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RATHNEW

CO. WICKLOW · IE

Rathnew
Ráth Naoi, Co. Wicklow

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 01 / 03

Ráth Naoi · Co. Wicklow

Ireland's oldest coaching inn has been in the same family since 1820. The village around it is a suburb of Wicklow town.

Rathnew is, without pretence, a commuter village on the northern edge of Wicklow town. The N11 runs past. The housing is recent. The village centre is functional. If that is not what you came to Wicklow to find, the mountains are visible to the west and Glendalough is thirty-five minutes by road.

The one reason to stop - and it is a solid reason - is Hunter's Hotel at Newrath Bridge. The building was already in use as an inn when the Post Chaise Companion listed it in 1786, a directory for travellers on the post road south from Dublin. The Gelletlie family took it over in 1820 and have run it since. Several generations of the same family have managed the same building on the same bend of the Vartry River for over two centuries. The current hotel sits in two acres of gardens that have built their own following independently of the inn: the oriental poppies in May and June bring people who have no particular interest in coaching history.

The food at Hunter's is traditional country-house cooking - no modernist gestures, no tasting menus. Lunch by the river, Sunday roast, afternoon tea on the lawn when the weather allows. If you are travelling through Wicklow and want one stop that is genuinely old rather than merely old-looking, this qualifies. The nearest alternative of real note is the Strawberry Tree at Brook Lodge in Macreddin, about twenty-five minutes south into the hills - the only restaurant in Ireland certified by the Organic Trust, with everything on the menu organic or wild-foraged. Worth the detour if you are going south anyway.

Population

3,482 (Census 2022)

Walk score

Flat village centre; Wicklow town 2km south on foot

Founded

Coaching inn recorded 1786; village grew on N11 Dublin-Wexford road

Coords

53.0065° N, 6.0841° W

01 / 09

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 Hunter's Hotel

Coaching inn, river gardens, family-run since 1820.

The inn at Newrath Bridge was listed in the 1786 Post Chaise Companion, a travellers' directory for the Dublin-Wexford post road. The Gelletlie family took it over in 1820 and have not left. Two acres of prize-winning gardens run down to the Vartry River. The oriental poppies peak in May and June.

Sleep → 02 Vartry River

A Wicklow river that runs through the hotel grounds and south to the sea.

The Vartry rises in the mountains above Roundwood, passes through the Victorian reservoir that once supplied Dublin with water, and reaches the sea at Wicklow. The stretch behind Hunter's Hotel is garden-tamed. The wider river walk connects north toward Wicklow town.

Walks → 03 Wicklow town

The county seat is two kilometres south.

Rathnew runs directly into Wicklow town's northern edge. The town has a working harbour, the Black Castle ruin on a sea headland, and the full range of services the village does not carry. For an evening out beyond Hunter's, that is where to go.

Getting there →

02 / 09

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Hunter's Hotel Bar

Country-house quiet, afternoon rather than late-night

Hotel bar, Newrath Bridge, Rathnew

Part of the coaching inn the Gelletlie family have run since 1820. Bar food at lunch. The draw is the garden terrace on the Vartry River, not the drinks list. Closes early by pub standards.

The Village Inn

Village local - pool table, darts, live music at weekends

Local pub, Main Street, Rathnew

The community pub for the village. Open Tuesday through Sunday. Food at weekends. Live music most Fridays and Saturdays. Honest about what it is.

03 / 09

Where to eat.

Place	Type	€	Local note
Hunter's Hotel Restaurant	Hotel restaurant, Newrath Bridge	€€€	Traditional country-house cooking, seasonal Irish ingredients. Sunday lunch is the main event. Afternoon tea on the garden terrace in good weather. Booking advisable; the dining room is not large.
The Strawberry Tree at Brook Lodge	Fine dining restaurant, Macreddin Village (approx 25 min south)	€€€€	The only restaurant in Ireland certified by the Organic Trust. Every ingredient is organic or wild-foraged; the hotel has its own smokehouse and a full-time forager. Five-course dinner and nine-course tasting menus. Not in Rathnew, but the nearest restaurant of this calibre.

04 / 09

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
Hunter's Hotel	Historic coaching inn, Newrath Bridge, Rathnew	Ireland's oldest coaching inn in continuous family ownership. The Gelletlie family have run it since 1820. Sixteen rooms in the original building and garden annexe - rooms vary considerably; garden-facing rooms are worth requesting. Two acres of gardens on the Vartry River. No spa or conference facilities. Approximately 45 minutes from Dublin city.

05 / 09

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Listed in a travellers' guide in 1786. In the same family since 1820.

The inn that outlasted everything

The road between Dublin and Wexford was a serious undertaking before the railway came. Coaching inns were working infrastructure - horses exchanged, passengers fed, goods stored overnight. The inn at Newrath Bridge was on that route, and by 1786 it appeared in The Post Chaise Companion, one of the era's major travellers' guides. Records show a lease held from William Tighe in 1774; by 1820 the property had passed to the Gelletlie family. What followed is the unusual part: no bankruptcy, no closure, no change of family. Maureen Gelletlie and her sons Richard and Tom run the hotel now, in the same building, on the same bend of the Vartry River, on the same road that coaches once worked south.

The hotel gardens have built a reputation that stands apart from the coaching inn history.

Two acres on the Vartry

Hunter's Hotel has been known for its gardens long enough that the gardens now attract visitors independently of the accommodation. The two-acre site runs down to the Vartry River and is kept to a standard that has won awards over several decades. In May and June, the oriental poppies are the specific draw - a planting dense enough to read from the road. The rest of the year the herbaceous borders and river frontage give the garden its own itinerary separate from the hotel. It is not a formal garden in the grand-house sense. It is a working hotel garden tended carefully for a long time.

06 / 09

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Rathnew to Wicklow town A flat road walk south on the R750 into Wicklow town. Not a countryside trail, but a practical connection on foot. Wicklow town gives you the harbour, the headland, and the Black Castle ruin.

2km one waydistance

25 mintime

Hunter's Hotel gardens The hotel grounds on the Vartry are open to guests and, for the gardens, to day visitors. The river frontage is the main interest. Best in May-June for the oriental poppies.

Garden circuit (2 acres)distance

20-30 mintime

07 / 09

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

March-May

Hunter's Hotel gardens peak in May. The Wicklow Mountains are clear. Glendalough is thirty-five minutes west and noticeably quieter than in summer.

◉ Go

Summer

June-August

The garden terrace at Hunter's is usable most days. Wicklow town and nearby beaches - Silver Strand, Brittas Bay further south - get busy at weekends in July and August. Book Hunter's well ahead.

◉ Go

Autumn

September-November

Quieter at Hunter's and throughout the county. The Wicklow Mountains colour from September. Glendalough in October is worth the trip - school-holiday crowds gone, weather still reasonable.

◉ Go

Winter

December-February

Hunter's runs reduced hours and should be checked ahead. The village offers nothing particular in cold weather. Wicklow town has a Christmas market in December.

◐ Mind yourself

08 / 09

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Independent shops and village cafes

Rathnew is a residential suburb. The main street carries practical services, not a browsable run of boutiques or specialty food shops.

A late night out

The Village Inn does weekends with live music and Hunter's bar closes early. For anything past eleven, Wicklow town is two kilometres south.

Hunter's Hotel if contemporary design is the priority

The hotel is genuinely old and decorated accordingly. Rooms are traditional and vary in size. The appeal is history and garden. If a modern spa hotel is what you need, this is not it.

Getting there.

By car

Rathnew is on the R750, 2km north of Wicklow town. Exit the M11/N11 at Junction 17 (Wicklow). Hunter's Hotel is signed at Newrath Bridge. Dublin to Rathnew is approximately 55km, around 50 minutes in normal traffic.

By bus

Bus Éireann route 133 (Dublin Busáras to Wexford) stops in Wicklow town, 2km south. Local services connect Rathnew to Wicklow town. Check transportforireland.ie for current timetables.

By train

Wicklow station on the Dublin Connolly-Rosslare Europort line is 2km south in Wicklow town. From there, a taxi or short walk north on the R750 reaches Rathnew and Hunter's Hotel.