So this biking tour was fantastic. The tour guides are in a league of their own of information,…read moreknowledge, and fantastic personalities. The bikes are in a little bit of rough shape but you get to see the fantastic sights from locals in Kilkenny. Definitely worth it, I highly recommend!

Paddle your own canoe, they said. OK, I said…read more Best weekend trip I've had in a long time. At 11am we were met by Nathan in Bagnelstown (also known as Muine Beag), where he took our camp gear and gave us his canoes for us to paddle. He then brought our gear to the campsite and we headed off down the River Barrow on our two day adventure. Because the River Barrow was made navigable for commercial barges in the Victorian era, we had two options in terms of route. Paddle down the weirs or port around the lock gates. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the weirs on the river, we decided to port. All thirteen locks. The last lock at St Mullins is mandatory to port around as the weir is not suitable for any craft, but next time I think I will don a helmet, face my fears and go down the first twelve weirs on the two day route. All that said, the experience was so awesome, the porting didn't take away from it at all. At the end of the first day, after the bridge near Borris, we approached the campsite where again the river splits into two. If you see a barge parked up on the island in the left hand channel you're in the right place. Now here we did need to tackle the weir to get to the campsite and my advice is stick to the right hand side as much as you can and you should be grand. It was actually good fun going down the weir here. Then just around the bend we found the mooring pontoon to disembark at. Walking up the hill and past the main house on the right, we found our gear waiting for us under a tree in the field down a slope on the left. You will see the weir stretch out in front of you and some forestry on the other side of the river. It was stunning to be honest, really really lovely. And we got to camp here. With a camp fire. Fantastic. The next day we set off destined for St Mullins. And if we thought the first leg of the route was nice, the second leg was even nicer. It's a wonderful part of the world and seeing it from a canoe on the River Barrow was something special. Each morning started off overcast, but it cleared on both days with some fantastic summer weather. We really did luck out with the sunshine and warmth on this trip. The scenery, the wildlife and the farm life we paddled past was all fantastic. The lock gates with their gatekeeper houses. The arched bridges. And the scenic forestry on the second day of the route. All so memorable. I can't recommend this trip enough. You should paddle your own canoe too.

I heard of Altamont Gardens before but it took until now that I finally got to visit - if I'd live…read morecloser I would be a very regular visitor now! It is a huge park where you can spend hours if you like with lots of different flowers, trees, plants - most of them with name plate. I had my camera with me so took my time, but even without or with your kids running around it's well worth a visit (and any detour) I think. It has formal gardens (not ususally my taste, but these were still nice to look at), with a rather derelict old house, a huge informal park inclusive a smal temple, river walk and a sea full of water lilies. And there's also a walled garden, parts of it rather organised and other parts just full of flowers in all colours side by side. There's a lovely little cafe in the walled gardens - as I don't find much information about it I don't start an own business entry for that. I had a savoury scone (buttermilk and soda) with local cheese and beetrot chutney and a large cappuccino - for € 6.40. Apart from it being very tasty I loved the cafe for being in the middle of a garden with little bits and pieces selected to make it feel like home. There is also a hen family running around in the walled garden / cafe which makes it even nicer to sit there and relax. It belongs to OPW which means it has the added advantage of free entrance. And they have a nursery / shop so you can buy flowers and trees for your own garden.

This is one of my favourite places to go when I'm home. The gardens are huge and you can walk…read morearound for hours. Even though the car park always seems to be full the gardens always seem peaceful. They have a section where you can buy plants and a lovely little cafe run by the forge where you can grab some tea and cake. I have even here live music there occasionally which adds to the atmosphere. Bring waterproof shoes though as the grassy paths can be damp!

I got drop kicked of a swing it made made me very sad it hurt my feelings I am 27 he must of…read morethought I was 16 I look younger then I am

After dragging the wee one to countless pubs and doing adult stuff all week we found this little…read moregem and made sure we stopped to get some kid time in for her. Not too far from Kilkenny on the N78. There is so much to see and do. You can park at the car park and take the nice walk following the path to the fairy houses and zipline in the back. Easy, flat walk. Perfect to take in a fresh Irish air. There is also a great little play area in the front with climbing wall, tire swings, etc. All in great shape and well taken care of. You can expect to stay anywhere from an hour to several hours if you wish. There is also a nice little café with clean toilets and might fine coffee. All make for happy kids and a nice, cheap little stop off...

Kilkenny's brand new leisure centre boasts a 25m pool, an outdoor running track, floodlit astroturf…read morepitches, gym and aerobics studio among other things. It's easily the best (actually, I think it's the only) leisure centre in Kilkenny. You can join up long term or you can pay for once-off pool/gym sessions. Look out for their special off peak rates for the pool where you can swim for one hour for only 4 euro.

Handy and great attitude to Athy town, otherwise the nearest gym is Carlow. They have a good few…read moreclasses during the week! Never had any problem in here.

None existence air con on gym floor!! hot water in showers very rare too!! for €90 a month it…read moreleaves alot to be desired!!

So the playground got renovated and looks so much better. It's busy with children enjoying…read morethemselves - just the way it should be. I noticed they got rid of a few trees which I hate to see and hope that it was for a just reason.

situated on Church Rd opposite the train station and stretching to almost the Carlow rd side of it,…read moreits a nice little park with a new children s playground currently being built. Let see how that goes, many people say its the drug sales ground of Athy and judging by the overflowing bins of beer cans and vodka bottles its not somewhere Id be walking through alone. It was larger in previous years but part of it was used by the council to build a swimming pool then knocked down and converted to a paid parking lot. Very attractive ................... not.

The only place in Kilkenny to train in traditional jiu-jitsu, the club trains twice a week (Mondays…read moreand Wednesdays) offering both adult and kids classes. Anyone can join and they also offer 12 week self defence courses every so often for those who want to do a once-off course. The club is affiliated with the World Kobudo Federation and hosts an annual international martial arts seminar in St. Kieran's College gym every March. Members also have the opportunity to travel with the club to international seminars all over Europe. The standard here is excellent and the instructers are knowledgable and approachable.