Travel choices really change when you have a kid. When before we would plan our trip around different restaurants and sights, now we have to adjust our itinerary with kid-friendly spots and activities. Enter Rathwood.
Dublin for Kids: What is Rathwood?
I have never heard of Rathwood. When my friend, Rommel, told me that he would take us and our kids there, I had to google it. See here. It turns out, Rathwood is mainly a furniture store, with a salon and other shops, but they also host events for kids. For summer, they offer the Teddy Bear Picnic with a train ride around the Rathwood estate.
You start with meeting Mama Bear and she asks for help to find Baby Bear, as she is missing!
You then go into the Teddy Bear Factory to make your own bear. It only entails stuffing the bear, which the kids enjoyed.
Then you bring your bear with you on the train to search for Baby Bear.
Mama Bear also accompanied us on the train. A few minutes into our train ride, we found Baby Bear with Papa Bear!
They were outside the Maze of Ireland. Papa Bear and Baby Bear then joined us on the train, with Baby Bear in our cabin! Becca was not interested in her at all!
We then continued our journey through the woodland and fed the geese and ducks.
And ended with a picnic. The kids got cookies, an apple and juice. Sadly the adults got none.
Other things to do:
Playground
There was a very nice playground for kids of all ages. Different heights of slides, swings for toddlers and older kids, climbing bars, etc. There are also benches for parents to supervise their kids.
Deer Park
Near the parking lot is a deer park. In a small enclosure were some very healthy deer enjoying the grass. We visited for a bit and the kids enjoyed feeding the deer.
Maze of Ireland
There is a maze of Ireland, where you can get lost or find your way through all the 32 counties of Ireland. This, we didn’t do as we had young kids with us who didn’t have the patience for a big puzzle. It is quite interesting though, and would love to do it in the future.
Shop
If you live in Ireland, you may find different furniture for your house. One of our friends actually found a dining room table on our visit!
They also sell clothes, beauty products, kitchen stuff (which was so tempting for me, but we didn’t have much space in our luggage!), and a variety of kids stuff.
Visit the Chocolate Garden of Ireland
Here you can see how their chocolate is made and shop a variety of chocolates. Sadly we weren’t able to do this as Becca was enjoying the playground so much we didn’t have the heart to make her leave.
Where to eat?
Rathwood had a very nice restaurant. We had lunch there and thoroughly enjoyed what we got. You can also get coffee and dessert after.
For all our pics, please see here.
What else can you do in Dublin for kids?
I wrote a previous post on Imaginosity, see here.
I also wrote about the Dublin Zoo, see here.
