20 Attractions to Explore Near Slieve Bloom Mountains

The Slieve Bloom Way is a long-distance trail around the Slieve Bloom Mountains in Ireland. It is an 70-kilometre long circular route that can be accessed from any of the trailheads at Glenbarrow near the village of Rosenallis, County Laois.Cadamstown, County Offaly Kinnitty, County Offaly.It is typically completed in three days. The route was developed as part of the designation of the Slieve Bloom area as a European Environment Park in the European Year of the Environment.

Brittas Lake, is located in a Coillte forest setting in the grounds of the Old Dunne Estate at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. This beautiful 5 acre lake is now fully restored and access to the lake is gained from the Brittas Road via the Coillte forest road.

Arderin is a mountain on the border of County Offaly and County Laois. It is the highest mountain in the Slieve Bloom mountains. The mountain is only Irelands 399 highest point and sits at an altitude of 527m.

Poet's Cottage is located in the picturesque village of Camross, County Laois. It is named after Patrick Ryan, a poet who lived in Camross between 1750 and 1825. He wrote about the natural beauty and the people of this community. This is a replica thatched cottage that gives visitors a sense of what daily life must have been like for most people in rural Ireland in the 1800s.

The Kinnitty Pyramid was built in the 1830’s as a tomb for the Bernard family who lived in Kinnitty Castle at that time. The Castle was then known as Castle Bernard. The pyramid which you can see form the front of Ardmore Country House is located at the rear of St Finian’s church.

Clara Bog is the finest remaining example of a raised bog in Ireland today. The nature reserve is home to many protected wildlife species. The site is protected under a number of national and international designations including National Nature Reserve, a Special Area of Conservation, Ramsar Wetland Site, Natura 2000 site, and Natural Heritage Area.

Leap Castle is a castle in Coolderry, County Offaly, Ireland, about 6 km north of the town of Roscrea and 10 km south of Kinnitty on the R421. In 1974 the now ruined castle was bought by Australian historian Peter Bartlett, whose mother had been a Banon. Bartlett, together with builder Joe Sullivan, carried out extensive restoration work on the castle up to the time of his death in 1989.

A Gothic-style castle located in County Offaly, Ireland, bordering the town of Tullamore, near the River Clodiagh. It is considered one of the finest of its type in the country. The castle itself is believed to be the most haunted building and grounds in Europe, with it appearing on Living TV's Most Haunted and Fox's Scariest Places on Earth.

The Abbey of Aghaboe is one of the most important of the abbeys and priories in County Laois. It was founded in the kingdom of Osraige by St. Canice in the 6th century. The abbey grew into a major centre of learning, commerce and agriculture. Among the monks from the abbey was St. Virgilius, a noted geometer and astronomer who was abbot before he left Ireland and built the cathedral at Salzburg in Austria in the 8th century.

Monaincha Church is a 12th-century church in Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland. Founded in the eighth century, it soon became the most famous pilgrimage site in Munster. In fact, it was described in the 10th century as the 31st wonder of the world. Highlights include a fine Romanesque doorway and a unique high cross, made from fragments of other crosses, with carved horsemen, the crucifiction and Celtic designs forming a decorative collage.

The town park is located in an important strategic position within the town with entrances from Main Street and Cormac Street. There are so many things to see and do here and also it offers a beautiful nature walk also.

Ballycowan Castle is a castle located 4 km west of Tullamore, Co. Offaly. It was built in 1589 as a fortified house by Thomas Morres.The castle was built on the previous site of the O’Molloy castle or tower house called Baile-mhic-Abhainn which was destroyed by a fire in 1557.

Roscrea Castle is a 13th-century motte castle in the town of Roscrea, Ireland. The Castle consists of a walled courtyard, gate block, and angled towers. Along with 18th century Damer House and gardens, the Castle forms part of Roscrea Heritage Centre. It was used as a barracks from 1798, housing 350 soldiers, and later served as a school, a library and even a sanatorium.

Roscrea Castle is a motte castle in the town of Roscrea, Ireland. Built in the early 18th century in the Queen Anne style, Damer House is an example of pre-Palladian architecture. The stone castle consists of a gate tower, curtain walls and two corner towers dating from the 1280s. The castle rooms are furnished and some house exhibitions.

This is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Rosse and his family, and as such the residential areas of the castle are not open to the public, though the grounds and gardens of the demesne are publicly accessible, and include a science museum and a café, a reflecting telescope which was the largest in the world for decades and a modern radio telescope.

Leviathan of Parsonstown, or Rosse six-foot telescope, is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 inches aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100-inch Hooker Telescope in California in 1917. The Rosse six-foot telescope was built by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse on his estate, Birr Castle, at Parsonstown.

This is an abbey of the Trappist branch of the Cistercians located in County Offaly, near Roscrea, County Tipperary in Ireland. The abbey was founded in 1878 by a group of 32 monks from Mount Melleray Abbey, County Waterford. The church was opened for worship in 1883, on 600 acres in Mount Heaton, Roscrea, and a Boarding school - Cistercian College, Roscrea - was founded in 1905. The first superior was Dom Athanasius O'Donovan.

Emo Court is a quintessential neo-classical mansion, set in the midst of the ancient Slieve Bloom Mountains. Designed by noted architect James Gandon, it features magnificent gardens and is located just 2.5 km from Emo village and 7 km from Portarlington Railway Station. Architectural features of the building include sash-style windows, pavilions, a balustrade, a hipped roof, and large dome. It is one of the few houses to have been designed by Gandon.

The Rock of Dunamase is an imposing and magnificent example of a Celtic fortification overlooking the valley of the O’Moores. Its Spectacular views of the surrounding countryside make the towering Rock of Dunamase a place of strategic importance. The rock, 46 metres above a flat plain, has the ruins of Dunamase Castle, a defensive stronghold dating from the early Hiberno-Norman period with a view across to the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

The Offaly Way is a linear route of 38km linking the Slieve bloom Way (at Cadamstown) to the Sli Mor and crossing en-route the Grand Canal Way. It includes sections of riverbank, stretches of bogland, green mass paths and quiet country roadways. The trail provides a link between the Slieve Bloom Way and the Grand Canal Way.