Farran Farm Hostel

The Midlands


In a beautifully restored limestone grain loft on a working family farm, this independent hostel has 45 beds in dorms with up to five bunks and private bathrooms in the rooms. Continental breakfast is €5; you can arrange in advance for evening meals made from fresh local produce. The hostel is off the R434, 12km west of Abbeyleix. Cash only.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Midlands attractions

1. Market House

5.36 MILES

Built in 1836 by Viscount de Vesci as a market house, this landmark building was restored by the council in 2009 and now houses the town library and an…

2. Abbeyleix Heritage House & Museum

5.48 MILES

An old 19th-century school building houses this museum detailing Abbeyleix' rich history. One room looks at the town's carpet-making legacy – the Turkish…

3. Donaghmore Workhouse

6.14 MILES

The unadorned stone Donaghmore Workhouse, 19km west of Durrow, was a last resort for the destitute in the 1850s – one of 130 workhouses in the country at…

4. Heywood Gardens

7.65 MILES

These lavish gardens with lakes and woodland were designed by Edwin Lutyens and landscaped by Gertrude Jekyll, and completed in 1912. The centrepiece is a…

5. Slieve Bloom Mountains Nature Reserve

11.24 MILES

A 2300-hectare nature reserve with a mountain range in the middle, full of walking and biking trails. A visit to Slieve Bloom is the perfect excuse to…

6. Timahoe Round Tower

11.89 MILES

In the tiny, charming village of Timahoe, 12km southeast of Portlaoise, is a tilting 30m-tall, 12th-century round tower with an elaborately carved…

7. Castlecomer Discovery Park

13.62 MILES

The grounds of the former Wandesforde estate, whose owners grew rich from exploitation of the land's underlying coal deposits, now form a family-oriented…

8. Roscrea Castle

13.7 MILES

This remarkably intact stone edifice right in the centre of Roscrea town dates to the 1280s. There are two fortified stone towers, surrounded by defensive…