Visitor Information
“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.” Hans Christian Anderson
A very warm welcome to Airfield …
Opening Times: Monday – Sunday & Bank Holidays 10 am-5 pm
Tickets: Adults €6 - Children €3
Family Day Pass €18 (2 adults and 2 children)
Family Day Pass €20 (2 adults and 3 children)
Family Day Pass €22 (2 adults and 4 children)
Concessions €4
Airfield Family Membership:
The Family Membership entitles you and your family to unlimited access to our 35 acre farm and formal gardens. The benefits of membership include admission to many Airfield events including Family Sundays, special seasonal days including Woolapolooza, The Big Picnic, Scarefield, Mayday. Join the Meet the Farmer and Meet the Animals tours, the history and garden tours and nature trails. At Airfield you can enjoy the changing seasons—the estate is ablaze with the colour of 100,000 bulbs in springtime, in Summer the gardens and farm are in full bloom, Autumn brings lovely soft yellows and oranges and Winter is crisp and stark with frost, perfect for a bracing walk.
By becoming a member you are also supporting the future of Airfield, its educational remit and its ongoing development. In 2007 Airfield began its programme of investing in its natural habitats by planting over 2,000 Irish trees. The newly created wet woodland will add to the beauty of the grounds, create a new home for wildlife, flora and fauna and function as an educational resource.
Annual Family Membership €120
Six Month Family Membership € 80
Single Annual € 70
Single Six Month € 40
For more information, phone Airfield 01 2984301
How to get here:
Luas: We all agree the Luas is not only efficient and an environmentally sound way to travel, it's also fun!!! Take the Sandyford “Green” Line to Balally Station. When you get out of the station turn right, follow the Wyckham bypass up the hill swinging around to the right. Airfield is just ahead about 150 meters. It's a quick walk and one well worth making!
Bus Stops / Routes: 75 and 86 stop outside Airfield 48A, 44 and 44B stop at Dundrum Village 11 and 11B stop at The Goat Grill
By Car: M50 Southbound: Take Exit 13, continue through the roundabouts for Dundrum till you pass TESCO, the road dips & you pass straight on through a junction. As the road rises & swings round to the right stay right. Airfield is on the right.
M50 Northbound: Take the exit for Dundrum, at the second crossroads turn right. The road runs fairly straight before swinging to the left. Airfield is on the left just past the bend.
From City Centre: Via Ranelagh, Clonskeagh, Goatstown, straight on through the Goat Grill junction and take the right at the second crossroads (set of traffic lights) for Upper Kilmacud Road. Continue straight ahead for a few minutes. Airfield is on the left hand side (look out for a brown fingerpost sign on the right).
Airfield
Kilmacud Road Upper, Dundrum, D14
01 298 4301
Airfield is a place that reconnects people and nature, it is a place where they can reflect, be replenished and celebrate the fusion of man and nature through the activities of farming and gardening. We aim to nurture a respect and awareness of the natural environment.
We offer a range of inspirational, active learning and cultural experiences that grow out of Airfield’s natural resources. We aspire to make Airfield accessible to people of all ages and communities’.
The History:
We are happy to welcome you to Airfield, the home of the Letitia and Naomi Overend. We hope you feel, as we do, that Airfield is a place of escape and discovery, a place to relax away from the busy world and to nurture your spirit by being close to nature.
At first glance Airfield may seem like a quiet place where little happens but as a visitor your valuable support enables us to develop and sustain a wide range of educational and recreational activities. Airfield is a private Trust, set up by the Overend sisters and does not receive public funding to support its activities or overheads. We strive to stay true to their vision by maintaining Airfield as a place of beauty and learning an oasis of nature in the city. However, we also want Airfield to be a place of fun, colour and laughter for people of all ages. Your support helps us to keep this special amenity open for the enjoyment of many.
Education:
Airfield endeavors to be a site of lifelong learning, a place where we hope each encounter will bring about some new discovery. We design and deliver a range of programmes across the arts and education with the emphasis on the natural world and experiential learning, doing rather than listening. We also have regular family fun days where the emphasis is on low-tech good old fashioned fun.
Our not for profit education programme works with children from pre-school through to Leaving Certificate, the emphasis being on learning through exploration and experimentation. Annually approximately 7,000 students visit with their teachers. For many children Airfield can often be their first encounter with both the natural world and that of farming. Each programme is designed to enhance the science curriculum and to develop and nurture children’s own innate sense of curiosity and creativity. Airfield is an approved Discover Primary Science location and has also developed programmes for second level ecology and horticulture studies.
The Farm:
Airfield is a working farm and has a specialized staff to care for the animals. You may notice that we ask you not to feed the animals and that sometimes they may be in a different field to where you usually find them. There are special reasons for this. Our farmer Eamon works hard to make sure that they are healthy, happy and well fed. The animal’s diet varies according to their nutritional needs and the time of year. Grass may be more plentiful in a new place, they may be breeding or not feeling well and extra food may harm them so thank you for helping us keep them healthy. At special times you can meet our farmer who will tell you lot’s of interesting facts about our farm the animals.
Airfield has a large number of animals, in summer you can see them grazing in our large fields just like you would in the country, in winter you won’t see as many as they are being housed in doors during the harsh weather, like on a normal working farm you would find anywhere in the country. Because the fields are so big you might not realize that we have approximately 40 sheep (with over 60 lambs in Spring), 12 cows with 6 to 8 calves, 2 Donkey’s, 4 miniature horses, 2 goats, 3 pigs, lots of ducks, hens and geese.
New Habitats at Airfield:
Airfield is committed to its future, and has invested heavily in enhancing the estate for generations to come. Over the last 2 years we have planted over 2,000 native Irish trees around the periphery of the estate. We have also developed a new pond, and wet woodland which will be an exciting new habitat for bird life, and all types of wildlife. As you will see there is a significant water body, make sure that you are vigilant around this area with minors or elderly.
The Gardens:
Airfield is a mixture of wild and formal gardens. Our team of gardeners have created a flood of colour bordered by the many greens of our spectacular trees and native hedgerows If sometimes the pathways sometimes seem not to follow a logical sequence that is because the layout has remained the same since 1700’s. This was a private residence and garden and never designed as a public space. Emer, our head gardener gives seasonal demonstrations and talks regularly throughout the year and also runs our young gardener’s club. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to take time to enjoy the gardens but we would ask you not to pick the flowers, however tempting. If you are desperate to replicate a little part of Airfield in your own garden our gardeners are happy to give advice on where you can obtain the plants for yourself.
The Airfield Team:
A large team of people headed by Director Kathy Purcell, work hard behind the scenes everyday to ensure that your experience to Airfield is a good one. They are: The education team; the farm team; the cafe team; the facilities team; the gardening team; the retail team, the admin team and the finance team.
Airfield is a private Trust established by the sisters for educational and recreational purposes. It is a registered Charity, and we run the organization on a not for profit basis, investing all our income into running the estate, providing educational and creative programmes for all ages. We are not in receipt of public funding outside of specific project related funding from DLRCC, The Arts Council and The Heritage Council. Your support is vital to us and we appreciate it greatly, please come back and tell all your friends about us!
We welcome your feedback and should you wish to contact us, please do so:
