.ie.

There is a water activity place right beside the hotel, http://www.baysports.ie.

Lough Boora Parklands & Sculpture Park, http://www.loughbooraparklands.com.

I'm pretty sure that bog train is gone.

An Ri rua

Hi,

short run from Athlone and guaranteed to find some trad music along the way e.g. Brewery Tap in Tullamore on a Monday night or Joe Lee's down Church St midweek.

After of course visiting Kilbeggan Distillery and then Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre. Both world-class 'sources' in the whiskey story.

Have a great time, whatever ye do.

tubos

Some great recommendations above. Baysports beside the hotel is good but the time of year you are going will determine if watersports are an option or not!!

You can get the viking boat from the hodson bay into Athlone town and think there might be a boat to Clonmacnoise as well, but not the best idea in winter!!

Look out for the Crooked Jacks trad band playing in Athlone, usually in the Snug.

The art gallery is nice

As An Ri Rua says, a trip to Tullamore and Kilbeggan would be a good stop off point on the way from Dublin. Just exit the M6 at 'Whiskey Junction' - Tullamore/Kilbeggan!!

Galway is only up the road as well

simo28

thanks to all for the recommendations. I'll get stuck in and suss them out.

Ceirseach

Sean's bar (near castle) sawdust on floor and open fire + Kin khao Thai restaurant or Lebanese restaurant on bastion street or restaurant under gertie browns pub

Lough boora parkland for loads of fresh air + Birr castle+ clonmacnoise +
afternoon tea in kinnity castle

Corlea trackway in kenagh co Longford + fatted calf restaurant in Glasson

Strokestown house, co Roscommon


Lockes distillery, belvedere house, both worth visiting

martin1

Bring them along to the sing-a-long // bluegrass session every saturday night in Flannerys.........a must for all genuine music afficionado's

tubos

If you're near Clonmacnoise take a spin down to Shannonbridge for a drink in Killeens pub.

rje66

martin1 wrote: »

Bring them along to the sing-a-long // bluegrass session every saturday night in Flannerys.........a must for all genuine music afficionado's

beside dunnes?

martin1

rje66 wrote: »

beside dunnes?

The very wan...:D

nice_guy80

Down to Roscommon there are some nice castles to visit - abandoned medieval settlement of Rindoon.

Mr_Andy

Glasson village is beautiful, excellent for pub grub as well.

Hill of uisneach, the centre point of Ireland.

Castletown Geoghan, which features in the Sinead o Connor music video (the one with the wedding) particularly Barney Drakes pub

Kilbeggan races if the dates suited.

John_Rambo

My 2cent: Luan gallery for the visual arts and the riverside golden mile walk, Fatted Calf for the food, Gerty Browns for the scoops, Wineport for lunch, Glasson Village restaurant for the chateaubriand!

Enjoy.

Zubeneschamali

John_Rambo wrote: »

Glasson Village restaurant for the chateaubriand!

Yes, highly recommended!

thegreatgonzo

Glendeer Pet Farm. Think there is a dolmen near there too. Haven't seen it though.

If you like horse riding you can do trail rides in Moydrum.

Zubeneschamali

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

Think there is a dolmen near there too.

Yes at Meehambee. There's a parking spot and a signed path from here (streetview).

It's a short walk along a roughish footpath (not wheelchair accessable, I'd say):

thegreatgonzo

Thanks Zuben I've been meaning to visit it.

Ceirseach

Simo28 - Are you going to tell us what you opted for in the end? Loads of great suggestions here.

Dally

Lough Ree, the Luan Gallery, Athlone Castle, and Ireland's Oldest Pub.

Maybe take in a play at the Dean Crowe Theatre, the Little Theatre, or the Passionfruit Theatre.

Long Gone

rje66 wrote: »

as im sure you know its not a great time of year for touristy things,presuming its around now, but you could check if the following are open this time of year.for pubs and restaurants there are plenty of posts on here about them.

athlone castle, plenty of spots for lunch and a pint very close by.
clonmacnoise, its about 35min drive.
bog train.
galway is 45mins away.
tullynally house-north westmeath
belvedere hse and gardens
golf???
if in summer - viking boat on the river
hope this helps

Bog train ? - I don't think the bog train runs any more. Pity because it was well worth doing in good weather.

John_Rambo

I saw an ad for the Brazen Head in Dublin claiming to be the oldest pub in Ireland!!! Has Sean's lost the title? :eek: (great pub, title or none!).

I see someone recommending The Lock, I'd avoid. Nice building, but the food nor the value steps up to the mark against good solid competition available in the Town and surrounding areas. Strange maitre d too, claimed they had the only five star chef in the midlands!

rossie1977

John_Rambo wrote: »

I saw an ad for the Brazen Head in Dublin claiming to be the oldest pub in Ireland!!! Has Sean's lost the title? :eek: (great pub, title or none!).

brazen head (among others) used to claim being the oldest but seans is far and away the oldest. brazen have now to be content with the oldest in dublin title http://seansbar.lightholderproductions.com/oldestPub.php

Dozen Wicked Words

tubos wrote: »

If you're near Clonmacnoise take a spin down to Shannonbridge for a drink in Killeens pub.

Brother has house in Shannonbridge, never need much excuse to call up. Killeens is a fantastic pub, they have an awesome beer garden too now. Quality, cheap pint.

Shop used to have vintage frozen food in its freezer, sell by dates clearly just a suggestion!

John_Rambo

rossie1977 wrote: »

http://seansbar.lightholderproductions.com/oldestPub.php

Sorry dude.

http://www.irelandlogue.com/craic/seans-bar-not-actually-the-oldest-pub-in-ireland.html

With their Guinness Book of World Records certificate stating that Sean’s Bar in Athlone is the oldest pub in Europe, you would figure this pub’s authenticity was beyond question. Walking into the place you can hardly miss the certificate there, framed next to a sample of the wattle and daub walls unearthed beneath the pub during renovations in the 1990s. The piece of wall on display has been dated back to 900 AD.
Well, it turns out it’s all one big trick. The owners of Sean’s Bar today revealed that the “900AD walls” on display are actually the creation one of the owner’s children. The “walls” are actually made out of mashed potatoes, tip-ex, fingerpaints and a glue stick with a bit of straw from the yard.
Speaking from Dublin today, former owner Sean Fitzsimmons had this to say,
“When I wanted to set up a pub in Athlone on the banks of the Shannon, there was no question that this was the perfect location. The whole west side of the river at that time was a car park – I bought the premises for feck all, it was a real steal!
“Now, it was the 1980s at the time and what with what was going in the world of music and fashion, coupled with the german tourists coming in from the river I went with an uber-modern fusion martini bar with lots of white leather, lava lamps and some space-age plastic couches. We used to serve these killer watercress and cream cheese bagel sandwiches!
“The thing is, I was horribly wrong. It all went down like a lead balloon. The place was a disaster, no one was in it hardly at all and I was facing bankruptcy. So I raided a few traveler halting sites for broken bits of machinery and fishing rods and bits of ****e to stick up and had the place gutted and re-done in 1990 to look like an old Irish pub. Some of the lads got a bit enthusiastic, I had to convince them that urinating on the walls to give it that “old Irish pub” atmosphere was out of the question. In any case, during the renovations the oxygen tank with Woody Harrelson’s face on it blew up there – so we just turned it into the fireplace.
“Folks from around town were in on the joke – telling tourists it was the oldest pub in Ireland – but I just can’t believe everyone else – especially the Guinness Book of World Records fell for it. I mean, those ‘old walls’ are made out of mash potatoes and a bit of straw!”
The owners of the bar apologised for mis-representing their pub, saying that it was all just a bit of craic – a joke that had gone much farther than they ever imagined. The Guinness Book of World Records says that Sean’s Bar may lose their “oldest pub” entry, but that they’ll be re-entered as the “longest running joke on the world records authority.”

Long Gone

It's always been know locally that the self proclaimed "oldest pub in Ireland" tag was just nonsense - The reality is that nobody knows what the location of the oldest pub in Ireland is. How can they ? There is no way of verifying such claims....

veryangryman

Bless your cotton socks.did.you click the link and see the April first date on it

Long Gone

veryangryman wrote: »

Bless your cotton socks.did.you click the link and see the April first date on it

Assuming that you're referring to me, I'm very well aware that the linked report is a spoof (I first saw it many years ago on the Athlone.ie discussion forum) - but there's actually more than a grain of truth to what it says....
The "Oldest pub in Ireland" was a self given title. This marketing ploy for the pub was only dreamed up in the latter days of Sean Fitzsimons ownership of the pub - The people who bought the pub from him (can't remember their names at the moment) then racheted up the marketing. It's all a load of old rubbish - How on earth can anyone know with any certainty what the location of the oldest pub in Ireland is ? ?

John_Rambo

veryangryman wrote: »

Bless your cotton socks.did.you click the link and see the April first date on it

No!!! I didn't! It's a good spoof though!

Long Gone

As touristy things to do around Athlone go, Clonmacnoise takes a lot of beating. I must admit I preferred it before they built that new Visitors Centre - I think it was a travesty to move the high crosses indoors inside the visitors centre.