Westport House given a new lease of life

REAL pirates didn’t have the luxury of fresh pizza when they were attacked by the munchies after a morning spent splashing and screeching. But thankfully wannabe pirates in Mayo don’t have to go plundering and pillaging for their lunch after working up an appetite on the zipwire, log flume or pedalos.

Historic Westport House has been given a new lease of life with a Pirate Adventure Park developed around it — offering archery, laser combat games, zorbing, as well as Pirate Queen Swinging Ship and the Pirate Plunge log flume ride.

And a restaurant on-site with a real pizza oven outside is a bit hit with ravenous families.

First impressions

Typically children’s pirate stories and cartoons are a bit light on dynamic female characters. The heroes are mainly male and little girls might feel a bit under-represented. But here the Pirate Adventure Park celebrates Grace O’Malley, who was a pirate AND a queen — how could a little girl, who likes climbing and action as much as glitter and bling, not be impressed?

That was the four-year-old girl won over. The seven-year-old guy was already wowed by the log flume so it was just a matter of getting to everything by the end of the day.

The amenities

We eased into the fun by taking the mini train ride which rattled along past waving bears, alligators and monkeys so the whole troupe — 7-year- old boy, four-year-old girl and 1½-year-old boy — were entertained. Then life-jackets on and into the giant swan pedalos. Kids who are more used to the fast response of computer games tended to oversteer these so we pedalled in circles for a while until they learned how to manage them. Thankfully it’s not an Olympic sport so the lake mostly featured other families bobbing around at the mercy of children wildly steering and parents being urged to pedal faster.

I get a bit green-faced on a playground swing so I was glad the winds were too high for the custom-built zorbing when we were there. For the uninitiated, this is for the over-8s who are willing to be strapped into a giant inflatable clear plastic ball and rolled down a hill — watching the sky and grass whirl past. There was a risk the strong gusts would send the zorb ball on a trajectory into the lake so I was ‘forced’ to postpone this pleasure.

The laser clay pigeon shooting and the archery were very popular with all ages. I hadn’t really thought about archery before watching The Hunger Games, but there’s something very cool about getting into the pose and channelling your inner Katniss. And it’s surprisingly addictive to keep getting those arrows a little closer to the bullseye.

The food

There are plenty of areas for picnics, but lunch at Gracy’s Gastro Bar was too tempting. Sandwiches, chips and pizza were gone in minutes.

What to do

Definitely a plan of action is needed here — the grounds are big and there’s lots to get to. I’m not recommending a whistle and a stopwatch — just a bit of forward planning. Unless it’s a very hot, sunny day leave the flume until later in the day. It’s great fun so you can go out on a high — and you will get splashed but probably don’t want to be wandering around in wet jeans. After lunch we headed to The Pirate’s Den — soft, indoor play area upstairs. A half-hour romp around here was enough to see the baby happy to go for a deep sleep in his buggy, leaving us free to look at the historic house without fear he’d leave the place in tatters. More than 300 years old and its roots trace back to Grace O’Malley (aka Granuaile; or Gráinne Mhaol, Gráinne Mhaile; or Gráinne Ni Mháille) herself, Westport House is surprisingly hands-on. Some of the bedrooms are viewed over a half-door as they are set up with toys, water jugs and mannequins but plenty of rooms have beautiful sculptures, ornaments and furnishings free to be admired up close. The kids were more eager to get to the dungeons. Here they discovered ‘lost’ treasure chests, skeletons and more pirates. It was also funny to see something so quaint as distorting carnival mirrors being such a hit with all the children visiting.

The rooms

Westport House is not a hotel so the only accommodation here is caravan and camping on the grounds. ([e-mail]). We stayed at the Castlecourt Hotel in Westport town. It was a pleasure to stay in a nice hotel where children and basic child requests didn’t faze the staff. Anyone who has eaten out with children knows they don’t want to linger over their menu choices, want endless juice and are ready for dessert the second they finish their dinner. Not a problem here — both in the more informal Courtyard Bistro and in the more upscale Orchard Restaurant. Typical prices in the former were €14 for traditional fish and chips or €6.70 for a child’s portion of pasta or chicken curry. Big pitchers of cordial were brought to the table for the children and Loop the Loop ice lolls were a real treat for dessert. Adult meals were delicious also. A family room had a comfy double bed as well as two singles and a couch which converted into a third bed.

The spotless and warm swimming pool was open from early morning.

The bottom line

Definitely go online to book the Pirate Park — as there are plenty of discounts to be had on westporthouse.ie. For example a 2 adult & 2 children one-day pass to the Pirate Park normally costs €59 but is €53.10 online.

This Castlecourt/Westport Hotel resort is offering a family package for 2 adults & 2 children under 12, which includes 3 nights B&B, 2 evening meals with daily access to the ‘Buzz Club’ from €559 at the Castlecourt Hotel or from €669 at the Westport Plaza Hotel.

www.castlecourthotel.ie / (098) 55088 or Westport Plaza: www.westportplazahotel.ie / (098) 51166.

Anything to add

More of a dry day place to visit but there are indoor activities — Pick-a-Pot-and-Paint in the house basement was popular.

Overall — a genuinely fun break with something for all ages, interests and abilities.