3 Bedroom Cottage in Birr

The Bothy was built as a cottage to house the young gardeners, some 150 years ago. It has a gate into the famous Formal Gardens and all the Birr Castle Demesne can be enjoyed. Included in this is Ireland's Historic Science Centre and the Demesne is famous throughout the world as the home of the Great Telescope, built by Lord Rosse's ancerstor the 3rd Earl of Rosse, and which is Ireland's greatest scientific treasure. Please see our website:www.birrcastle.com. 
In the evenings the park, with its lake and rivers, is all yours to explore and when the visitors leave you can also fish for trout on the river. 
Birr is a friendly town within walking distance of the Bothy - you just walk out of the Main Gates. There are several pubs and one or two restraunts. Also Bitt Theatre and Arts Centre has performances frequently. 
We are about 2 hours from Dublin Airport and slightly nearer to Shannon Airport. The motorway system has now greatly improved the time to reach Birr, but it is a great location to tour Ireland from. Most of the sites of interest are within a 2 hour drive. The nearest train station is half an hours drive away, so for a trip to Dublin you could take a day return by rail. 
The Slieve Bloom mountains are just the other side of the town,beautiful for walking and picnics. and there is also a local equestrian centre where you can take horse riding. We are only seven miles from the Shannon and a day could be spent there water skiing and boating. 
The area around Birr is very rural with a mainly farming community. North of the town you will see the bogs streaching into the distance. The cutting of turf (or peat) still continues on a small scale and you will have turf from our own bog to burn on you fire in the bothy. You can drive across the bogs to visit Clonmacnoise, the great monastic site of the early mideaval period. It is a site of great beauty on the Shannon and has an interpretive centre telling of the Viking raids and monastic happenings. If you continue West across the Shannon you will reach Galway city in about and hour an a half. The sea is never very far away in Ireland.

Secluded cottage in world heritage garden. The grounds are open to you to explore and a door openins into the famous Formal Gardens. In the evening, after the public have left, you can explore on your own and fish in the two rivers and the lake. Irelands Historic Science Centre is in the grounds and the historic monster telescope, vuilt in 1847 and largest in the world for 75 years is on display in the park. central location for touring Ireland walk into the town of Birr, a Gerogian heritage town friendly shops, pubs and cafes

There is also horseback riding available just bweyond the town of Birr. And also a golf course. The garden is available to you exclusively when the visitors leave and also the lake and river are available for fishing. The Slieve Bloom hills are available for walking and Loch Derg is not too far away.

• Nearest Airport : Dublin, Shannon at 90 kilometers distance;
• Nearest Train Station : Tullamore at 30 kilometers distance
• Nearest Town : Birr at 0 kilometers distance
• Travel Info: Dublin is less than 2 hours away on Motorways M4 and M6 and then to Tullamore and Birr Shannon may be slightly less time, but there are less planes. We are in the very centre of Ireland

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You can walk into the town of Birr through the main gates of the Gardens, or Demesne.. Birr is a pleasant market town with its own theatre, restraunts, library and beautiful Georgian buildings. It is Ireland's heritage Georgian town. The central area of the Irish Midlands is unspoilt and beautiful with areas to walk in the Slieve Bloom hills or visit the boglands with Boora bog nature reserve and parklands - great for children to bike, walk or watch the wildlife.. The Slieve Bloom are a remote and un-touristy area with many ancient early christian sites around their slopes. The holy wells and thorn trees are a feature of the area also. The town of Birr is friendly and has several hospitable pubs.