Retiring to blessington

londonhunter

I am thinking of retiring to blessington with my wife
Wonder if anybody lives around there ?
How is the social scene like ?
My wife loves tennis
Hill walking
I love golf and deer stalking
Any input would be appreciated

jimmii

Very nice area. Ticks a lot of boxes hill walking is obviously good and for golf you have tulfarris (they used to have a tennis court not sure if its still maintained though) and blessington lakes which is one of the best 9 holes around and a good few top courses within an hours drive. As with most places the social scene is as good as you make it there is stuff on so if you get involved you'll quickly get to know people. I lived in baltyboys just outside blessington for a good few years and my parents still live down there. If you like playing bridge then I can help with that they're big fans!

Rackstar

Plenty of pubs and a couple of restaurants.
Two decent golf courses close by. Blessington Lakes and Tulfarris
Lots of hill walking, trails around From Lacken / Ballyknockan.
Tennis in the Avon Ri and possibly Tulfarris.
Shooting - have seen signs for blessington gun club on land.

jimmii

Rackstar wrote: »

Plenty of pubs and a couple of restaurants.
Two decent golf courses close by. Blessington Lakes and Tulfarris
Lots of hill walking, trails around From Lacken / Ballyknockan.
Tennis in the Avon Ri and possibly Tulfarris.
Shooting - have seen signs for blessington gun club on land.

Was wondering if you might see it!! Remember the tennis phase at tulfarris!

Rackstar

Haha yeah not sure if they still have the tennis courts.

jimmii

Rackstar wrote: »

Haha yeah not sure if they still have the tennis courts.

Dam Nama!

londonhunter

Thank you for so many inputs and I feel at home already
Might pm you for bridges
Any more info on blessington gun club ?

laraghrider

No idea about the gun club but Avon Ri also has tennis courts, pool, gym etc... also lovely for some food and a pint on a nice day with a stunning setting looking at the lake. Everything that's been said already covers most I think.

EDIT: Just saw this, not sure this covers gun club as to be honest I've no idea what a gun club is but: www.hempstowncpc.com

Hempstown is right beside Blessington and is deemed to be in the Blessington area. Drive it in 2 minutes.

Supertoucher

Avon Ri has one tennis court and Tulfarris has/had two - so fine if she has someone to play with - but not so much if she is looking for organised play.

Naas is the nearest tennis club - they are/were on a recruitment drive at the moment.

jimmii

Supertoucher wrote: »

Avon Ri has one tennis court and Tulfarris has/had two - so fine if she has someone to play with - but not so much if she is looking for organised play.

Naas is the nearest tennis club - they are/were on a recruitment drive at the moment.

Think you'd need a decent mower and a few pairs of weeding gloves to be playing a game down there its not been looked after much lately.

Supertoucher

Which one? Not been to either for a while.

jimmii

Supertoucher wrote: »

Which one? Not been to either for a while.

That whole area was just allowed to grow out for a while they do list tennis as being available on the site though so I they must have got round to sorting it out good to see things moving in the right direction down there. A few years back Rackstar and I went through a tennis phase played down there a couple of times a week until he got fed up with losing!

Teddington Cuddlesworth

Sorry for hijacking, the mother is looking to move down there from a leafy Southside suburb.
She's 6 years left working until retirement so not too different.

The one thing I've heard from a few people is crime, is it bad or is it good? What areas are a no go if there is any?

jimmii

Teddington Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Sorry for hijacking, the mother is looking to move down there from a leafy Southside suburb.
She's 6 years left working until retirement so not too different.

The one thing I've heard from a few people is crime, is it bad or is it good? What areas are a no go if there is any?

I've seen a lot written about it but I can't say in all the years I lived in the area it was ever something I encountered. I believe the Garda station isn't 24 hours which I would imagine does cause issues. Where we lived in Baltyboys a bit outside Blessington years back you used to get boy racers going down and racing round the lake and burning out bins but that seems to have dwindled. Not sure what the town is like late at night in general but any time I have been there for nights out etc I haven't seen any trouble and would feel a lot safer than in Dublin. My parents did mention a few burglaries in their area in the last while but thats only a very recent thing and hasn't been an issue historically.

londonhunter

I drove around blessington lake and manage to speak to 2 residents

It's seems they have a text system whereby anybody suspicioious as they drive around the lake will be reported. Since there is only one way in and out and the road is 10 km long even though robbers drives a Ferrari they won't be fast than text !

Ingenious .........

The more I think about it the more I like the area

jimmii

londonhunter wrote: »

I drove around blessington lake and manage to speak to 2 residents

It's seems they have a text system whereby anybody suspicioious as they drive around the lake will be reported. Since there is only one way in and out and the road is 10 km long even though robbers drives a Ferrari they won't be fast than text !

Ingenious .........

The more I think about it the more I like the area

There's certainly more than one way in and one way out round the lakes it would be a bit of trek back to town taking the scenic route though! A Ferrari would probably struggle with the "roads" too!

londonhunter

You got my drift anyway ......

BarryD

londonhunter wrote: »

I am thinking of retiring to blessington with my wife
Wonder if anybody lives around there ?
How is the social scene like ?
My wife loves tennis
Hill walking
I love golf and deer stalking
Any input would be appreciated

Your wife will enjoy the nearby access to the hills etc. and walking is popular in Wicklow with general proximity to Dublin. For the same reason, deer stalking is not entirely compatible. You'd see lads out shooting here and there and sometimes they scarper fairly quickly when you take an interest in their jeep registrations at certain times of the year when they shouldn't be shooting etc!

Edited to add: there are areas/ estates managed for shooting Wicklow. Lough Tay/ Luggala comes to mind, also Ballinacor Estate in Glenmalure. I'd guess these would be your best outlets?

Witcher

You'll should have no problem finding deer stalking opportunities around Blessington and beyond in Wicklow.

There are no clubs setup for it in Ireland as such unless you're purchasing a lease on Coillte land but that involves a HCAP test etc.

Your best bet is just going out and talking to farmers around the area and seeing if deer are a problem for them, you'll need to get permission from a few landowners before you'll be able to apply for a firearm licence.