I used my Tesco points to get some vouchers for Malahide Castle & Gardens. I’ve wanted to see what was behind the turnstiles for ages and also was curious about their new butterfly house. It cost us €5 in Tesco points instead of €20 on the day for a family ticket. as €2.50 in points can be converted to €10 in Boost Vouchers. As always, not an ad for anyone, just highlighting how you can use your points to do fun stuff.
Our trip did not start well. It started lashing rain when we arrived in Malahide. I mean torrential rain, not just a shower. Grrr. We ended up sitting in the car in the car park for a while, hoping that it would ease off. It did – a bit so we legged it to the Butterfly House.
The butterfly house is enjoyable. We had been to a butterfly house in Straffan a few years ago, which has sadly since closed, so we had that in our heads as a benchmark I guess. The Malahide Butterfly house is quite small – we walked around it a good few times but there are plenty of butterflies to see. My daughter was disappointed none landed on her, though I do think she would have lost her life it they did!
We hit Avoca for treats & prayed the rain would stop. It did & shock horror, we saw blue sky, so we returned to the turnstile and went to explore the gardens. They are pretty and very well cared for. There are a few wood carvings around too. After being in a different walled garden recently (Vandeleur in Clare), my kids had little interest in flowers etc. Shame as it was pretty. There are a few glass houses and features around the gardens – some of which were locked, which was a disappointment for the smallies.
Anyway, it’s a nice stroll and Avoca is always going to feature in a trip to the Castle Grounds, so we had a pleasant time. The kids didn’t seem overly impressed though – tough crowd! They wanted to go back to the visitor centre and ‘design a tree’ on one of the computers and then go to the playground. Give me strength….
The Butterfly house is a welcome addition and gives it a bit of a fun factor. Maybe next time, I’ll use my vouchers for the fairy trail as we didn’t get to see that bit during our visit.
I enjoyed the visit but am glad we used our Tesco Points. €20 to see the gardens and butterfly house seemed a bit steep to me. Vandeleur was free, just sayin….
I fell in love with Vandeleur and wish I lived near it. If you are ever in West Clare go x
The Cake Mum 