If you are looking for a unique adventure before the little ones head back to school, we have the perfect destination for you to explore.
We have picked pumpkins and berries of all kinds but picking apples is something we have yet to try, and since discovering this hidden gem, we are dying to stop by this Ballycross Apple Farm.
Located in Bridgetown, the family-run working farm has been harvesting their fruit produce and selling a wide selection of delicious food and drinks for over one hundred years, including their award-winning Ballycross apple juice.
Ballycross Apple Farm is one of the very few places here in Ireland where you can visit and see how what you buy is grown and produced making it an educational day out for the kids, but that's not all.
The farm is bursting with entertainment for kids both big and small for a small price including a meet and greet with some of the resident animals such as horses, pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens and ducks.
Other activities include pedal tractors, a go-kart track, outdoor blackboards, a bouncy castle to wear off some of that never-ending energy and visitors will also get an opportunity to hitch a ride on their tractor and trailer around the orchard.
Let the kids run wild whatever the weather and make the most of the stunning scenery, including the glorious wildflower garden or enjoy over five kilometres of the unspoilt beauty in the Irish countryside. Families can venture along natural pathways which meander along a river, through wild vegetation, marshes and of course, the apple orchards.
Refreshments and snacks are available from a retro van before you leave and if you plan your visit well, and weather permitting children can ride on a pony and watch the animals being fed shortly after lunchtime.
The farm is currently open weekends only from 12pm - 6pm with no booking required, and a family ticket (two adults and three children) will cost you €15, cheap as chips if you ask me. However, it does not include any of the juicy apples you pick throughout their magnificent orchard.
I don’t know about you, but we think it’s the perfect day out to finish off what has been a very long and expensive summer.
We’ll see you there.