ManicMammy's Blog » cavan

Virginian Jailbreak

Manic Mammy — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:27:46 +0000

Sunday May 1st at 10am saw myself, 3 of my siblings and other pals running through a forest in Virginia, Co. Cavan. Why? I hear you ask. Well, it was the first Jailbreak 10km trail run. We were going to be up and about early anyway as our Dad’s anniversary mass was taking place at 8am so we jumped into the car after it and a quick drive to Virginia later, we were set.

Some runners were assigned to be “prisoners” and they started the run a minute before the runners who were assigned to be “guards” took off in pursuit. Each guard was supposed to try and catch the same bib numbered prisoner. Alas I was the guard who was supposed to catch my prisoner brother who had recently completed the Paris marathon. No chance. The sibling rivalry kicked in and he took off!

It was great fun. The morning was gorgeous, sun out, bluebells growing in the forest. Some of the trail was along the lake so plenty of lovely vistas to keep us distracted from the running. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. For €25 registration fee, everyone received either an orange prisoner or a navy guard t-shirt, a handcuff shaped finisher’s medal and water en-route and at the finish line.

I would definitely recommend this trail run and intend to take part again next year. Good craic and a lovely way to start the day!

Review of Kool Kids Children’s Activity Centre

Manic Mammy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:53:59 +0000

Kool Kids Children’s Activity Centre,

9 Corlurgan Business Park, Ballinagh Road,

Cavan,

Ireland

As we were in Cavan visiting Granny for the past few days, we decided to take the opportunity on one of the rainy days to visit Cavan’s latest indoor children’s activity centre.

I headed with the 3 middle children as eldest was ill and baby happy enough to potter around with Granny. So the 6, 4 and 2 year old and myself arrived at Kool Kids. Its located on the Ballinagh road so is very easy to get to and plenty of parking. The first thing I noted is that unlike some of children’s indoor play centres we’ve been to, there were loads of windows, skylights and so plenty of natural daylight and it was nice and bright.

The charge was €7 per child for 90 mins play. Security was good, the usual magnetised gate at the entrance and kids had to be buzzed in and out. There were plenty of visible staff in all areas of the centre too which was great.

There were 3 main areas, one to suit each age range. A fine big toddler area with lots of foam blocks, stairs, balls, large foam jigsaws. The 3-5 year old section was loved by our larger than life 2 year old. He loved the slide and climbing up the stairs. This area also had a swing boat and a sing ball which were a bit beyond his capability yet. An indoor small soccer area was adjacent to this section.

The larger kids section was loved by our 6 year old. 2 slides, one open and one a closed tube were tested again and again. What I liked about this section and the younger children’s one was that most of it was just enclosed by netting so that you could keep an eye on your child no matter which part of the maze they were in. There was plenty to keep them amused in this area.

The highlight of the centre for the 6 year old was not this though, it was the climbing wall. I thought this was a fabulous idea. It was attended by one of the staff who ensured the child was harnessed safely and then 2 at a time could climb up using the usual foot and hand holds. He loved it and each time progressed a little bit further.

The highlight for the 2 and 4 year old though was the ball shooting area. Again, I thought this was a great idea and a bit different. It was something they both loved after a while of running around. The 2 year old needed a chair to reach it, but once set up, he was happy to get 2 balls, fire them through the air gun at the target. Then he’d get down and get 2 more balls again and again. He really loved it and had to be pryed off it when it was time to leave.

The centre had plenty of seating between the entrance and the play areas. So it was possible to have a break and a coffee and still keep an eye on your children. The usual refreshments of tea, coffees, soft drinks and confectionary were on sale.

Overall, I really liked this centre. I thought it was well set up, there was plenty to keep the children amused and plenty of friendly, helpful staff. I can see it being a godsend on rainy days when we’re up visiting Granny and the kids need to expend some energy and run around for a while. We’ll definitely be returning.

Rated 4/5 on Mar 28 2008

Vote on ManicMammy‘s Reviews at LouderVoice

Review Tags: entertainment, play, activity, fun, cavan, amusement, children’s activity centre, to do

Review of Cavan Town Playground

Manic Mammy — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:08:29 +0000

Cavan Town Playground,Cathedral Road, Cavan, Ireland

Excellent, safe playground for older children but slightly less so for toddlers.

This is the local playground when we stay with Granny and the kids have gotten great mileage out of it over the past few years. It’s relatively new, approximately 4 or 5 years old as far as I recall.

Its located on the main Cavan to Belturbet road but there’s plenty of roadside parking or you can walk to it from the town. Its fenced in with one entrance/exit so very safe once you’re there to keep track of the children.

There’s a good range of equipment. The smallies have multi-play unit comprising of a slide tower, fireman’s pole, rope suspension bridge, arch climber and steps. There’s a fun phone, button seats, and a double twist roundabout for the more adventurous toddler. There’s a 2 seat swing set. Unfortunately this is not enclosed toddler one but the traditional swing which is more suitable for older children.

The older kids have an excellent multiplay unit which has a large range of equipment on it including enclosed slide, monkey bars, curved climber, scramble net, rock wall, loop tunnel, fireman’s pole, rope wall. There is also 4 seats under the main body of this unit which can be a handy shelter from a rain shower if you get caught unexpectantly.

There is a couple of benches. One very minor complaint with this playground is that it can be fairly littered on occasion. It would have been also preferable if a couple of toddler enclosed seat swings could have been added.

But in saying this, overall, its an excellent resource to have near Granny’s and the kids have gotten great use out of it and enjoyed it when we’ve visited.

Rated 3/5 on Aug 27 2007 by ManicMammy
Review Tags: activity, cavan, children, fun, outdoor, play, playground, things to do
Rate this review or write your own at LouderVoice

Review of Le Rendez Vous

Manic Mammy — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 17:14:26 +0000

Le Rendez Vous,26 Main Street, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland

Disappointing food that didn’t live up to menu described expectations.

As it was the last night of current visit to Cavan, Mam and myself decided to go out for a bite to eat, as sisters Lou and Claire held the fort and looked after the childer.Mam had previously been to Le Rendez Vous in Belturbet and had had a good meal out so we booked a table for 2 for 6.30. We were advised we’d have to be out by 8.30. When we arrived the restaurant was fairly empty just one other couple. It’s a pleasant bright room.

The waiter was attentive and left the early bird menu (5.30 till 7.30), a la carte and the wine list for us to peruse. The early bird menu had a good selection of 5 starters and 5 mains. Coffee was also included for €20. This seemed like good value and we both spotted dishes we liked on it so we opted for these. One disappointing aspect of the menu was that the kiddies menu options were just chicken pasta, nuggets and chips or burger and chips. Why or why were chips, burgers and nuggets on a french restaurant menu? I despair.

Mam went for a deep fried brie with salad and berry dressing:

She felt it was only “ok”.

I ordered soufflé au fromage, which was described as a port salut and wild mushroom soufflé served with a blue cheese cream.

It wasn’t good. It looked awful. The soufflé was flat, overcooked, bland, cold and stodgy. I hate frisee lettuce and the salad contained lots of it. The only obvious mushrooms on the plate were a few slivers of dark black ones scattered around the edge of the plate.

For mains, Mam chose the salmon dish.

Whoever decided the baby pink sauce was a good idea was mistaken. To be fair it didn’t actually taste bad, it was just offputting to look at. Mam asked and was informed that beetroot juice had been added to a butter sauce to give it that colour.

I ordered the lamb shank.

The sauce looked lumpy and congealed. The lamb was tough. The sage mashed potato was fine. The sprig of parsley and chives balanced on top didn’t really add to the dish.

We were given side dishes of roasted baby potatoes and a selection of vegetables which tasted good.

We had a bottle of house red, a french pinot noir, which was very light and tasted fine.

The total cost came to approximately €63. By the time we were leaving, the restaurant was fairly full with a good mixture of young and old couples and groups.

Overall, we left disappointed. This was food that with a little bit of effort could have been done a lot better.
Rated 2/5 on Aug 26 2007 by ManicMammy
Review Tags: cavan, eaterie, eating out, food, french, restaurant
Rate this review or write your own at LouderVoice

Review of Co Cavan Swimming and Leisure Centre

Manic Mammy — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:52:28 +0000

Co Cavan Swimming and Leisure Centre,
Drumalee,
Cavan,
Ireland

Good, large swimming pool with plenty of room for children to splash around.

As we’re up visiting Granny at the moment, myself and the eldest 4 headed to the local swimming pool yesterday. This is a 25m “L” shaped pool, basically the small part of the L is the children’s section. Its a great size and is shallow enough for the 2 year old to walk and splash comfortably around. The water was quite warm and the lifeguard was very visible and attentive.

Another lifeguard offered us additional floatation devices to play with as the 2 younger kids had armbands on. There were plenty of foam frogs and foam rectangles in the pool already and she produced a foam tube which the 2 year old loves when asked.

There is no time limitation on swimming here and the family swim cost was €16.50, which I reckoned was good value. There are 2 changing rooms: male and female. Plenty of lockers, hairdryers and enough bench space. The showers are individual cubicles which I’m not too fond of, would prefer an open plan shower area where I can see all the kids at all times.

One other advantage of this pool is a poolside bathroom. This I find a great help, as on occasion one or more of the children needs to use the loo and this avoids us all having to leave the pool and traipse back to the changing room.

As we had had a great hour’s swimming and splashing about in a almost empty pool yesterday morning, we returned this afternoon. Unfortunately there were swimming lessons on, so there was less space.

There’s also a jacuzzi and steamroom aswell as a couple of swimming lanes for those serious about their swimming!

Overall, this is a great facility and very handy when we’re up visiting Granny. Will definitely be returning.

Rated 4/5 on Aug 24 2007 by ManicMammy

LouderVoice Review Tags: activity, children, fun, leisure, pool, splash, swimming, swimming pool, water

Vote on this review or write your own at LouderVoice