The Steam Museum & Lodge Park Walled Garden, Straffan

An engineering time capsule and a horticultural paradise sitting side-by-side on a beautiful 18th-century estate, offering a uniquely charming look into the past.

The Highlights

• The Power Hall: Features a remarkable collection of massive, 19th-century industrial stationary steam engines—including a Dublin laundry engine driven by its original line shafting and a Cornish boiler.
• The Model Hall: Houses an intricate gallery of early inventors' prototypes, scientific engineering models, and historic model locomotives.
• The 18th-Century Walled Garden: A lush, walled oasis cleverly divided by beech hedges into distinct "rooms"—including a peaceful White Garden with a central wellhead, peony borders, a circular rosarie, and a working vegetable plot.
• "Steam-Up" Events: Watch history come alive on Sundays and Bank Holidays when the large stationary engines are fired up, filling the hall with hiss, heat, and moving steel.

Essential Info

• Location: Lodge Park, Straffan, Co. Kildare (about 10 km south of Maynooth, near the K Club).
• Admission: Adults €7.50, Children/Students/OAPs €5.00, and Families €20.00. Entry to the café is free.
• Opening Hours (Museum & Garden): 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
• April & October: Sundays & Bank Holidays only.
• May to September: Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays.
• (Live "Steam-Ups" run from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM on open Sundays & Bank Holidays).
• Facilities: The onsite Barista Bike Café serves artisan coffee and fresh treats daily. Free parking and partially accessible grounds.