Stopped off here on the way to Baltinglass recently (on the back of Sean and Matthew's reviews below), unfortunately the house wasn't open so had to make do with the Café and the maze.

On arrival it was straight to the café... although I must admit I was a little dubious when I first strolled into the café but I'm happy to report my sixth sense proved me wrong on this occasion... in fact, it serves-up surprisingly good coffee (of the illy variety) and even better cakes to match - making this a great alternative to The Grangecon Café (down the road in Blessington) which is disappointingly closed on a Sunday. They also have paintings hanging from the wall in the café that you can peruse as you drink your coffee and buy at the counter... which I thought was pretty cool... although I was slightly disappointed to find out that they weren't Goyas or part of the famous Beit Collection - just shows you how good they were!!!

The maze was good fun too... until it started getting dark!! ;)

All in all a good day out and I'm kinda glad the house wasn't open as it's always nice to leave a reason to go back - four stars from me!

I think this is a great little spot for an afternoon with adults or kids, closer than you think to Dublin.

The guided tour takes under an hour combines a history of the house and the Beits, and of course an introduction to the paintings themselves (sadly many are now housed in Dublin for security reasons). What really impressed me on both visits was the quality of the stucco ceilings, dating from the 18th or 19th centuries (I can't remember which). The detail and design are simply both incredible and I had a stiff neck by the end from staring.

PS: the hedge maze is fun, just don't go bursting your way through hedges like others have done!

A great place if you fancy sampling the finer things in life but don't want to get run down by the finer examples of bad SUV driving that you may encouter at another Country House in Co. Wicklow that shall remain anonymous. The cafe is a bit of a poor relation though, and you can tell the place hasn't really had a huge amount of investment. Nevertheless, the house itself, and the ceilings in particular, are most impressive.