Eleven acres of Celtic-themed gardens, woodland trails and wildflower meadows at the gateway to Connemara, laid out around the four festivals of the Celtic year. There is a thatched roundhouse, a crannóg, an ancient ring fort and the largest calendar sundial in Ireland.
Walk the linked gardens that follow the Celtic year - Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine and Lughnasa - each with its own sculpture, stone circle, still pool or wildflower meadow. The design is by Mary Reynolds to a concept by founder Jenny Beale.
A thatched roundhouse nestles at the centre of the gardens, with windows looking out onto each of the four seasonal gardens. It is used for art and music, meditation, meetings or simply relaxing.
Meander the Sun Trail through native woodland and meadows past sun features, energy installations and a crannóg, with boards explaining the ecology, history and mythology of the area.
The garden holds Ireland's largest calendar sundial, built in 2006: a five-foot bog-oak spike at the centre of a stone circle whose shadow reads both the time of day and the month of the year.
Collect the free Earth Quest guide at reception and solve challenges at the water-play area, pedal-power generator and geodesic camera obscura; younger children can try the Nature Detectives trail. The play area has a lookout tower, willow tunnels, slide and sandpit, plus basket swings, stepping logs and the Fairy Village.
Interactive renewable-energy features and an educational polytunnel show how the garden grows and how sun, wind and biomass energy work.
The light-filled café cooks award-winning food using herbs and edible flowers from the garden, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices and plenty of home baking. There is no charge to visit the café or gift shop.
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