Ireland's first fully accessible treetop walk and viewing tower in Avondale Forest Park, Co Wicklow, has opened to huge demand.

'Beyond the Trees Avondale', which opened to visitors earlier this month, has welcomed a flock of people over the last few weeks.

Developed in partnership between Coillte, Fáilte Ireland and EAK Ireland, the new facility brings a unique visitor experience to Ireland's Ancient East. This €19 million project at Avondale is part of Coillte's strategy to create more world class visitor destinations and increase recreation spaces nationally, and will encourage international and domestic visitors to stay longer and spend more in Wicklow and the wider Ireland's Ancient East region, driving economic and employment opportunities for local communities. 

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Approximately 60 new full and part-time jobs have been created to staff the site, the majority of whom are from the locality.

Visitors are encouraged not to travel to Avondale at the weekend without a confirmed booking. Beyond the Trees Avondale is open seven days a week from 9.30am to 7pm and visitors are encouraged to book outside of the peak times especially at the weekends.

The giant slide has proven extremely popular; however, it can only accommodate a certain number of people every hour. At peak times, those who wish to slide may need to queue for a longer period of time. The average queuing time onsite will be communicated throughout the day. There is an additional charge of €2 per go for the slide, and the slide is subject to weather conditions for safety reasons.

Visitors to Beyond the Trees Avondale will experience the beauty of Avondale's tree canopy on the Treetop Walk and enjoy incredible views of the beautiful Wicklow countryside from the spectacular Viewing Tower created for the project by EAK Ireland. The Beyond the Trees Avondale experience will be further enhanced in the Autumn when restoration work on Avondale House, the home of Charles Stewart Parnell, will be completed and the house will open to visitors.