Day trips from Tullamore, and what is closed right now

Tullamore sits in the flat middle of Offaly, and the county's best-known sights are within an hour of it. The catch, in the autumn of 2026, is that three of the obvious ones are shut or partly shut. This is what is actually open, what is not, and when to go.

Open: Lough Boora Discovery Park

Lough Boora is the day out that works in any month. It is former Bord na Móna peat bog west of the town, now open as a park with lakes, wetland and flat trails, and it is free to get in and free to park. Leave Tullamore on the N52 for Birr, turn right at Blueball onto the R357 for Cloghan and Shannonbridge, and the park starts within about seven kilometres of the junction.

There are three routes worth knowing. The Sculpture Park route is 3.3 km past 24 large works by Irish and international sculptors, set out across the bog. The Mesolithic route is 9.3 km and passes the site of an archaeological find made here in 1977. The Turraun route, at 15.8 km, is for bikes and takes in the lakes and wetlands. The park says it has recorded over 130 bird species, and the grasses turn from green to gold in September and October.

Bike hire is run on site by Mid Ireland Adventures. In the current off-season it opens Thursday to Sunday from ten to half four, and the café Wednesday to Sunday over the same hours; the park's pages give slightly different days in different places, so ring 085 173 5204 for bikes before you drive out. The trails themselves are open every day and the main car park is open from eight to six. Dogs go on a lead through the grey partridge conservation area. The rail bikes on the old bog railway are not open yet; the park expects them some time in 2027.

Closed until 1 January 2027: Clonmacnoise

Clonmacnoise is closed to all visitors from 19 October 2026 until 1 January 2027. The OPW says contractors need to close the car park and there is no other safe access, so do not drive out before the new year. St Ciarán's monastery on the Shannon is about 33 kilometres west of Tullamore as the crow flies, still in Co. Offaly. The site has two round towers, nine churches, three high crosses and over 700 early Christian grave slabs, and the original crosses are kept indoors beside the enclosure.

The visitor centre is also closed for essential works, so individuals and small groups can only walk in to the grounds, with no guided tours. When the site reopens, admission on the OPW's published rates is €8 for an adult and €20 for a family, and the OPW advises arriving before half ten or after three to avoid the parking queue.

Paused: Charleville Castle

Charleville Castle is the Gothic Revival house in the woods on the south-west edge of Tullamore, about three kilometres from the Square, built for the Bury family in the early nineteenth century. It is run by the Charleville Castle Heritage Trust, a voluntary group, and in the past it opened for guided tours run by volunteers. As of October 2026 the trust's own website says public tours are temporarily paused and the castle is closed to tours until further notice while projects and essential works take place. There is nothing to book. The trust says it will post reopening news on its site and social channels.

The demesne is also home to the King Oak, a huge old oak just inside the main entrance whose lower branches the Burys used to prop with timber. Check the trust's latest posts before you go looking for it.

Closed: Durrow high cross

Durrow, a short drive north of the town, is where St Columcille founded a monastery in the sixth century, and it gave its name to the Book of Durrow. The high cross was moved indoors into the old church during a restoration that finished in 2012. Offaly History reported in March 2025 that the church has been closed since about 2020 because of dry rot, and that there is no public access to the cross, not even on Pattern Day in June. Treat Durrow as closed unless you see the OPW announce otherwise.

Every August: the Tullamore Show

The Show is a day trip without leaving town, held at Blueball on the N52 south of Tullamore on the second Sunday of August. In 2026 it was on 9 August at the Butterfield Estate. It is the county's big agricultural day: cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, poultry, baking and crafts, fashion and trade stands. Book a room early and leave plenty of time for the roads.

Wet day

If the weather turns, stay in town. The distillery tour at Clonminch runs all year apart from the Christmas shutdown, and Esker Arts on High Street has two free galleries, open Tuesday to Saturday.