Our Sunday entertainment for the 19th of June was a genuinely
different and enjoyable visit to the Irish National Stud at it's
enviable location in Co. Kildare. A fitting monument to Ireland's
illustrious horse-breeding, racing and winning heritage, the stud is
situated in over 800 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds which
were originally bought an laid out by Col. William Hall-Walker - a
noted horse breeder, before eventually coming to the Irish State,
who still partly operate the stud. After an informative but
light-hearted tour of the facility, and commentary by an able guide,
we toured the Japanese Garden section of the grounds at our leisure,
and despite almost managing to lose some of the members (oops!) we
all safely exited back to our cars. Feeling a bit hungry at this
stage, it was decided to carry on to the Newbridge Silverware
factory shop, whose excellent restaurant facilities quashed the
hunger pangs, and afforded us a rare opportunity to view the huge
collection of musical and Hollywood memorabilia, which they have on
display in the museum upstairs.
The day was very different from our norm and all agreed was a
resounding success and thanks extended to John O'Driscoll for his
suggestion of the venues and organisation of the day.
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