Yes, a Heritage Park in Ireland and not that far away from Dublin the capital city.
35 acres are covered with a massive piece of good old ground lots of trees and nature as far as you can see. It is pitch black during the night, because there are no lights at all.
Except some tiny ones when you think about to go to loo in a small cabin which is somewhere in the woods. Here and there are little spots with smaller and bigger ancient cottages, a mill next to a lake to make some flour, searching for gold and some archery or swords fighting can be learned. I even saw a fairy once when I entered a circle of mushrooms on the ground.
And guess what? You can actually have the full life experience of staying over night in one of the cottages!!! That’s amazing isn’t it?
For all of you explorers, world and time travellers, history lovers out there it could be the perfect escape from a loud and noisy city. Just spend some time with your friends in a fort with a big cottage to stay overnight, a smaller one where they keep all the food.
Sorry, just plastic food, but it still looks sooo yummy and authentic.
There is a wall surrounding the fort and a tower above the entrance which is a good spot to detect enemies like rabbits, robins or berries who came to life that try to conquer everything that comes in their way.
Besides, you have to take care that the fire is not going out during the night. Just in case you like to sit all together in front if a warm and cosy fireplace, get some drinks, boil some water in an old iron pot for some tea or a hot and delicious stew. A little side note, always keep in mind that you should follow these easy, but very important little rules for a nice evening.
Just the way how our ancestors did … Or better how our Irish ancestors lived many hundreds and thousands of years ago. Because we are here now, in the middle of nowhere, only forest to each side and a boiling stew in front of us, that is keeping us alive during the night.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
But where is the beginning? The beginning I would suggest is to arrive in Dublin Airport and how to get to this beautiful little place in the middle of nowhere.
There are several ways to go there. Like by train, bus, car or taxi. But there are some people who don’t have a drivers license, or they are afraid to drive on the “other” side of the street. Next to that Dublin is not an easy going city to rent a car and have some first-hand
experiences to drive on the left side instead the right.
Even though I know Dublin very well I still get confused from time to time and have to be specially careful when I am on the road. That’s why I’ll explain step by step of how you get to the Heritage Park in the safest way. It does not matter where you come from when you arrive by plane. You’ll have to get out of the airport and the first complicated task will be to get a ticket for the bus.
There are different buses driving straight to the city centre which needs between 30 minutes and 1 hour depending on rush hour.
Rush hour is in the morning between 7-9 am and in the evening 4-6. Hell yeah!
DUBLIN AIRPORT COACH PARK - ZONE 16 TO ENNISCORTHY
There you go. You catch the Wexford bus from the Airport, pay inside or book the tickets online and enjoy the ride for maximum 2 hours to Enniscorthy. And I must admit that bus is a fine one. Comfortable and relaxing. I am always tempted to fall asleep in it.
One Ticket would cost 21 Euros. Maybe it seems a bit much in the beginning, but when you have to go to the city centre first and take the bus to Enniscorthy you have to pay almost the same price.
You are a student? It’ll cost you 19 Euros Children between 4 – 15 around 14 Euros
In case you are not sure how to get to the bus stop you always can ask the security which walks around or you look for the icon of “i” for the info – desk, and they are more than welcome to help out. Later on you’ll figure out it is really easy to get there, but when everything is somehow new to you it happens easily to get lost.
Once you arrived in Enniscorthy you should call a Taxi, because in case you order a small bus when you are a few more people it gets really cheap. Like 5 Euros for everyone. That’s what we did on our way back from the Heritage Park to Enniscorthy bus stop.
There is actually a fantastic app which you can download on your phone before you begin the journey. It is called “myTaxi” and is well-known all over Europe. With that App you always can check on the taxi driver. There is a photo shown and how far he or she is away from the adress to pick you up. A cool thing about it, would be that you can see how much it’ll cost you and pay in advance. Less stress for everyone. Just hop on and off. To make sure that you all arrive well I add the addresses right here. Just copy and past and you are good to go.
Stop in Enniscorthy: Abbey Quay Stop Irish National Heritage Park: Ferrycarring, Co. Wexford, Ireland
HERITAGE PARK
Now that you know how to get there it is important to book the overnight experience in the Heritage Park. Do it right here: NATIONAL HERITAGE PARK IRELAND
Isn’t it exciting? I didn’t know what to expect … But the location was already in the middle of nowhere and I could hear birds singing in the summer sun!
In case you arrive early you can explore the park like a regular tourist. There are some things going on like archery, swords fighting, baking bread and nice little tours where you get to know Irish history better. But at 5:30 pm the park closes and is only open for you and your friends. That means there is no one else around and you can spend time in the woods, walking around and getting lost like me. But that’s alright.
One of my best life choices have been not having a signal of my phone while exploring the park on my own, and it was about to get dark, like really really dark.
By the way feel free to check out the video I did on YouTube and you know what I was talking about. Was lots of fun though, and I am looking forward of doing it again next year. Sadly the special offer is only available during summer. It is understandable to think about the fact that it is getting too cold in winter, and you never know what kind of weather you get in Ireland. That means space is limited and booked out fast!!!
Actually I don’t want to tell you so much more about the experience I had during the overnight in the Heritage Park. Because it won’t be such a surprise any more and what else is better than being nicely surprised? And since you know now how to get there I am no longer needed. Only two more little advices you need to know next to the fact that you can read a bit more about the staying overnight on the Website of the Heritage Park.
1ST IS TO GET UP EARLY THE FOLLOWING MORNING
Otherwise, it may be that some tourists are opening the door to the cottage you are sleeping in and it is a funny and awkward moment for everyone. The park opens at 9:30 am. So it is not too late, but since you have to tidy up everything you should get up minimum half hour before opening.
You can get a nice breakfast in the main building. The restaurant is right behind the shop.
2ND IS TO BUY FOOD BEFORE YOU STAY AT THE HERITAGE PARK
I bought some vegetables and made a fine stew out of it. Since I am a huge fan of authenticity I didn’t want to have any crisps or fizzy drinks during that adventure. Would have loved it to wear clothes which they had back then and chopping some wood. But the wood was already chopped, and they don’t offer any authentic clothes during that night any more.
And now book your trip to Irelands National Heritage Park and enjoy your over night adventure!
You have some further questions? I am happy to help out.
Are you interested to know the recipe of the stew? Let me know in the comment section below!
And don’t forget to hit the like button, leave a comment, subscribe and to check out the super cringy video of my National Heritage Park experience.
THAT'S THE VIDEO I WAS TALKING ABOUT!
And as always I see you in the future, Sina
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