Altamont Gardens Tree Tours

What to Expect

Altamont Gardens, the Office of Public Works heritage garden outside Tullow, runs a free guided tour of its tree collection every Thursday. A guide walks visitors through the grounds picking out the mix of native woodland and unusual specimen trees, including a swamp cypress, red oak and giant redwood, and fills in the history of the estate as the walk goes on. The tour is listed as running from 12:00pm to 3:00pm.

The pace is gentle and the main paths suit buggies and children walking, which makes this one of the easier family outings in the county. There is no children’s script, but younger visitors tend to latch onto leaf-spotting, the ice house and the walk down towards the River Slaney. Because Altamont is free to enter anyway, the tree tour simply adds a guided layer to a visit you could make on any day. Carlow Tourism’s calendar carries the tour every Thursday from now through to 29 October 2026.

Good to Know

• Every Thursday, 12:00pm to 3:00pm. This listing is dated to Thursday 20 August 2026.
• Confirmed running weekly to 29 October 2026 on the Carlow Tourism calendar.
• Venue: Altamont Gardens, Tullow, Co. Carlow, signposted from the R724.
• Free admission to both the gardens and the tour; a small pay-and-display charge applies in the car park.
• No booking is listed for the tour. Phone 059 915 9444 or email altamontgardens@opw.ie to confirm before making a special trip.
• No cafe on site, so bring a picnic. Toilets are available.
• Main paths are buggy and wheelchair friendly; some of the woodland trails are uneven.

Getting There

Altamont Gardens is about 5km from Tullow off the R724 towards Bunclody, with OPW signage from the main road. On-site parking is provided and the tour meets at the garden entrance. Tullow is served by bus from Carlow Town and Dublin, but the garden itself is outside the village, so a car is the practical option.