The Steam Museum
& Lodge Park Walled Garden

An amazing collection of Model Locomotives & working Stationary Steam Engines …and an award-winning Walled Garden & Cafe.

The Walled Garden

The 18th Century walled garden adjoining Lodge Park… a verdant oasis bristling with interesting flora!

Barista Bike
Café

The Barista Bike is the first Ecologically friendly “coffee pop up cycling unit” to operate in Ireland

A magnificent Victorian Gothic building, relocated from Dublin!

The Michael Owens Power Hall – which houses the collection of stationary Steam Engines – was once a place of worship for the Railway engineers at Inchicore Railway works (in the west of Dublin). The building’s condition declined, but the Steam Museum’s founder – Mr Robert C Guinness – proposed to the Dublin Corporation that it be relocated to Straffan … which is where you will find the building now in all it’s glory!

Make sure to visit for a 🚂 Steam-Up 🚂 which happens every Sunday during opening season (click here for times). The Stationary Engines are run by our dedicated volunteers and we are the only place in Ireland that you can see, hear and smell Stationary Engines running under steam, a unique experience.

The Michael Owens Power Hall

The Michael Owens Power Hall displays six huge nineteenth century Stationary Engines running in steam on occasions. Demonstrations are included of steam powered electric lighting, and of equipment removed from a Dublin laundry driven through its original belt and line shafting to an early prime mover. A Cornish boiler and several small engines are on show.

The Model Hall

The collection consists of Early Inventor’s models, Scientific Engineering Models, and Historic Works of Mechanical Art. Portraits of the Great Inventors and Engineers of the Steam Age can be seen. The Halpin Collection has samples from the first transatlantic cable laid between Valencia Island and Newfoundland.

Museum & Garden Opening Times

Our 2024 opening hours are:
1 – 5pm on the following days:

May
Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays
June, July, and August
Friday, Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays
Heritage Week August 17th – 24th 2024
September
Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays

Steam-Ups happen between 2 – 4pm on Sundays!

Last entry: 1 hour before closing

Where We Are

Lodge Park,
Straffan, Co. Kildare, W23 X8N4
Ireland

Visits at other times are possible, but must be by arrangement in advance. We welcome group bookings anytime and we can provide private Steaming for special occasions which could tie in with our Barista Bike Café for refreshments.

Please contact us on:
info@steam-museum.ie, garden@steam-museum.ie, or by calling 083 016 8338

Museum Admission Charges

Adult (each)
No Steam (Friday & Saturday): €7.50
‘Steam Up’ (Sunday): €10.00

Child (5-17) / OAP / Student
No Steam (Friday & Saturday): €5.00
‘Steam Up’ (Sunday): €7.50

Family Admission (2 Adults/2 Children)
No Steam (Friday & Saturday): €20.00
‘Steam Up’ (Sunday): €25.00

Groups over 20 people
No Steam: €7.00 per person
‘Steam Up’: €9.00 per person

Horticultural/Technology student (with card, each)
Museum & Garden: Free of charge

Garden Admission Charges

Adult (each)
Garden: €7.00

Child (5-17) / OAP / Student
Garden: €5.00

Family Admission (2 Adults/2 Children)
Garden: €20.00

Groups over 20 people
Garden: €5.00 per person

TICKETS

You can purchase tickets on arrival at the museum, or online in advance via the link below.

Buy tickets

The beautiful 18th Century walled garden

The 18th century walled garden of two acres resides among the mature trees of Lodge Park demesne.

The garden was made to complement the needs of the house, which overlooks a fine stretch of the river Liffey. The old brick faced walls continue to be clothed with exotic climbers, fruit trees and roses. A magnificent south facing shrub border edged in box hedges and topiarised yew trees runs the length of the garden.

Stately Beech hedges divide the different compartments of the garden, which include a white garden, peony border, south facing shrub border, working vegetable garden, herbaceous border and rose garden. The North facing border is home to a collection of shade seeking perennials and shrubs like Hydrangea, Rodgersia, Hosta, Digitalis and Veratrum and creates a quiet woodland ambiance.

Visit the Walled Garden

Lodge Park Walled Garden is a family friendly garden for people of all ages. Children especially love exploring its many paths and hidden garden rooms. There are also several lawn areas and seats for quiet reflection, or just to take in the view.

Please click here for the Museum & Garden opening times & entrance pricing.

Unfortunately, we are unable to welcome dogs into the garden!

Barista Bike Café

Top quality Artisan coffee & sensational Italian hot chocolate

Barista Bike proudly runs a café in the beautiful surroundings of Straffan Steam Museum and magical Lodge Park Walled Gardens.

We serve delicious breakfasts and gourmet lunches freshly made from carefully selected local products and ingredients from our walled garden.

We take bookings for families and groups.

Call 0860660033 or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Cafe Opening Times

Monday- 9:30am-approx 4pm
Tuesday-9:30am-approx 4pm
Wednesday- 9:30am-approx 4pm
Thursday- 9:30am-approx 4pm
Friday – 9:30am- 4pm
Saturday – 9:30am- 4pm
Sunday – 9:30am- 4pm

Where We Are

Lodge Park,
Straffan,
Co. Kildare,
W23 X8N4,
Ireland

We take bookings for families and groups.

Call 086 066 0033 or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

The Coffee

Produced by a family of small artisan roasters in small batches on a weekly basis. This ensures our coffee is of the highest standard & in exemplary condition and most importantly, Fairtrade. The Barista Bike coffee is derived from a light roast of carefully selected beans specifically produced for the Barista Bike.

The Bikes

The Barista Bikes are 100% self sufficient mobile coffee bikes and can be operated independently of a mains water or power supply. We are proud to serve the best coffee in our café. Come and visit!

Breakfast & Lunch

We serve delicious breakfast and gourmet lunches, freshly made from carefully selected local ingredients and our walled garden produce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please click here for the Museum & Garden opening times, and here for the Cafe opening times.

Please click here for the Museum & Garden admission charges.

We recommend about an hour for each of the Museum and the Garden at a minimum.

Yes – please get in touch to arrange a guided tour. Our guided tours are normally arranged as part of a group booking and are not free of charge.

​Yes! We offer a small collection of souvenirs, and the Barista Bike Café serves delicious breakfasts and gourmet lunches freshly made from carefully selected local products and ingredients from our walled garden.

We are well prepared for everyone to be able to access the museum and garden. We have wheelchair access everywhere and an accessible toilet near the car-park.

The museum is a wonderful, fun, educational place to visit. And coupled with a break in the Barista Bike Café, and a stroll round the garden, there’s something for everyone!

​Dogs on leads are welcome in the Café only, but not in the Museum or Garden.

Location & Contact

Please contact us with any queries at all and we will do our best to help!

Where We Are location map pin icon

Where We Are

Lodge Park,
Straffan, Co. Kildare, W23 X8N4,
Ireland