I WAS UNIMPRESSED BY THE VISITOR CENTRE
A Trip on the New Phoenix Park Shuttle Bus (Launched 8 October 2023)
I travelled to the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on the new 99 bus service, arriving at 4:00 PM. Unfortunately, the walled kitchen garden was closing, which was disappointing as I didn't find much else of interest at the Visitor Centre, other than the landscaping, which is beautiful throughout Phoenix Park in general.
Ashtown Castle is the main attraction at the Visitor Centre. It's a tower house likely dating from the seventeenth century, though it may be as early as the fifteenth. For years, it was hidden within a Georgian mansion. When the mansion was demolished in the late 1980s, the castle was rediscovered and restored.
The surrounding Ashtown Demesne offers several attractions, including the beautifully restored Victorian walled kitchen garden, woodland walks, picnic areas, and a universal-access playground.
The Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, next to the castle, houses an exhibition on the park's history from 3500 BC to the present day. There's also a charming restaurant in the visitor centre grounds.
The new shuttle bus service currently runs between Parkgate Street and the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre via Chesterfield Avenue, stopping at popular attractions like Dublin Zoo, Áras an Uachtaráin (near the Phoenix Monument), and the Parkgate Street entrance.
The service is part of a wider initiative to reduce private car usage in the park and encourage sustainable transport. It was developed following a study by the Office of Public Works, the NTA, Dublin County Council, and Fingal County Council.
I travelled to the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on the new 99 bus service, arriving at 4:00 PM. Unfortunately, the walled kitchen garden was closing, which was disappointing as I didn't find much else of interest at the Visitor Centre, other than the landscaping, which is beautiful throughout Phoenix Park in general.
Ashtown Castle is the main attraction at the Visitor Centre. It's a tower house likely dating from the seventeenth century, though it may be as early as the fifteenth. For years, it was hidden within a Georgian mansion. When the mansion was demolished in the late 1980s, the castle was rediscovered and restored.
The surrounding Ashtown Demesne offers several attractions, including the beautifully restored Victorian walled kitchen garden, woodland walks, picnic areas, and a universal-access playground.
The Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, next to the castle, houses an exhibition on the park's history from 3500 BC to the present day. There's also a charming restaurant in the visitor centre grounds.
The new shuttle bus service currently runs between Parkgate Street and the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre via Chesterfield Avenue, stopping at popular attractions like Dublin Zoo, Áras an Uachtaráin (near the Phoenix Monument), and the Parkgate Street entrance.
The service is part of a wider initiative to reduce private car usage in the park and encourage sustainable transport. It was developed following a study by the Office of Public Works, the NTA, Dublin County Council, and Fingal County Council.
I WAS UNIMPRESSED BY THE VISITOR CENTRE