Making Tracks – a new low-carbon, slow-tourism enterprise – has officially opened in Ballybrophy, County Laois, offering glamping, horse-drawn wagon tours, and an Irish country house hostel.
Opened by woodcraft restorer Eoin Reardon, the project involved the restoration of the former Ballybrophy House into an Irish country house hostel – adjacent to the Ballybrophy train station – construction of five glamping units, and the development of horse-drawn wagon experiences throughout south Laois.
The project was awarded €250,000 in funding through Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme, which is co-funded by the government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund.
“This project is a perfect example of how Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme is enhancing the tourism offering and creating new opportunities in destinations across the Midlands,” said Orla Carroll, director of product development at Fáilte Ireland.
“By delivering unique, low-carbon experiences and quality accommodation, it strengthens the region’s appeal for both domestic and international visitors. It also highlights the transformative impact that initiatives like the EU Just Transition Fund can have on rural tourism development.”
Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme aims to transform tourism across eight counties in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and Ireland’s Ancient East by diversifying the local economy and providing new employment opportunities for workers and communities that were heavily dependent on peat. The scheme aims to develop the Midlands into a leading regenerative tourism destination, creating more reasons for domestic and international tourists to visit the Midlands while also sustaining jobs, businesses, and local communities in the region.
