Castle Camping in Ireland

Early the next day we found the train to Ireland – train, ferry, and then Ireland. Delays are never in the itinerary, so this one had us start on our journey hours behind schedule, and our reserved campsite owner said frankly: “Don’t come!” She assured us that there was a campground at the halfway point between Dublin and her campground.

Well, there wasn’t. By 11:30 pm, we were starved for dinner (the girls were already snoozing, their tummies growling louder than their snoring) and had found no campground. I got a strong feeling that I should go into a local fish-n-chips shop and ask an old man if he knew of a place where we could set up a tent. I imagined an alfalfa field. But when I went in the shop and ordered a veggie burger and chips, it was a teenaged girl serving, not an old man. I was so disappointed. Then he came through the door. A white-haired fellow who looked respectable, not a farmer, but hey.

I asked.

He said, “There are no campgrounds around here, but if you don’t need anything fancy…”

I said, “We just have a tent. Anyplace reasonably flat would do.”

He said to follow him. We took our chips and headed out. Two or three kilometers down the road, we pulled in at a castle gate. He led us to the gatehouse which had a flat lawn. We quickly shut our gaping mouths, and got out to thank him. He owned this place, and taught at the school, which had been built after the original castle burned down. The gardens were quite famous, from an Italian school of landscape design, and we really should take a look in the morning.

Look we did. Despite the misting rain, it was stunning. By far the most elegant of all our campgrounds!

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/ParksandGardens/East/HeywoodGardensLaois/