Family & Kids Activities

The Old Deanery

0 min by car
So what can you get up to – just by being at The Old Deanery? We have dedicated play areas for the kids, including a mini-soccer pitch and playhouse. Why not have a picnic on our extensive grounds, enjoying the privacy and beauty of our gardens? Feel free to bring your own outdoor games or borrow one of ours: croquet and wooden skittles. Fire up our outdoor barbecue, enjoy just relaxing on our sun chairs in the courtyard (a lovely sun-trap) and reading a book for the afternoon, followed by a short stroll into the village for a pint at the local pub. So there is no reason to get in the car at all during your stay with us, but if you do – the options for entertainment and activities are endless!

Morriscastle Beach

20 min by car
Long regarded as one of Irelands best beaches on the East coast, Morriscastle Beach was awarded its Blue Flag in 2008. It is the longest single stretch of beach in Europe and runs for 20 kilometres stretching from Curracloe to Cahore Point in County Wexford. Morriscastle beach is also well known for its Bass fishing from the shore, with large numbers of beach fishers visiting every year. Life-guards work for the summer months of June, July and August. It is considered a safe beach for swimming with very fine sand and beautiful dunes for the kids to enjoy.

Indoor Swimming

18 minutes by car
Forrest Park Leisure Centre offers features an great indoor pool: water slide, 3 pools, gym, jacuzzi and steam room. So the whole family can enjoy water fun regardless of the weather! This is a great pool for kids of all ages – with a separate lap pool for the adults to get some exercise!

Horse Riding

10 min by car
Come and enjoy a relaxing ride along the beautiful mountain forsest trail of Sliabh Bhui. Butterfly Farm Equestrian offers a number of different options from a leisurely stroll to an fun filled gallop. 10% Discount for all guests staying at The Old Deanery – just mention when booking with Butterfly Farm.

Camolin Woods – People’s Millenium Forrest

7 min by car
Go for a stroll or pack a picnic lunch and enjoy a wander through this historic and beautiful forrest. The wood is home to numerous animals including rabbit, hare, wood mouse, pygmy shrew, badger, bats, fox and red squirrel. Birds include woodpigeon, jay, magpie, jackdaw, rook, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, goldcrest, dunnock, wren, linnet, willow warbler, chiffchaff and blackcap.

Year-round Ice Skating, Tramoline Centre, Recording Studio, Shooting Range & more at Adventure Alley

15 min by car
Adventure Alley, located just outside Gorey, Offers year round ice-skating, europe’s largest free lane trampoline center, games room, recording studio and airsoft. With their on-site café they can host parties of all sizes and offer excellent packages for school tours, birthday parties and groups.

Blackwater Open Farm

25 min by car
Visit Blackwater Open farm for a fun day out for the whole family, meet the animals, play in the playground, ride the tractors and enjoy a bite to eat at our Cafe. New indoor play areas including indoor bouncy castle and sand pit room mean everyone has a great time, come rain or shine!

Get creative at Expressions Art Studio

15 min by car
Why not take some time to explore your creative side? Day and half day activities are available for all ages, as well as week-long art camps in the summer for the kids. Drawing, painting, clay, jewellery making, candle making, tie-dye, fabric paint on hats, t-shirts or any fabric, papier-maché, mirror mosaics, mosaic chalk boards, paint your own mug, puppet making, face-painting, seasonal activities and lots lots more

The Chocolate Garden

35 min by car
Visitors can enjoy an award winning coffee or some of our fabulous tasting ice cream at their leisure while kids of all ages can enjoy the trim trail, slides, sandpit and wendy house in our play area. Learn all about chocolate making, cocoa growing, how Easter eggs and other chocolate products are made, and have a go at making and decorating your own chocolate product. Take home the mould along with your fab product. Tastings of different grades of premium chocolate provided. We also show a short video about how we make our ice cream here at the Chocolate Garden.

Courtown Adventure High Ropes Course

30 min by car
Zip Wire, High or Low Aerial Trekking, Fan Descender, Climbing Wall, Gravity is a new and exciting high Ropes Adventure Course open all Year round sevens days a week. The course will exhilarate and test your limits of self confidence and skill. Suitable to a variety of skill levels from beginner to advanced, children and adults.

Kia Ora Mini Farm

15 minutes by car
In Kia Ora Farm view in amazement the emus, alpaca, llama, chipmunks, pot bellied pig, parrots, rabbits, goats, deers, sheep, Scottish highland, Kerry cow, peacocks and lots more. Children can feed and hold small animals, play in the enclosed sandpit, 50 ride-on tractors, play on football pitch and drive the rough riders around the track.

Pirates Cove Adventure Park

18 minutes by car
Pirates Cove offers extensive Family Entertainment including Ten-Pin Bowling Centre, bumper boats, Fun Caves for 3-10 Year Olds, Adventure Golf amidst the waterfalls, Children’s Go-Karting. Bungee Trampoline, Arcade Games and Restaurant.

Pirates Cove Adventure Park

18 minutes by car
Pirates Cove offers extensive Family Entertainment including Ten-Pin Bowling Centre, bumper boats, Fun Caves for 3-10 Year Olds, Adventure Golf amidst the waterfalls, Children’s Go-Karting. Bungee Trampoline, Arcade Games and Restaurant.

Kidzone Indoor Adventure

15 minutes by car
An indoor adventure arena fully equiped with play areas divided into age appropriate sections. Children of all ages up to 12 are catered for.
Parents can sit back and enjoy a coffee, the paper or avail of our free wifii internet access while the children are having the time of their lives while getting great exercise in a fun and safe environment.

Cinema in Gorey

15 minutes by car
Just a nip up the road, the Gorey Cinema is recently built and offers all the latest releases and a great kids club on Saturday mornings.

Hook Head Lighthouse

40 minutes by car
This 13th Century Hook Lighthouse, named “The World Flashiest” by The Lonely Planet Guide, is about 800 years old and is the oldest intact operational Lighthouse in the world. Hook Lighthouse offers guided tours of the lighthouse tower all year round and is one of the top things to do Wexford and Waterford. Climb the 115 steps to the spectacular view from the balcony where you can spot seals, dolphins and even whales. You can also take in the gift shop and cafe and art exhibits. Art workshops for adults and children are held at the Lighthouse all year round.

JFK Arboretum

55 min by car
Exhibitions, toilets, tea rooms, car parks, coach park, picnic site, play area (Under 12’s), maze, miniature railway (afternoons in summer), pony & trap service (seasonal), nature trail and signposted walks. Dedicated to the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States from 1960 to 1963, the Arboretum is a plant collection of international standing. It covers 252 hectares (623 acres) on the southern slopes and summit of Slievecoiltia. It contains 4,500 types of trees and shrubs from all temperate regions of the world, planted in botanical sequence.

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