A Day Out in Clonmel with the Kids: Sensory Playground and the Harry Potter Café
Looking for something different with the kids this weekend? Clonmel is about 45 minutes from Kilmacthomas, through Carrick-on-Suir, and it makes a great half-day out. Start with a run around the sensory playground, then head into town for lunch at a café that feels like it came straight out of Hogwarts.
1. The Sensory Playground, Mulcahy Park
Free
Next to the existing playground at Mulcahy Park on the Waterford Road, this was built as one of the largest sensory playgrounds in Ireland. It was designed with children with autism and additional needs in mind, but it’s open to everyone and works brilliantly for the whole family. Being on the Waterford Road, it’s the first thing you reach coming in from our side of the county.
Highlights include:
- A sunken trampoline that wheelchair users can roll straight onto
- Textured walkways, good for little feet and for wheelchairs
- Swings with safety harnesses, sized for children and adults
- A picnic area where wheelchair users and everyone else can sit side by side
There’s also a slide and a crawl-through tunnel built into a grassy mound, all under big shady trees.
When they’ve had enough of the playground, follow the paths around Mulcahy Park for a short walk among the trees.
2. Lunch at the Junction Café
Paid
Once everyone has burned off some energy, take a short drive into the town centre to the Junction Café at 51 Parnell Street. Step inside and you’re in the wizarding world. A big Dobby statue stands guard over a Platform 9¾ Hogwarts Express sign, an owl watches from the wall, and the tables are printed like front pages of the Daily Prophet. Look out for Snape glaring from a picture frame, and the sign offering free invisibility cloaks (just take one). The gelato counter is called Junction 9¾, after the famous platform.
Another Dobby sits among the jars of sweets at the gelato counter, so the kids can hunt for him while they pick their toppings.
The menu covers breakfast, lunch, sandwiches, pizzas and burgers, with plenty of gluten-free options clearly marked. Grown-ups will find good coffee, cakes and cocktails too.
Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 9:00–17:30 and Sunday 10:00–17:30. It’s closed on Mondays, except bank holiday Mondays.
Tips for the day
- Go to the playground first, while the kids are fresh, and save the café as the reward.
- Pack a towel in case the trampoline is damp after rain.
- Avoid Mondays, when the café is closed.
