The holidays are coming to an end and it won't be long before it's back to lunch boxes, lost uniforms and the endless school run, so why not make the most of it . . . SANDRA O'CONNELLhas a satchel load of options for last-minute family fun
1 GO ANIMAL CRACKERS
If you haven’t yet been this summer, there’s still time to check out the new arrivals at Dublin Zoo, including a newborn giraffe, an Asian bull elephant and a baby tapir. At Fota Wildlife Park in Cork see if you can spot the baby black-and-white ruffed lemur, which is unbelievably cute and rather Elizabethan. The tiny creature has only recently started to emerge from the tree nest its parents built for it, like a bird. And you’ll be able to check on the progress of the park’s new gibbon, Shay.
2 WING IT
Let your high flyers loose at Birdwatch Ireland’s East Coast Nature Reserve, in Newcastle, Co Wicklow, a conservation area with boardwalks and hides. Or play ducks and drakes at Castle Espie on Strangford Lough, in Co Down. At this time of year the ducks will drive you quackers – it has the largest collection in the county. If the weather’s good, how about a trip to Saltee Island to see if there are any puffins around? If not, there’ll still be plenty of other sea birds. Pack a picnic for a great day out. Boats leave from Kilmore Quay in Wexford.
birdwatchireland.ie, wwt.org.uk, salteeislands.info
3 UP, UP AND AWAY!
Alternatively, give the kids a bird's-eye view at an outdoor pursuits centre. For aerial acrobatics, head to Gravity at Forest Park Leisure Centre in the (hopefully) sunny southeast village of Courtown. As well as a climbing wall there are zip wires, high-rope obstacles to clear and a recently installed junior climbing course for under-eights. Xtreme in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, caters for children aged seven and over. For an indoor option check out the Gravity Climbing Centre in Inchicore, Dublin, the biggest bouldering centre in the country. gravityforestpark.ie, xtreme.ie, gravityclimbing.ie
4 CAPITAL IDEA
City breaks can sound decidedly grown up but are loads of fun for children too, with the right itinerary. If you’ve spent the summer shouting at them to stop shouting, let them roar to their heart’s content on a Viking Splash tour. Too much fun to leave to tourists, it’s a great way to see the city and scare the wits out of pedestrians to boot. Keep up the Viking theme at Dublinia, which is running History to Life weekends until the end of this month, plus special archaeology digs for children on Saturdays.
5 SURF’S UP
Give the kids a lesson they’ll really enjoy, at a surf school. As an outdoor sport that stuffs it to the rain, it has taken off in this country like a riptide. At East Coast Surf School in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, they also teach stand-up paddle boarding, for which you don’t even need waves. If you’re headed west, check out Perfect Day Surf School in Sligo, which also teaches both disciplines and whose instructors are great with children.
eastcoastsurfschool.ie, perfectdaysurfing.ie
6 IN AT THE DEEP END
If it’s too wild for the sea you can always enjoy watery fun indoors. Funtasia Waterpark in Drogheda has plenty of pool space and enough slides, chutes and flumes to keep kids entertained for hours. Alternatively, catch waves at the Aqua Dome, in Tralee, which has sky-high flumes and a relaxing lazy river. Or check out Aquazone at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin, where the Flow Rider allows you to surf like a pro – indoors.
funtasia.ie, aquadome.ie, aquazone.ie
7 SEA LEGS
If the weather’s up to it, how about a last-minute seaside splurge? Soak up the seaspray, along with any rays going, at Bundoran in Co Donegal, which has a great beach, great surf schools and, if the weather’s not so great, a terrific pool complex called Waterworld, home of the country’s fastest waterslide. There’s also all the fun of the funfair at Bundoran Adventure Park, which has water-walking zorb balls, bumper cars, rides and a karting track. In the southeast there’ll still be a beach buzz at Tramore, plus the joys of Splashworld if you need to take things indoors.
waterworldbundoran.com, splashworld.ie
8 REBEL ADVENTURES
Cork Sea Safaris has Harbour Adventure and Dolphin Discovery tours suitable for children aged over 10. Atlantic Sea Kayaking organises trips along the city’s waterways, complete with re-enactments of how attackers in days of yore may have come ashore to harass its citizens. If it’s sky rather than sea they’re interested in, check out Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, where they can play a game called Comet Chaser and save the Earth, then take a castle and dungeon tour.
safari.ie, atlanticseakayaking.com, bco.ie
9 CAMP IT UP
For a last-minute break that will still leave you with money for school shoes, go camping. Wicklow River Valley in Redcross has “glamping” options and cute Kukoo Huts if you don’t like things too rustic, while Hidden Valley in Rathdrum has log cabins and bumper boats. At Lakeside Holiday Park in Mountshannon, Co Clare, the big appeal is the water sports, while at Pure Camping on the Shannon Estuary, you can pitch your tent in a woodland setting.
rivervalleypark.ie, irelandholidaypark.com, lakesideireland.com, purecamping.ie
10 TALL TALES
Don’t miss the elegant arrival of the Tall Ships in Dublin next week (August 23rd to 26th). To celebrate, the city has lined up four days of festive fun, guaranteed to entertain seafarers and landlubbers alike, with street entertainment, music, a chance to board some of the ships, water-based activities for children in the Grand Canal Basin and a floating cinema each evening. There’s a Parade of Sail on the last day as the boats head off, just in time for everyone to get an early night before school next day. Bah.