Our family on tour
It’s been many a year since I took part in an organised tour of anywhere! Since school, the only really organised tours were those in and out of various establishments on Leeson Street late at night and they are a distant memory thank God!
Yesterday, we were invited as guests of Airfield in Dundrum to have a guided tour of the 38 acre estate. It’s an urban working farm in the city and although I have brought my nieces there a few times before, this was the first time we really got to spend time exploring the grounds and learning about the history and background of the place.
There was something for everyone. Three generations of O’Reillys were there ranging in age from almost 4 to 73! The kids got to feed some of the chickens and hens and cautiously petted some of the sheep and goats, although SIve figured the noise of the bleating lambs left a lot to be desired!
Mum adored the beautiful gardens and learnt about ways of planting herbs and organic vegetables and even learnt some tricks to keep slugs out of the plants. (Apparently by planting lavender around the outside of your vegetable patch, the overpowering smell tends to keep pesky creatures getting in). Dad and I loved seeing the vintage cars owned by the Overend sisters. And my sister got the opportunity to walk off a bit of a hangover! I think the zipwire would have cured her though!
My favourite part was learning about an outreach program which Airfield runs with a local school. During the year, each morning children who may not otherwise manage to get breakfast come to Airfield before school. They collect eggs from the hens and then get to eat them for breakfast, along with some yummy bread, also made on site. It’s genius and a lovely gesture by the staff. One of the lovely staff, giving the tour was saying she spends her day with children and animals – definitely not for the faint-hearted!
Obviously, the weather helped but we had such a lovely morning. We arrived at 10.30 and left just after 3. That’s a long few hours en famille, with not even one cross word. Nobody said “I’m bored” as there was plenty to do. We have done lots of days out like this before and by that I mean places and events where everyone can enjoy it. Bearing in mind that we all live in Dublin so this list is a little biased, our favourites so far have been:
The Viking Splash – http://www.vikingsplash.com
Any trips to local Farmers markets – http://www.dublinfarmersmarkets.com
Dublin Zoo – http://www.dublinzoo.ie
And we will definitely go back to Airfield – together or separately.
Where is your favourite place to go as a family?
For more information about upcoming events at Airfield, go to http://www.airfield.ie/news/hibernia-food-market-airfield-food-festival-2015/
Blog posts about baby sleep, parenting and more... 