Some Special Places to Stay in the Area



Mark your calendar for the Graignamanagh Town Of Books Festival! (Sat & Sun 14- 15 September for 2013) Located in one of Ireland's 'hidden gem' villages, this special festival brings together 20- 30 booksellers to sell their wares throughout the town- a treasure trail of goodies for book lovers!

Graignamanagh- 'village of the monks'

Vintage books, specialist books, bargain books, fiction books, non-fiction books, children's books-- whatever your pleasure is, it's bound to be here! (Sorry about the pun.)
There will also be talks, a debate, a local artisan craft and food fair on Sunday, children's activities, rowing races, and more! You can click here, and here to see a bit of what went on last year. (This was witten in 2011)
   There are several good pubs, and Doyle's has got to be the most iconic, with the hardware shop to boot.

Photo of Doyle's by meophamman on flickr
                                                        Staying in or near Graignamanagh is ideal.

Riverside Charm!
The Waterside Guesthouse is in a 19thc converted granite grainstore; homey and cosy- the rooms look out right on to the river, and it is in the heart of the festival. The owners are also well into hiking, rowing, & nature, so do mine them for information with them on those things! Their website also has some good info on the area.



Countryside beauty! 
Blackstairs Courtyard is self- catering, comprised of 2 charming restored buildings; a stone built dairy ,& a grainstore, located a few miles out of town on the Carlow side. They've also more photos of the accommodation & stunning area on their new Facebook page, so do check it out.


Near the action!
Also self-catering, and very handily located just at the edge of town, are Mount Brandon Holiday Cottages. They've some lovely views, excellent ratings on Trip Advisor so get your plans together!


5 Star!
If you want to splash out, the 5 star Inn at Ballilogue Clochan is very beautiful & peaceful. Click & visit the website- even if you are more budget minded- just to see the beautiful traditional, stone-built barns mixed-with-modern-design loveliness of it all! The Clochan is about 10 miles away, in the Inistioge/New Ross direction.



1 more gem!
1 more place I'll mention is The Grainstore Cottages, downriver from Graig in St.Mullins. (The river tow path walk up to Graig is lovely, takes about an hour.) They are self catering, and located in a lovely spot. More on that here.

Have YOU stayed anywhere nice in the area that you'd like to share? Leave a comment below!