Back in 2018, I drew up a travel wish list (now badly in need of an update!). Not exactly the most exotic item on the list, but one aim was to sleep in every county in Ireland – I’d 2 left out of the 32 at the time. The following year, a few pals gave me a voucher for a hotel break in Fermanagh but it has taken me until now to finally get that sleepover in County Armagh!
I knew very little about the county to be honest – It’s known as the Orchard County (there’s presumably an abundance of apple trees but I can’t say I noticed!!), it had strong links with St Patrick, and the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland is traditionally based in Armagh City (because of those links with Patrick I suppose).
Sussing walking trails in the city, I came across Angels and Gargoyles – which is exactly the type of thing that catches my eye!
22 miniature bronze creatures – the work of artist Holger Lonze – are hidden around the city and the trail introduces the visitor to the Armagh’s historical streets and buildings.
Here’s a selection…. (although I swear I DID find all 22!!!)
Under the clock at the Old Butter Market…
Keeping an eye on the night safe!
Our friend at the Post Office has wings resembling envelopes….
An Old Boot in need of repair!
A Librarian Angel! (Jonathan Swift’s copy of Gulliver’s Travels – with handwritten comments from the author – is here!)
This isn’t the only trail in town!……
There’s the Art Trail….
….an Architectural Trail….
…..and an Ecclesiastical Trail!
If that’s not enough for you, there’s always St. Patrick’s Way! The 132km / 82 mile trail connects Armagh and Downpatrick as two locations on the island closely associated with the saint.
Navan Fort was the ancient seat of Kings. Saint Patrick is said to have healed a local chieftain, Daire, who then gave him a hill site in nearby Ard Macha (Armagh) to build his church. The Pilgrim Walk starts out by Navan Fort and winds its way through the city and on to Patrick’s final resting place at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick.
Happy trails!!!!!
Small Stuff
The Angels and Gargoyles Trail meanders circa 3.5kms around town and takes 1.5 – 2.00 hours to complete.
Armagh is about 135kms from Dublin.
The Armagh City Hotel is a busy spot with a great location – you can just leave the car and walk. We went downtown for dinner but Armagh is QUIET – REALLY QUIET at night – (unless we totally missed out on the craic somewhere!). We ended up back in the bar of our hotel (the restaurant only opens at weekends – worrying as we visited in August / height of the tourist season) where we shared a few starters from a typical bar menu selection.
A very interesting and quirky-looking place. Cheers.
The trail probably made the town more interesting than it actually is! Although there is a lot of Church history there and a few ancient sites close by..
Definitely worth a visit
Glad we finally got there. Took a long time!
I love how tiny those figures are! The various trails sound like a good way to discover the town but it’s a shame it wasn’t at least a little livelier for you.
It was only for one night so we survived! We enjoyed the trail which brought to parts of the town we wouldn’t have bothered with otherwise so that’s a good theing!
I don’t think I’ve ever been to Armagh, and this is certainly the first time I’m hearing about the Gargoyles and Angels trail, but I would very much love to hunt down those tiny bronze sculptures hidden on historic buildings, walls, and architectural ledges around Armagh. I also love how it turns a standard sightseeing walk into a fun scavenger hunt. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
The girls would love it Aiva – a good way to get them around the city. We also pulled in to Oxford Island on Lough Neagh – there’s a camp site there and playground, walks etc…. Might be a bit too far for a day trip for you but certainly a weekend would be plenty….
My husband’s people were from Armagh. When we visited in 2024, we just spent the day there. I’m envious that you spent the night. And what a fun trail to follow!
I like to overnight in a place – it’s usually so different from daytime. Yes – it was fun – and it made us linger about town longer than we might have done so we had a good look around. I’m just thinking here, as you mention your husband, I don’t think I actually know anyone from Armagh!!
This makes me want to go back to Ireland to explore all of the places we missed! I love the angels and gargoyles.