ladyjane44

Considering booking into Charleville Castle in Tullamore, Co Offaly. Anyone been there? It claims to be haunted.

DavidD

ladyj,

You mentioned "booking into," yet I was under the impression Charleville was open for tours of the castle, not overnight stays.

I was touring Eire's bog country several years ago, and made an attempt to tour the 18th century Charleville. Despite my "opening times" arrival, I was unable to get in. Indeed, there was hardly a soul on the premises, and the place featured an abandoned-like quality.

Perhaps "haunted" is the right word.

Best of luck.

ladyjane44

Dear David, here is a reply that I got when I enquired about B&B accomodations at Charleville:
Comments anyone????


Dear Lori

The price for B&B is £66 british pounds. That's about $147 CD

Let me just give you the standard spiel about Charleville

Basically, Charleville Forest Castle is in the middle of Ireland near the Bog of Allen (for you James Joyce fans). It is a partly restored Gothic revival castle with a tremendous amount of history - it was the place the British handed over sovereignty to the Irish in the 1920s for one thing. It has a druid grotto, the largest remaining oak wood in Ireland, dungeons, towers, haunted stables, ruined chapels, a ghostly black cat, a poor girl ghost. It is run by the most wonderful laid back people who, if you're nice, might invite you to dinner and give you a personal tour by moonlight. However, it is NOT a hotel. So no bar, no jacuzzi, no porters. It does have wandering poets, a weird collection of hats you may try on and some very spooky corners. The price per person per night is £66 British Pounds.

Charleville is easily accessible by road from all parts of Ireland - easily from Dublin or Galway. Buses are available from Dublin and there is a train station to Tullamore Tony Walker White Rabbit Leisure Ltd Tel 01900 881216
Mobile: 07734 590509
www.afallon.com/events.htm

waffle18

LadyJane44,

When are you planning on going? This place sounds so neat and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you make it there before I do. It certainly sounds like an amazing, special place!

I say Go For It!

Cheers,

Wendy

[email protected]

HappyCheesehead

Hmmm.. VERY Interesting! LadyJane, We are traveling to Ireland in May of 2004 also, and this place sounds as if it would offer a really different experience. I looked at the "official" Charleville website but did not see any mention of room rental on it. When I looked at the website at the bottom of the response from your inquiry they give no description of the accomodations at all. Have you inquired as to what the rooms are like? Do they have ensuite bathrooms - not a deal breaker, but nice to have. I realize they are saying they are NOT a hotel, but I am curious as to how comfortable and clean the accomodations might be!

ladyjane44

Well Happy, I'm actually waiting to hear about what exactly the accomodations are like. I've sent another e-mail so I will certainly let you know. Do you know when in May you will be going, do you have dates yet? What else is on your itinerary, another other castles?

ladyjane44

Got an e-mail reply from Charleville Castle re bedroom accomodation as follows:

The castle is under renovation. However there are bedrooms which are renovated and very characterful. Breakfast is included in the cost. Your agent will need to book through us

HappyCheesehead

Hi LadyJane:

Well, this place is certainly intruiging! We are planning our visit for US departure on May 19, and a retun on June 1. Of course this is tentative, I have to wait for the airfares to start falling a bit before I can choose actual days. Airfare is almost 900 from Wisconsin to Dublin or Shannon right now. I have read that after the holidays we might start to see the rate "sales". Right now I and reading guidebooks for an overview and ideas of where to visit. I think we are likely to follow a fairly well trodden tourist path of Dublin, Kilkenny, Kenmare, Dingle, Galway and up to Clifden before a Shannon departure. Castles are big on my list too, although I had not thought to look for haunted ones! I hope some one who has been to this place and has seen a renovated room replies to your message. "Characterful" can mean a lot of things, LOL! What are your plans so far?

ladyjane44

Hi Happy. My plans are starting at Dublin for 12 days, travelling to Kildare, to Kilkenny, Cashel, Cork, Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Limerick, Galway, Connemara and Tullamore, then back to Dublin. We are staying mosly at B&B's except the castle will be the last night...thought that would be a good idea, in case it scares us. I realize that I am taking a risk, but know what? We don't want a castle that is like a "hotel", we want a "castle"...so its under renovations..that doesn't bother us. So are you staying in B&B's or hotels?

HappyCheesehead

Hi LadyJane:

You are so right! It is only one night and it sounds like fun. This way you will have an experience that you won't find duplicated by everyone who sets foot on Irish soil. Charleville Castle looks great from the pics. Maybe if we keep replying to each other, and topping this post, someone who has been there will see this!

We are planning a mix of hotels and B+B's. I adore luxury and high end hotels but the ol'budget requires a certain compromise. In any case, it seems like B&B's are integral part of any visit to Ireland.

You look like you will be covering a lot of ground too, if you don't like one place, there is always the next night. Are you going to change accomodations every night or will you do day trips from a base?

ladyjane44

Hi again Happy. As of right now, it would appear that we will be spending each night at a different place, but hey who knows...that's the great thing about travelling on your own as opposed to a tour...if we find a place that we really love, we have the option of staying a second night! We just want the flexibility of a self drive vacation. What dates in May are you in Ireland? I haven't totally booked mine yet.

HappyCheesehead

As it stands now, I am planning on traveling May 19 through June 1. I will be watching airfare to determine the actual dates,I am flexible. The flight options out of our Wisconsin airport are a bit limited and the airfare is too darn high right now.

We plan on staying for at least two nights in each place. Hopefully, we will pick nice places! I am still just "browsing" the travel books trying to decide exactly where we are going. I have some ideas, but they are just roughly formed at this point.

My "Rough Guide" calls Charleville Forest Castle an extraordinary Georgian-Gothic mansion with a wonderfully spooky surrounding estate. Doesn't it sound good?!

bellini

Would love to know if LadyJane actually STAYED at Charleville. After an impromptu tour around the main rooms, shown on website, I CANNOT imagine what staying there would be like!!
It's difficult to get a tour. We just turned up on spec after telephoning continously for several days beforehand. Lucy enough to find one guy there who was willing to show us around. It is amazing but denuded of original furniture and artefacts. Neither the Tourist Information in Tullamore nor Athlone seemed to know much about it.

ter2000

If you want to stay somewhere unique in Ireland, you could consider staying in one of the properties owned by the Irish Landmark Trust. It's an organisation - actually a charity - that restores and rents out unique small properties.

You could end up staying in a castle, a lighthouse or a genuine Georgian Dublin house. Their website is here www.irishlandmark.com .

aggiegirl

I visited Charleville Castle in 2004. While it's a cool place to tour, I wouldn't want to stay there. It had the feel of a hippie colony. Don't book expecting professional standards of a b&b.

What I liked about it was that we were given free reign to wander around the place. Whereas in most places, there are sections that are off limits, this place was "at your own risk." This one room had a hole in the ceiling and had quite a load of pigeon poo in it. I enjoyed climbing to the top of the castle, very cool. The estate is cool and I love the big tree up front at the entrace to the main drive.

This place only has an air of hauntedness if you want to give it that. It's just an old building undergoing renovations, so of course there will be creaks and such. It's not a "real castle" but a fantasy creation from the late 19th century. All in all, very fun visit.

bellini

We tried very hard to book a tour of Charleville when touring Ireland just a few weeks ago. We rang the number on the website and always got an answerphone message. Neither the T.I.C. in Athlone nor Tullamore had any further information. In the end we just drove to the front of the castle and rang the bell. After what seemed like ages an elderly chap appeared and offered to show us round the main rooms. He did saw it wouldnt be the 'official tour' but we would see the main rooms. It's a strange place- fantastic carving, ceilings, fireplaces and staircases but the rather shabby modern furnishings detract from the surroundings. He showed us the 'ladies' boudoir' where he slept - although 'not without these' he said, pulling a pack of sleeping tablets from his pocket. We tipped him 20 euros for his time and trouble. Worth a visit, I'd say. Although the place is supposed to be under restoration there's not much sign of activity.