The Town of Books Festival is in September- make your plans now!

NOTE: 2012 dates are:

Fri 21- Sun 23 Sept

Mark your calendar for the Graignamanagh Town Of Books Festival on Fri 16- Sun 18 September! Located in one of the 'hidden gem' villages of Ireland, this special festival brings together 20- 30 booksellers to sell their wares throughout the town- a treasure trail of goodies for book lovers!

(Click here for a 'taste' of what Graignamanagh is like)

Graignamanagh- 'villiage of the monks'

Is this your photo? Couldn't find who to credit- tell us if it is you! 

Vintage books, specialist books, bargain books, fiction books, non-fiction books, children's books-- whatever your pleasure is, it's bound to be here! (Sorry about the pun.) 

There will also be talks, a debate, a craft and food fair on Sunday, children's activities, and more! Click here, and here to see what went on last year-- 2011 details will be launched soon. The traditional music festival Feile Freaney is also on in Graig at the same time-- do you really need another excuse to visit?! 

Staying over in or near Graignamanagh village

is ideal, & the Town of Books' website has some local info. 

The Dairy at Blackstairs Courtyard 

There are several good pubs, and Doyle's has got to be the most iconic, with the hardware shop to boot.

Photo of Doyle's by meophamman on flickr & lower photo of the conservatory at Ballyogan house- perfect for reading!

Riverside Charm!.

The Waterside Guesthouse, is in a 19thc converted granite grainstore; homey and cosy- the rooms look out right on to the river, and it is in the heart of the festival. The owners are also well into hiking, rowing, & nature, so do mine them for information with them on those things! Their website also has some good info on the area, as does the website of

Rural idyll!

Ballogan House- also recommended in 2011 Bridgestone guides.

Located outside of town, Period farmhouse (circ. 1850) Ballyogan has a lovely garden & chickens that lay blue eggs. Fabulous! They've also got a Facebook page where you can see what has been going on in their little patch of heaven. 

***This is where there should be more photos of places I'm mentioning, but Blogger is acting up & I can't insert them properly. So please click the links to see these places for yourself- there are some real beauties!*** 

Countryside beauty! 

Blackstairs Courtyard is self- catering, comprised of 2 charming restored buildings; a stone built dairy ,& a grainstore, located a few miles out of town on the Carlow side. They've also more photos of the accomodation & stunning area on their new Facebook page, so do check it out.

Special offer!

Also self-catering, and very handily located just at the edge of town, are Mount Brandon Holiday Cottages. They've some lovely views, excellent ratings on Trip Advisor and a special offer on if you book in July, so get your plans together! 

5 star!

If you want to splash out some, the 5 star Inn at Ballilogue Clochan is very beautiful & peaceful. Click & visit the website even if you are more budget minded- just to see the traditional, stone-built barns mixed-with-modern-design loveliness of it all! The Clochan is about 

10 miles away, in the Inistioge/New Ross direction.

1 more gem!

1 more place I'll mention is The Grainstore Cottages, downriver from Graig in St.Mullins. (The river tow path walk up to Graig is lovely, takes about an hour.) They are self catering, and located in a lovely spot. More on that here.

Have YOU stayed anywhere nice in the area that you'd like to share? Leave a comment below!