Irish National Stud and Gardens in Kildare

Irish National Stud is located in the Kildare which is not that far from Dublin. It was established in 1946 and in current days it is owned by the government. This place has Horse museum, Japanese garden, St. Fiachra’s Garden, and the Studs. They provide a guided tour for the visitors as well. It is a lovely place if you like horses, and walking around the organised park.

Colourful leafs under bright sun.

The garden inside the Irish National stud is known as Japanese garden. This beautiful garden was established between 1906-1910. This garden is nicely organised that comprises some lovely flowering plants and trees, a small cave, waterfall, canal and rocks. With all those things the garden depicts the journey of a soul from oblivion to eternity. You can read more about the garden from wikipedia.

This red bridge is common in any Japanese garden.

Each year they use to arrange Sakura festival in this Irish National Stud. Keep an eye on their website for an announcement about the festival. When we were there it was the festival time. There was some musical festival going on continually which was nice to hear. The performing teams were wearing traditional Japanese dresses. It was a bright sunny day and lot of visitors were there that day.

You need to be patient to get this arch bridge empty for the photo.

We’ve explored the Japanese garden section first. Due to sunny weather everything was looking really lively there. Walking beside the artificial canal was really nice as the reflection of trees in water looked real. We walked through the path of soul’s journey from oblivion to eternity. The way it was designed and decorated is really amazing. There is a typical red wooden bridge over the canal and it was slightly difficult to get an appointment to take a photo for this. Because everyone was attracted to that bridge and interested to have the memory framed in picture.

The sky was so clear that we found plenty of colourful reflections in water.

After exploring the garden we’ve gone to the Horse museum. It wasn’t that much big so didn’t require that much time. The museum was displayed with skeleton of horse, tools to ride horse, etc. After the museum visit we’ve gone to see the little foals which had birth few days back. After visiting those cute little foals we’ve gone to have a stroll around the St. Fiachra’s Garden. It was a nice and quiet place as most of the visitors do not come to that part.

A rock garden inside the Japanese garden.

Walking beside the pond which is covered with green trees was nice. There is an artificial waterfall which the authority tried to make it as real as possible. And I think they’ve succeeded on that. It was another attraction to the visitors to take selfies and photos. There were couple of round shaped huts there as well. I forgot what those were called. Beside the area there are several huge fields where they put the studs. Most of the studs were at the other side of the field. Couldn’t get a closer look to them.

Garden has a water stream that contains plenty of small waterlily plants.

There is a section inside the Irish National Stud where they put the prized horses. There were several nice looking horses which were having name and their winning money tagged in front of the door.

There were several bridges over this stream.

How to Go:

Irish National Stud is located just opposite of the Kildare village, which is beside the M7 motorway. It is a less than an hour drive from Dublin city. GPS Coordinate (53°08’39.9″N, 6°54’03.7″W). For public transport, from Heuston station you can take the train to come at Kildare. I think Bus Eireann (Bus 126) has a stoppage near the place as well.

People could walk around the garden using the paths.

Where to Eat:

There is a restaurant available inside. You could have your lunch or snacks there. You can bring your own picnic there as well. I saw several families were enjoying picnic there. When we were there it was ramadan, so we didn’t have a chance to explore the restaurant.

Rocks at the both banks of the stream were nicely decorated.

Opening and closing time:

Opening time for the Irish National Stud and Japanese Garden is from 9:00am to 5:00pm. But during winter (first week of November to first week of February) this place remains closed (as per the website).

Few Cherry plants inside the garden. I think this year they bloomed a bit early.

Entry fee:

If you buy the ticket from online then it would cost you 11.5 Euro per person. Once you buy the ticket from online then it has a validity (i.e. 6 months may be) before which you have to use it. I found it convenient and an Euro cheaper.

A nice little water fountain.

Nearby parking:

This place is having a parking that comes with the entry ticket. During the weekend the parking lot can get full very quickly. Lot of families from Dublin use to come here with their kids. So it might happen you might need to stay in queue.

This pump well may be extinct in Ireland but people are still using this as a source of drinking water.

Best time to visit:

In my opinion the best time to visit is during Summer and Spring. Specially during a sunny day. Spring is best for looking cherry blossoms.

A skeleton of a horse in front of the Horse Museum.

Kildare village nearby:

Don’t forget to pay a visit to Kildare shopping village before or after your visit. This is Ireland’s one of the popular shopping destinations. Lot of people come from different places to do a shopping (specially during weekend around the Christmas).