Athlone at Last: 24 Hours in the Heart of Ireland

It’s time to take a trip to the Midlands! Here's how Orna and Rosie spent 24 hours in Athlone.

Myself and Rosie hopped on the multi-stop (Route 763) to the glorious town of Athlone. The weather was absolutely amazing, so we knew the trip would be great! Once we arrived we grabbed a quick snack, of a flat white and sausage roll at Chocolate Browns before hitting the high streets of Athlone. Two amazing shops you should definitely pop into are The Athlone Bookshop and Treasures, which is filled with gorgeous art and antiques. 

After exploring the area, we started getting peckish (and of course thirsty 😉) so we headed to The Bailey, a gastro pub in the centre of Athlone. Here, we ate some delicious toasties and washed it down with a creamy Guinness. It was sunny can you blame us!

Luckily, we were only staying right upstairs, in The Bailey's own B&B! We checked in, took a quick respite before heading to Elevate Entertainment Centre for some, not so friendly, competition! Elevate is decked out with fun activities from mini golf to axe throwing, we chose bowling and a few arcade games, such as air hockey - which turns out I am not very good at! The options here were endless, making it a great spot for a night with family, friends or a date night.

After all our competing we had worked up an appetite. With the sun still out we headed to Dead Centre Brewing a super cool brewery selling some fantastic food. We opted for a pepperoni pizza with hot honey and ricotta, buffalo chicken wings (which genuinely fell off the bone!) and some loaded fries! As the sun set on the Shannon it was the perfect place to have some pizza and have a pint of their own brewed beer.

Once we were fed, there is only one place to head, the oldest pub in Ireland, Seán’s Bar. When in Athlone! Sean's Bar is the real deal as it has been around since 900AD! (So you know you're getting a good Guinness!) The bar original was in an inn opened by Luain Mac Luighdeach around 900AD and has seen Athlone go through all it's stages of life, having existed before Athlone Castle was even built! With a Guinness beside the fire to finish off the night we went to bed happy as Larry!

The next morning we hit up Spill The Beans for a coffee and matcha. Spill The Beans had one of the nicest muffins I have ever had! So, we highly recommend the white chocolate and raspberry muffin!. 

It was then time to pack up and say goodbye to our cosy room in The Bailey, before exploring the Luan Gallery. A perfectly located art gallery with ever changing exhibits. 

After becoming more cultured people, we had worked up an appetite for some brunch. Stopping in Bean and Leaves for a quick bite. This little café was perfectly located and was a great spot to watch the world go by.

With our unfortunate departure drawing closer, we grabbed ourselves an iced caramel latte before strolling to the bus stop, which is conveniently located on the outskirts of Athlone before hopping on the bus back to Galway.

Athlone is an a amazing and vibrant place in the heart of Ireland, that is often overlooked, but if you're into good food, cute cafés, and plenty of culture and history it's the place to be. Next time you're planning a trip away with your friends, family or other half, get yourself to Athlone at last!

To watch the full video of our trip check it out here