Help! Holidays in Courtown

danielleabell

Hi all

My Family and 2 other families have decided to go to Courtown on holidays this year.

I would be greatful if people could make suggestions on activities that we could do while we are there. We would travel up to an hour to get to an activity. The children in our group range from 1 yr to 14 yr. The activities don't have to suit all the age ranges. Any suggestions will be greatly appriciated.

Also some of us travelled there yesterday to have a look around before we go down. At the risk of being linched we were not overly impressed at the beach and were wondering if there is a nicer beach hidden away somewhere with less stones

Thanks in advance

WexfordWarrior

hi,

come to wexford town itself... loads to do...beautiful sandy beaches..shops pubs clubs restaurants aplenty.... great weather, friendly people....

stay in curracloe caravan park only 10 mins outside wexford town or rosslare with the train link up and back about 8 times a day as well as buses etc....

rosslare strand would be best option with train in and out of wexford...plus some nice pubs and places there for the kids... playgrounds...running tracks, football pitches, golf... etc etc.... also quiet for the adults... AND the added advantage of taking a boat trip to wales for the day over and back if you feel like it... you could go to oakwood theme park or just visit all the other attractions in the area such as kilmore quay, duncannon, south east coastal drive, hook pinnensula with oldest working light house in the world, recent visiters (dermot o leary(xfactor) and Pink (pop/rock singer) as well as bono etc etc!

just get to wexford..... hope this helps.

lolli

Ah we were there yesterday too at the amusements I'm from Gorey so I'll try come up with a few things you can do.

First for the little ones - Kia Ora Mini farm
http://www.kiaoraminifarm.com/index.php

http://www.piratescove.ie/
They have bowling, mini golf, fun caves, bumper boats, bungee trampoline and crazy golf
The amusements are right next door.



http://www.courtownharbour.com/activities_forest_park_leisure_centre.php
Theres a swimming pool in there and a gym. Also at the entrance to it there is a lovely little childrens playground.

Curracloe beach is the nicest in Wexford.

http://moviesatgorey.com/ Gorey Cinema if the older ones get bored

Theres also a Cinema in the Arklow shopping centre, nice shopping centre if you want to go shopping someday. Theres also a shopping centre in Gorey but the Arklow one is bigger.

http://www.irishagrimuseum.ie/johnstown_castle_estate/johnstown_castle.htm
I love Johnstown Castle, It is so beautiful there!! Great place to have a picnic. Its a bit of drive from Courtown but well worth going to.

http://www.inhp.com/ The Heritage Park in Wexford is great, always loved going there as a child. Very educational, great to see how people used to live.

Hope this helps!

wilfitz

Courtown beach is quite poor but there is a couple of nicer ones nearby. Ballymoney beach is quite nice but gets fairly packed during the summer. Take the pathway to the left over the hill to get onto the bigger beach.

Between Courtown and Ballymoney there is another little beach called Dodds Rocks(i think). Halfway between the Courtown Road and Ballymoney you take a turn to the right. The turn is in a dip on the road.

The nicest beach of all tho has to be Saleen beach. Its on the Tara Hill to Gorey Road. The beach stretches for approx 1.5 miles.

Judgement Day

The much hoped for reopening of Enniscorthy Castle Museum takes place this weekend and should be worth a look.



Just down the road is the National 1798 Centre which includes that most useful thing for happy outings - somewhere to have a cup of tea and a pee.



http://www.1798centre.ie/

oldyouth

Most people from Wexford would put Courtown last on their list of holiday preferences. If you haven't booked yet, I'd seriously look elsewhere. Castletown, Kilmuckridge, Blackwater, Morriscastle, Curracloe, Rosslare Strand & Carne would all be well ahead on my list with Curracloe as the favourite.

amandaf675

oldyouth wrote: »

Most people from Wexford would put Courtown last on their list of holiday preferences. If you haven't booked yet, I'd seriously look elsewhere. Castletown, Kilmuckridge, Blackwater, Morriscastle, Curracloe, Rosslare Strand & Carne would all be well ahead on my list with Curracloe as the favourite.

x 2.. in recent years courtown aint such a child friendly place

bebop12

i was in courtown a couple of weeks ago and taught there was loads 2 do kids of all ages beach not great but there one i found in morriscastle is that nice i just saw it on the web

Cantona's Collars

bebop12 wrote: »

i was in courtown a couple of weeks ago and taught there was loads 2 do kids of all ages beach not great but there one i found in morriscastle is that nice i just saw it on the web

Not so great when the scobes start fighting on the streets,a lot of them head down from Dublin and go mental.They have no regard for decent folk on holiday.
Apart from the few arcades which will cost you a fortune and Pirates Cove which is worth a day trip only there's feck all else as the beach is terrible.
Follow the advice of previous posters.

bebop12

zerks wrote: »

Not so great when the scobes start fighting on the streets,a lot of them head down from Dublin and go mental.They have no regard for decent folk on holiday.
Apart from the few arcades which will cost you a fortune and Pirates Cove which is worth a day trip only there's feck all else as the beach is terrible.
Follow the advice of previous posters.

when i was there they had a good swimming pool , crazy golf , pirates cove , flanaghan walf , this thing u climb up really high and zip wire , arcades and a fun fair coming at the end of june when u have kids from 1 year to 15 years its has something 4 every1 its a pity about the beach but there are nice ones around i get what ur saying about people fightin and all but that happens nearly everywhere its somewhere different 2 go this year and i hope we have a good time

bebop12

amandaf675 wrote: »

x 2.. in recent years courtown aint such a child friendly place

was looking in2 these places and there is notin much 2 do here courtown has a lot more 2 offer apart from the beach everything else looks grand pleanty 2 do there without going 2 far

Judgement Day

Please don't use text speak.....Aghhhh!!

bebop12

Judgement Day wrote: »

Please don't use text speak.....Aghhhh!!

sorry habit

mummyc

I agree that Courtown has loads to offer such as swimming pool, amusements, Gravity, Pirates Cove etc.. Also worth a look is the Irish Seal Sanctuary. Just a short spin away is a must see Kia Ora Mini Farm which my kids love. then in Gorey theres kidzone. A walk though Courtown woods is always lovely and there are plenty of nice takeaways and restaurants in Gorey

Cantona's Collars

mummyc wrote: »

I agree that Courtown has loads to offer such as swimming pool, amusements, Gravity, Pirates Cove etc.. Also worth a look is the Irish Seal Sanctuary. Just a short spin away is a must see Kia Ora Mini Farm which my kids love. then in Gorey theres kidzone. A walk though Courtown woods is always lovely and there are plenty of nice takeaways and restaurants in Gorey

Seems like that's in a spot of bother,gates locked and private security not admitting anyone.
Anybody have any ideas what's happening?

Judgement Day

zerks wrote: »

Seems like that's in a spot of bother,gates locked and private security not admitting anyone.
Anybody have any ideas what's happening?

Like yourself I was curious as to what is happening when I recently checked their website http://www.irishsealsanctuary.ie/Home.aspx - closed for essential maintenance? Seems odd since it is only getting going.

thedarkroom

Judgement Day wrote: »

Like yourself I was curious as to what is happening when I recently checked their website http://www.irishsealsanctuary.ie/Home.aspx - closed for essential maintenance? Seems odd since it is only getting going.

It's been in the local papers a lot of late and there seem to be some sort of difficulties between the sanctuary and the management company of the Leisure Centre but no one is saying what the actual problem is. It all seems very secretive and unfortunate as I have brought the kids there a couple of times and it is a great idea. Pity.

On all the other things said above, there is a lot of useful info and I would agree with the sentiments of Amandaf645 and Bebop12. Courtown is geared towards family entertainment but sometimes the rough element takes over a bit and can be overwhelming and alarming. I've witnessed it fighting and aggressive behaviour, full frontal flashing, vandalism and littering. It's sounds a bleak picture and it can be if you go at the wrong time. I would recommend Courtown if you go just before or after the peak times. Avoid bank holiday weekends unless you really really need to.

When you do go, bring plenty of change. There is plenty to do and it is excellent from this point of view but it can be expensive. You have Forest Park pool, Gravity Adventure Centre, Flanagans Wharf Amusements, Pirate's Cove Amusements (crazy golf, indoor bowling and other stuff) and plenty of other stuff that the kids will love.

The other posters above have well covered the beaches and some well recommended day trips. The north beach in Ballymoney has a life guard on duty during the summer. There's none on Saleen, Dodd's Rocks (it's actually an extension of Courtow, to the north) and I'm sure Curacloe does too. Another couple to add would be a visit to Hook Head Lighthouse and a trip to Inistiog, not too far from New Ross. http://www.woodstock.ie is on the edge of Inistiog and my kids love exploring the place. The only cost is the €4 for the car park, the playground is free and the gardens are lovely. We've been there twice this summer already.
http://www.dunbrody.com - In New Ross, the Dunbrody might interest. That's on our list for next week.
http://www.rathwood.com, on the Gorey side of Tullow is a popular spot and does nice lunches. The kids would enjoy the playground and the small train trip. There is a small falconry there which is interesting http://fundaysout.ie/falconry.html
http://www.chocolategarden.ie nearby is popular with the kids (although the classes can be expensive and usually need to be booked in advance.
http://www.claralara.com/frames.htm - Clara Lara is very popular and worth a visit as it is about an hour from Courtown. The kids will love this place and there are picnic spots for you to bring your lunch. Bring spare clothes as there are a lot of water activities.
http://www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie - If your children are in to wildlife and birds then this place is worth a visit. Most of the activity would be in the winter months as there would be a lot of migratory birds there, I don't know about summer months.
http://www.wexfordweb.com or http://www.discoverwexford.com is well worth a visit as it has tons of links and information.

I hope you have a good holiday in Courtown.
Don't let my earlier comments put you off visiting as I would always recommend a visit to the area, just pick your date carefully. I live here and I love it and half of Dublin is here during the summer so they must be doing something right.

thedarkroom

As usual, I went on a bit. Sorry about that.

jtimmons

I think people are being a bit unfair to Courtown. I've been going to Courtown for 45 years and lived here for 16 years and I haven't seen anything like the bad behaviour described in 10 years and even then it was very late at night after the Beacon nightclub closed. There is no nightclub in Courtown any more. Here is what Courtown looks like on a Bank Holiday Weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8uNFWwF8tM&feature=fvsr

Judgement Day

According to the Irish Seal Sanctuary Facebook page today http://www.facebook.com/irishsealsanctuary?sk=wall they are closing down their operation at Courtown. I will be sorry to see it gone and it will be Courtown's loss.

thedarkroom

jtimmons wrote: »

I think people are being a bit unfair to Courtown. I've been going to Courtown for 45 years and lived here for 16 years and I haven't seen anything like the bad behaviour described in 10 years and even then it was very late at night after the Beacon nightclub closed. There is no nightclub in Courtown any more. Here is what Courtown looks like on a Bank Holiday Weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8uNFWwF8tM&feature=fvsr

Hi, I was just quoting my specific experiences above and have been living in Wexford for many years now. I wouldn't like anyone to think that Courtown is a no-go area. I suppose I was being a bit unfair in that I only highlighted my own negative experiences without pointing out that Courtown is actually a nice place, just pick the time you choose to visit. It has a lot to offer and there is a good community there, it just gets overwhelming when the Summer season starts and things seem to be very much 'in your face'.
Your video clip paints a good picture of Courtown in fine weather, you should distribute the link to a few tourism sites for North Wexford and even Facebook. I will.

BostonB

Great info thanks all. I was wondering if any of the mobile broadband networks work down around courtown/poulshone area. Will we be there for a few days and debating bringing the laptop.

The Stand Side

I am planning a trip to Courtown on 6th August for a week. I am trying to locate a site nearby that will cater for camping and the hire of a caravan. We are two families, the less adventurous / lady folk wish to have the relative luxury of a mobile home while the rest of us are looking forward to our first camping experience.

bmaxi

The Stand Side wrote: »

I am planning a trip to Courtown on 6th August for a week. I am trying to locate a site nearby that will cater for camping and the hire of a caravan. We are two families, the less adventurous / lady folk wish to have the relative luxury of a mobile home while the rest of us are looking forward to our first camping experience.

Unfortunately, unless you actually know somebody who owns a mobile home on one of the parks you are unlikely to be able to hire a mobile home in Courtown and camping is a no-no on all of them.
You could try renting a holiday home, i.e a house, likely to be expensive though.


http://www.discoverireland.ie/CMSPages/PortalTemplate.aspx?aliaspath=%2fSearch%2fResults&catid=10004&countyid=5&locationid=379&lcid=5

arybvtcw0eolkf

Throwing in my two cents here.

This is my first time in Courtown, and to be honest about it after only two days I'm cutting short my little stay-cation and heading home tomorrow.

The positives, the locals have been really friendly.. Thats it.

The place has a really old, tired & neglected feel to it.

We'd a few pints in Jimmyz bar last night, they were grand pints.. They had a half arsed DJ, but my heart sank when he finished off his gig with the national anthem.

There is a chipper next door - avoid it, I spent 16 euro on muck, it went in the bin.

We couldn't get a chinese to delivery after 11pm lol.

It was recommended we eat dinner above Jimmyz bar, so we went today - if it was in Dublin it would go out of business in a week.

After a day on the beer yesterday I really wanted soakage in the way of a carvery, couldn't find one.

There are wasps EVERYWHERE!.. And little containers of sweet stuff to try catch them outside and inside the shops and bars.

I've been to other parts of Wexford and Carlow and have loved the area, just not Courtown.

But if someone has a few very young children and lots of money there is plenty for the youngsters, under about ten year olds I guess the place will be ok for a few days.

I'm in a caravan, its really nice and the sites all look reallt lovely and in great order - a pity the town is a kip.

Someone asked about mobile broadband, I'm on via my mobile phone.

Coverage can be hit and miss, but mostly its been ok. I'm with o2.

BostonB

I was staying down near Courtown a month or so ago. I couldn't recommend anything about it. It all seems very rundown, quite scruffy and neglected. Lots of rubbish. We stayed away from it tbh.

The beaches south it were great though, and theres lots to do in the general area, once you have a car. The coastal road though is brutal.

We thought this place was decent. http://www.ecogorey.com/index.php

bmaxi

Brett Worried Jam wrote: »

Throwing in my two cents here.

This is my first time in Courtown, and to be honest about it after only two days I'm cutting short my little stay-cation and heading home tomorrow.

The positives, the locals have been really friendly.. Thats it.

The place has a really old, tired & neglected feel to it.

We'd a few pints in Jimmyz bar last night, they were grand pints.. They had a half arsed DJ, but my heart sank when he finished off his gig with the national anthem.

There is a chipper next door - avoid it, I spent 16 euro on muck, it went in the bin.

We couldn't get a chinese to delivery after 11pm lol.

It was recommended we eat dinner above Jimmyz bar, so we went today - if it was in Dublin it would go out of business in a week.

After a day on the beer yesterday I really wanted soakage in the way of a carvery, couldn't find one.

There are wasps EVERYWHERE!.. And little containers of sweet stuff to try catch them outside and inside the shops and bars.

I've been to other parts of Wexford and Carlow and have loved the area, just not Courtown.

But if someone has a few very young children and lots of money there is plenty for the youngsters, under about ten year olds I guess the place will be ok for a few days.

I'm in a caravan, its really nice and the sites all look reallt lovely and in great order - a pity the town is a kip.

Someone asked about mobile broadband, I'm on via my mobile phone.

Coverage can be hit and miss, but mostly its been ok. I'm with o2.

Sorry you had such a bad experience, Jimmyz would not be typical of the area and most locals avoid it. The owner is a former SF member who likes to wave the green flag, hence the National Anthem, he also owns Red Mary's in Courtown.
Pay a visit to Courtown itself and try the 19th or the Taravie for a drink or Ambroses if you want it a bit more lively. Taravie is good for a meal too and the Dinky, just across the road, is a decent takeaway.
Don't judge the whole area by one bad experience.

Judgement Day

+1 on the Dinky for the best chips in Ireland.:D

arybvtcw0eolkf

bmaxi wrote: »

Sorry you had such a bad experience, Jimmyz would not be typical of the area and most locals avoid it. The owner is a former SF member who likes to wave the green flag, hence the National Anthem, he also owns Red Mary's in Courtown.
Pay a visit to Courtown itself and try the 19th or the Taravie for a drink or Ambroses if you want it a bit more lively. Taravie is good for a meal too and the Dinky, just across the road, is a decent takeaway.
Don't judge the whole area by one bad experience.

Thanks for your input, unfortuntely we've made plans to leave today.

But honestly it has'nt been an overall bad experince.

The locals have been really friendly, I love getting out of Dublin for this very reason.

Spent last night in Jimmyz and had probably the best ballad sessions in years, but still couldn't get a chinese when I left, lol.

Tbh I won't be sad leaving, and I won't look back.

Courtown is for some, just not for me.

Which is a pity, this is my first time staying in a caravan and I have to say its better than 99% of hotels I've stayed, and the site is spotless. Its the first on the left after Jimmyz, I'd highly recommend staying here.

Courtown just wasn't my cup of tea.

thedarkroom

Brett Worried Jam wrote: »

Thanks for your input . . .
The locals have been really friendly, I love getting out of Dublin for this very reason.

Yeh, the people here are great, unfortunately, if you're looking to get out of Dublin, then half of Dublin has done the same and they mostly move to north Wexford. Not exactly 'getting away from it all'

Courtown has become run down over the last couple of years due to some poor judgements by some developers and Wexford Co Co and an ongoing one between the owners of the hotel block facing the harbour and the Co Co and locals. When they didn't get their way with a huge development proposal a few years back they proceeded to knock out all the windows and put up scruffy hoarding. This destroyed the village centre and created a very poor impression, it was the developer's way of giving everyone the two fingers.

Another large developement was built but remains unsold so this left another pivotal area with a dead spot that again detracted from the area.

Courtown needs a full scale assessment and rejuvenation proposal which should be led by need, not by tax-incentives. It's not all down to the recession. People want to spend what little money they have at home locations and Courtown is popular. There is a good community here and an enthusiastic community council with tourism interests at heart.

Sorry for the rant, but it annoys me to see what has been allowed happen to such a lovely village as Courtown, which has so much potential and is looked on with enthusiasm by so many people. Your experience and those of others referred to in this thread are indicative of how Courtown is going if something isn't done soon.

bmaxi

Brett Worried Jam wrote: »

Thanks for your input, unfortuntely we've made plans to leave today.

But honestly it has'nt been an overall bad experince.

The locals have been really friendly, I love getting out of Dublin for this very reason.

Spent last night in Jimmyz and had probably the best ballad sessions in years, but still couldn't get a chinese when I left, lol.

Tbh I won't be sad leaving, and I won't look back.

Courtown is for some, just not for me.

Which is a pity, this is my first time staying in a caravan and I have to say its better than 99% of hotels I've stayed, and the site is spotless. Its the first on the left after Jimmyz, I'd highly recommend staying here.

Courtown just wasn't my cup of tea.

Each to their own I suppose, though if you enjoyed Jimmyz you can't be hard to please .
I'm surprised you couldn't get a Chinese as there are two Chinese restaurants in Courtown and the ones in Gorey are forever dropping leaflets, I'm sure they wouldn't ignore the mobile sites. Which site did you stay on BTW, Farrells, which is literally 100 yds from Jimmyz or O'Loughlin's which is in Ardamine, both would be first on the left depending on which way you are travelling? I ask, because often posters on here would be looking to hire mobile homes and as far as I knew, none of the park owners allow rentals. Has this changed or was it someone you knew who owned the mobile home?

arybvtcw0eolkf

bmaxi wrote: »

Each to their own I suppose, though if you enjoyed Jimmyz you can't be hard to please .
I'm surprised you couldn't get a Chinese as there are two Chinese restaurants in Courtown and the ones in Gorey are forever dropping leaflets, I'm sure they wouldn't ignore the mobile sites. Which site did you stay on BTW, Farrells, which is literally 100 yds from Jimmyz or O'Loughlin's which is in Ardamine, both would be first on the left depending on which way you are travelling? I ask, because often posters on here would be looking to hire mobile homes and as far as I knew, none of the park owners allow rentals. Has this changed or was it someone you knew who owned the mobile home?

Traveling from Jimmyz to Kilmuckridge it would be the first on the left.

arybvtcw0eolkf

thedarkroom wrote: »

Yeh, the people here are great, unfortunately, if you're looking to get out of Dublin, then half of Dublin has done the same and they mostly move to north Wexford. Not exactly 'getting away from it all'

Courtown has become run down over the last couple of years due to some poor judgements by some developers and Wexford Co Co and an ongoing one between the owners of the hotel block facing the harbour and the Co Co and locals. When they didn't get their way with a huge development proposal a few years back they proceeded to knock out all the windows and put up scruffy hoarding. This destroyed the village centre and created a very poor impression, it was the developer's way of giving everyone the two fingers.

Another large developement was built but remains unsold so this left another pivotal area with a dead spot that again detracted from the area.

Courtown needs a full scale assessment and rejuvenation proposal which should be led by need, not by tax-incentives. It's not all down to the recession. People want to spend what little money they have at home locations and Courtown is popular. There is a good community here and an enthusiastic community council with tourism interests at heart.

Sorry for the rant, but it annoys me to see what has been allowed happen to such a lovely village as Courtown, which has so much potential and is looked on with enthusiasm by so many people. Your experience and those of others referred to in this thread are indicative of how Courtown is going if something isn't done soon.

I wouldn't see that as a rant at all, you make perfect sense.

The Bayview Hotel and the Courtown Hotel, both derelicts certainly give the village a wasteland, neglected look.

I thought the harbour looked really nice, its clean and colorful..

I take it your a resident of Courtown, tell you what never to allow there - CLAMPERS!.

It was a joy to be able to park up and not be on the looking out for 'em, they're a scourge which no town looking to promote tourism should allow.

bmaxi

Brett Worried Jam wrote: »

Traveling from Jimmyz to Kilmuckridge it would be the first on the left.

That's O Loughlin's. It is a nice park, as indeed are most of them but I'm surprised you could rent a mobile home on it.
While I wouldn't welcome clampers, a few parking tickets wouldn't go astray, particularly for the selfish twats with boats and jet skis who abandon their cars, trailers and 4X4s, often blocking the slip for the lifeboat or taking up the disabled spaces but you'd need to park on the Superintendent's foot for the Gardaí around here to give a fcuk. ( Now that's a rant )

RustyP

Hi guys, me and my family are thinking of going to Courtown for a couple of nights and i'm wondering is there any hotels that any of you guys would recommend; one that'd be family friendly (3 month old and 2 and a half year old)

wilfitz

Amber springs in Gorey is the best hotel around. Loads for kids to do. Has crazy golf, mini farm, go karts, football pitch and loads of slides and swings. Only 5 minute drive to courtown.

St Senan

Not 2 far from Courtown is http://www.seanogs.ie/