Things to do in Central Kilkenny
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Jerpoint Abbey
One of Ireland’s finest Cistercian ruins, Jerpoint Abbey is about 2.5km southwest of Thomastown on the N9. It was established in the 12th century and has been partially restored. The tower and cloister are late 14th or early 15th century. Look for the series of often amusing figures carved on the cloister pillars, including a knight. There are also stone carvings on the church walls and in the tombs of members of the Butler and Walshe families. Faint traces of a 15th- or 16th-century painting remain on the northern wall of the church. This chancel area also contains a tomb thought to belong to hardheaded Felix O’Dulany, Jerpoint’s first abbot and bishop of Ossory, who…
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Bassetts at Woodstock
Adjacent to Woodstock Gardens, John Bassett has turned his family home into an inspired dining experience. Saturday nights feature tasting menus (€9.50 per course) paired with wines (from €5 per glass) served at set intervals from 7.30pm. It's a great way to spend an evening with a table of friends. The food is fresh, local and inventive. Future meals graze right outside the door.
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Woodstock Gardens
Approximately 3km south, on Mt Alto, is the heavily forested Woodstock Gardens, a beauty of a park with expansive gardens, picnic areas and trails. The panorama of the valley and village below is spectacular. Coming from town, follow the signs for Woodstock Estate and enter the large gates (despite appearances, it’s a public road) then continue along the road for about 2km until you reach the car park.
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Mount Juliet
Just 4km southwest of Thomastown, high-fliers tee off at the Jack Nicklaus–designed Mount Juliet. Set over 1500 wooded acres, it also has its own equestrian centre, a gym and spa, two restaurants, wine master-classes, and palatial rooms catering to every whim, right down to the pillow menu (accommodation from €169).
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Blackberry Cafe
Superb thick-cut sandwiches and warming soups are served with pumpkin-seed-speckled soda bread here. Much is organic and the tarts and cakes are baked daily. Between noon and 2pm, great-value multicourse hot lunches see the place squeezed to bursting. It's right in town.
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Circle of Friends
With tables overlooking the square, this cheerful apple-green cafe with strawberry-motif table cloths has flavoured coffees (mint, caramel and so on), hot dishes like beer-battered cod and chips and – the reason everyone’s really here – gargantuan servings of homemade desserts like pavlova.
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Kilfane Glen & Waterfall
Kilfane Glen & Waterfall is a pretty spot with wooded paths winding through its wild 6-hectare gardens, which date from the 1790s. An elaborately decorated thatched cottage is worth hiking to. Kilfane Glen is 2km north of town along the N9.
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Jerpoint Glass Studio
The local highlight, the nationally renowned Jerpoint Glass Studio, is housed in an old stone-walled farm building where you can watch workers craft molten glass into exquisite artistic and practical items.
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Motte Restaurant
On the northern edge of the village, this aubergine-trimmed cottage is illuminated inside by an open fire and candles. Beef in cracked pepper and brandy cream sauce is a highlight of its Irish menu.
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Reptile Village
Brave souls can handle some of the slithering creatures at the indoor (ie rainy-day friendly) ReptileVillage; the less brave can peer at them through glass.
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Clay Creations
Clay Creations displays the quixotic ceramics and sculptures of local artist Brid Lyons.
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Sol Bistro
Kilkenny's modern Irish cafe has a branch in Thomastown's centre. It's a small cafe in a tidy old storefront and combines the best local ingredients for Irish classics with a twist.
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