Irish National Stud Review - Our Visit

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We had the most amazing visit to the Irish National Stud last week when we were staying at Lawlor's of Naas! If you follow me on Instagram, you can see more about it and our trip to Kildare on my story highlight and on this reel.

I can't recommend this experience enough. As a family of five, we thoroughly enjoyed every part of our visit from our delicious lunch to our guided tour, visiting the stunning gardens and taking part in the Irish Racehorse Experience. Read on for my Irish National Stud review...

Guided Tours

The guided tour lasts 45 minutes. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour as well. We learned so much about the history of the stud, how racehorses are bred and raised and even the prices for stud fees.

The tour walked us around the buildings including where the stud horses are kept, barns where we got to pet foals and outside where we enjoyed more horses and nature's beauty.

Every animal here was so content! Ducks were waddling by, bunnies hopping along, birds landing right next to us. It was amazing! And the foals are so used to people that they walk over for pets! It was really idyllic.

As part of the tour, we got to see some iconic racehorses including Beef or Salmon who is enjoying retirement at the National Stud. We also saw Invincible Spirit who has achieved amazing racing results as well as having sired many champions.

There is an option for a self-guided tour but I'd highly recommend going on the guided tour. You will learn so much while keeping it fun!

Japanese Garden Cafe

The Japanese Garden Cafe is located near the admission desk but when you get into the cafe you are in a whole new world. It is surrounded by beautiful zen gardens, trees and birds. There is both indoor and outdoor seating.

We had delicious, beautifully presented meals ranging from Chicken Caesar salad to Duck with Noodles and Fish 'n Chips. The food is wholesome and oh-so delicious. There were also homemade desserts which were equally as lovely and beautifully presented. There are vegetarian and gluten-free options.

We sat outside so we got to enjoy the views of the garden while we dined. The entry into the Japanese Garden is next to the cafe as well.

Natalie and all of the staff were really lovely and attentive. It was a really nice addition to our day out at the National Stud.

The Gardens

The gardens honestly blew me away! I wasn't expecting them to be so exquisite with such attention to detail.

Around every twist and turn in the Japanese Garden was a new and exciting sight to experience. I was truly impressed with how the gardens have been created and perfectly maintained. We took the rugged path, if you are able to go up and down steps and walk on uneven surfaces I highly recommend it. I felt like a child exploring a wonderland!

St. Fiachra's Garden is also pure magic, it was a joy to walk around the beautiful paths and see the swans and other wildlife. This garden is very calm and has some interesting and fun things along the way to explore and learn about.

Irish Racehorse Experience

The Irish Racehorse Experience is really fun! It is held in a dedicated building and you need to be sure to book this experience with your ticket.

You start the experience with a video that talks about Irish racing and I honestly never knew how amazing Irish racehorses are! From there you get a tablet and headset and move from station to station where you virtually buy a horse, name it, train it, choose colours and finally enter your horse in a race.

The race itself is hilarious - there are 8 horse seats to sit on and the race begins. The horse moves and the winner moves forward and the losing horses move back. There is commentary and you really feel like you are in a race! When it's over there is a race review with a video which is so funny to watch back! I actually won I'm delighted to say, my horse came in first.

General Info

• Opening hours: 9am to 6pm.

• Location: Tully, Co. Kildare, not far off the M7.

• There is a cafe on site which is located next to the ticket office.

• There are several restrooms on the property.

• Tickets include the guided tour and access to the gardens.

• The guided tour is 45 minutes.

• Tour times: 10.30, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00.

• There are self-guided tour options as well.

• The Irish Racehorse Experience is a separate ticket, so be sure to get the ticket that includes this experience.

• You can book on arrival but pre-booking online is recommended.

• Most areas are wheelchair and stroller accessible.

• There is free parking adjacent to the ticket office.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend the Irish National Stud for a family day out. We are a family of five, the kids are now 17, 14 and 11 and we all really enjoyed the visit. Everything from our meal to the tour, gardens and racehorse experience was super fun! You can get booking info on the Irish National Stud website.

Read my recent post, Things to do with kids in Kildare for ideas of more activities.