Walks through the arboretum, the rhododendron Broad Walk, the Oak Avenue and the meadows from the car parks inside the entrance; free, every day except 25 December during gate hours; no bicycles or scooters; some challenging ground.
About
Kilmacurragh, five kilometres off the N11 in County Wicklow, is the country outstation of the National Botanic Gardens, a 21-hectare portion of the old Acton demesne that joined the national collection in 1996. After Cromwell the land passed to the Acton family, and when the estate came to Thomas Acton in 1854 he built a new and pioneering garden with David Moore and his son Sir Frederick Moore, curators at Glasnevin, where plants that struggled in Dublin's soil thrived. The result is a collection famous for its conifers and rhododendrons, with 180 species and over 420 varieties of the latter; in spring their fallen blossom forms a magenta carpet along the Broad Walk. The Oak Avenue, crocus meadows, a pond vista and the ruined eighteenth-century house complete a wilder, more natural garden than Glasnevin. Entry and parking are free, free guided tours run at noon and three from mid March to mid October, the Acton Café serves lunches, and dogs are welcome on a lead.
Check today’s timesPick a day for times and prices
A reminder to all our visitors: the gardens can get very busy at weekends and we may have to close the gates at certain times if the site reaches maximum capacity. Booking is essential for all bus/coach tours. Please note there is no parking outside the gardens.
Today, Saturday 24 October
- National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh09:00 – 16:30last admission 16:00
Free entry
Opening times may change at short notice.
Open every day of the year except 25 December: mid February to October 09:00 to 17:00 with last admission 16:30, 1 November to mid February 09:00 to 16:30 with last admission 16:00 (the gardens' home page has given the winter start as 27 October with 10:00 weekend opening; OPW's dates are stored). Free guided tours daily at 12:00 and 15:00 from mid March to mid October, meeting outside the visitor information office near the cafe; from November to February tours can be booked by email. The gates may close at weekends when the site is full.
Allow an hour or more; OPW notes challenging access in places and advises suitable footwear. Wheelchair-accessible toilet, picnic area, bicycle parking. The Acton Café in the restored courtyard opens 10:00 to 16:30 from March to October and 10:00 to 16:00 in winter. No ball games, bicycles, scooters, kites or drones.
Dogs: Pet dogs are welcome throughout the gardens on a lead at all times; whether they may enter the cafe is not stated.
Photo: The ruined Acton house at Kilmacurragh seen across the mown lawn and summer meadow, with conifers and a monkey puzzle behind. Stephen Darlington, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ruin,_Kilmacurrah_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3609028.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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