Ger Clancy and The Creative Collective for Loch Boora Parklands Festival Reviews

Absolutely gorgeous

really enjoyed our walk

Fab place to spend the day with kids on bikes, walking and generally enjoying the outdoors!

Hired a tandem bicycle for a few euro, my sister and I had a nice 45min cycle on one of the routes round the sights. The trails were pretty good craic. Really nicely designed and maintained park. It's a real find this spot.

Cafe had nice snacks and hot drinks. Definitely recommend to a friend, lots to amuse kids (we climbed up the pyramid) and will be back for sure.

P.S. the gentleman running the cycle hire gave us his business card in case we'd need assistance - should we get a puncture or otherwise break down.

Wonderful family outdoor activity, kids loved it, staff very friendly and informative, bike hire rates reasonable!

Absolutely beautiful park, loads of different routes to walk or cycle, plenty of artistic sculptures to admire, the fairy forest is a must see for kid's and a large pavilion to sit and relax in or have a picnic.

Wasn't impressed broke for 5 cent an den she took 10 cent because she didn't have 5 cents and didnt even say anything or even ask if I had d 5 cent !!!! Not good!!!

One of my favourite places to walk, particularly the fairy ring. Hired bikes this time, inexpensive and it was so chillaxing, will revisit!!

Excellent. Beautiful well kept walk and cycle ways. Mostly on the flat so an easy cycle for the younger ones. Lots of very big sculptures. Plenty of picnic areas. A nice cage with good coffee and very nice fresh desserts. Friendly helpful staff. No charge to get in. Even the parking was free the day we were there. Everything is well sign posted. We brought our own bikes but the guys there renting the bikes talked us through the routes and told us to call them if we had a puncture or any problems. Toilet facilities very clean and modern. All in all it was an excellent experience. Couldn't recommend it highly enough!

Great place for cycling with family and at the same time well tourist town that you should not miss.

Great place to spend time with your family in evenings .

Absolutely stunning place to go on a cycle anyone looking for a real taste of Ireland this is the place. The bike rental service is great and there s a lovely little cafe to grab lunch all very affordable.

It's one of the best free experiences I've ever visited

Lovely day out with the dogs, nice that the rain kept away

Great spot loved the bike hire even doe it was raining it didn't dampen our spirits very well priced and the food in the little cafe was lovely .The man who organised the bike hire was very friendly our son loved the fairy trails and the trains around the cycle .only small issue we had was the dog fouling can't understand why people can not pick up after there loved dogs. We would recommend this place as it's great for families

It is very good because you can go for a walk or you can cycle their.

Great space for families...picnic areas, bike rental facilities as well as bikepaths and a cafe

Fantastic bike trip through the bog and forestry lovely tea room, amazing sculptures and installations well worth a visit free entry bike hire available onsite. Well done all involved

So much to do here for children, adults and dogs alike (dogs on leads). Numerous walking and cycling tracks, free parking on various laybys along the road.

Amazing spot for walking and cycling. Could go here every day for a week and do a different route. On site bike rental was great value with a good range of bikes. Cafe was lovely. Sculptures are very interesting.

Very nice park, ideal to make a stop on your car trip and disconnect. Recommended with children

Smashing day out, bike hire available, easy routes for walking and cycling, 3km, 5km, 9km or 13km. Gorgeous scenery and the sculpture park is really worth a visit

Lovely place to spend time, you can rent out a bike which makes day even better

Animal, vegetable, mineral. This amazing place has them all. Plus the cafe at the visitors center makes good tea.

wonderful walking today . nice coffee with good friends afterwards

A beautiful park where you can hire and ride bikes. We had a great time there!.

Beautiful and amazing, great whale watching experience in the middle of Ireland.

Fantastic scenery...such a peaceful place. Views across the bog and lakes in summer is stunning.

Beautiful place for walking jogging or cycling Ideal for all the family and you cn see nature alt itsl best

Myself and my partner went there for a walk. Entrance is free but you must pay 4 euro for the car park which is fair in my opinion. To our surprise we learned that there was a bicycle rental shop where adult bikes were 5 euro per hour. We rented a bike each and went on the short 5km path. The trail itself was all paved and flat so cycling was easy. The sculptures are all very interesting and made for nice breaks every 5 or so minutes. There were lots of hikers and families there as well so there is something for everyone. Staff were all very friendly and willing to help us get started. I would definitely recommend going there for a day out.

Only reason I'm not giving 5 is because we stopped into the cafe on the way out. We got one hot chocolate, one coffee and two slices of cake totalling 16 euro. I thought this was a bit expensive plus the drinks weren't great.

Stunning location, the cafe food is so much better than what I come to expect in a place like this in the UK. And most of all the most helpful staffs at the bicycle rental. For a visitor like me these people are worth their weight in gold!

Upon entry to the visitors center you are greeted by a wonderful lady called Lisa who is full of useful and entertaining information , a person truly passionate about the parklands and surrounding area .
We decided to visit last weekend, there are picnic benches in the vicinity of each of the carparks we cycled or drove by, as well as in the pavillion which is about a 15 minute walk into the park from the visitor center . We picniced in the main carpark where the tables are very private ,quiet and visited by lots of friendly small birds looking for crumbs .

We visited the sculpture park on the Saturday afternoon and took a leisurely stroll around the fairy walk in the woods (fantastic for children of all ages ) got some fantastic photos at the Celtic knot , learned about the various dry stone wall types from the different provinces at the gathering of stones and climbed to the top of the boora pyramid .

I'm into preserving our environment ,like art, and am an amatuer naturalist so had been looking forward to visiting Lough boora for awhile but wasn't sure my partner or her daughter of 11 would enjoy it as much as myself , imagine my surprise when they suggested we go back the following day and cycle around a larger portion of the park . While the art in the sculpture park might not be everybody's cup of tea I would be surprised if everyone did not find one piece that they like . Even if it's just seeing and climbing the pyramid , getting a view of the Lough boora monster (system no.30) from a seat in the "tippler bridge" or taking a contemplative moment in the boora triangle.
While in the park I took the opportunity to check out the bird hides in the wetlands for a future visit in the Autumn or winter .

There are plenty of information boards about the park and the history of bord na Mona at the site and environs and the work carried out , the walking path and cycle track are well signposted around the park .
Toilets are located in the visitors center and beside the pavillion in the park and were clean and stocked and there were disabled toilets in both locations .

There are fishing spots around the park and disabled fishing spots near the visitors center .

The cafe in the visitors center had a variety of snacks ice creams and cold drinks muffins tray bakes as well as serving hot food pizzas etc , teas and coffees also were available .
When we returned on the Sunday we hired bikes , a tandem and a mountain bike and visited the Mesolithic part of the bog and the area where the partridge are breeding and returned via the wetlands area. We had a lovely time and a leisurely cycle for just under two hours with plenty of stops along the way.

The bikes were well used but well maintained and more than adequate , the staff were terrific even when there wasn't a tandem available we went to the cafe and they came and told us when one became available . The bikes are very reasonably priced at 8euro an hour for the tandem and 5euro an hour for adults , they also had children's bikes , ladies bikes ,adult bikes with chairs for smaller children and bikes with trailers for children.

All in all Lough boora is a fantastic place to visit , the people who work there are friendly and knowledgeable, it is a beautiful part of the country and it's FREE , highly recommended and for extra fun and or exercise bring or rent a bike ,you won't regret it!

We cycled the red route, it was everything we hoped for. The route has lake and forest views and great views across to the slieve blooms. Good tracks, well maintained and nice coffee. Offaly really is the capital of Ireland hidden heartlands

Fantastic, free local amenity. Plenty of beautiful sights to take in. Would love to see it become more wheelchair accessible.

Fantastic scenery cycle or walk in beautiful parklands

An interesting place for a picnic, bike ride, a nice walk or just a family outing. I would recommend.

Idyllic laid out, bicycle rental available, good walking possibilities

Beautiful place to visit. Lovely trails. We hired a tandem bike. Good fun.

Escape into the country.....signage is poor
I got lost, but the solitude and nature's beauty made up for that..

fantastic use of old materials and brilliant transformation from the working bog into a viable tourist attraction. its the great outdoors at it s best catering for the historian, wildlife lover, the environmentalist, art lover and fitness fanatic. great day out for one and all highly recommended.

Beautiful calming full of wonderful walkways so much to see

Beautiful place. Its still a working bog so you can see bog trains transporting turf. Lots of birdlife. Great walking and cycling paths. Bikes can be rented on site. Lots for kids to do. Nice cafe, well kept toilets and lots of parking. Well worth a visit. Only drawback its a little remote and hard to find.

Great place to hang out on a sunny day, bike rental,and a great cafe

Lovely walks and beautiful scenery. Free for all the family

Lovely, quite, cold, I walked for 1 hour , felt great after, so many walk to suit everyone, highly recommend it to anyone, sc.

Well worth a visit great for children young and old loads to do historic and educational

Beautiful cycle paths through the boglands. Lovely cafe and very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff.

I love this Park. Any number of mazy routes you can take to explore the whole park. Several clearly marked loop trails from a couple of kilometers up the 16 kilometers. Loads of interesting local art to pique the interest and plenty of history throughout. Many bits explained on info boards located on the routes.
If you have a child learning to cycle it's a very safe place for them to get the hang of it. Bike hire available too. They might even see a Fairy on their adventures.
Nature lovers will get lost in the many different environments in the park with plenty to see, hear and indeed smell.
Well worth a visit for old and young alike.

Free parking, great scenery and lovely picnic areas. Fantastic for family

Great day out with the kids fantastic picnic site and bikes are only 3 for kids and 5 for adults to rent

Really nice place to walk picnic also you can hire bikes there too there of stuff to do there too nice place

A great place for a walk with children, many attractions that may interest children, works by various artists, other interesting exhibitions, nature, fresh air, a really good day in our family life, for which I would like to thank my husband, who usually organizes it for us, this case.

Lovely location, with fantastic walks and cycling tracks. Beautiful scenery and a great little coffee shop. Definitely be back again.

The most wonderful place to go for a few hours with kids or adults. Lots of trails and paths to walk and things to see. A lovely coffee shop after for something substantial or something nice.

Great place to go especially with kids. You can rent bikes and bring your own picnic with plenty of places to sit. Great for the kids to explore the old trains that used to be user here. Great day out. Brilliant fairy trail for the kids too.

Great place for walking, cycling and the family of all ages

Greats walks. Interesting sculptor trail.Good fairy trail

We had a lovely day here. Family friendly. Spotlessly clean. Staff very helpful and friendly. Good pricing for bike hire. Will definitely return

Great open spaces, the scenery is well preserved even after the renovations!