We have teamed up with Wildwood Balsamics in Ballina Co. Mayo to create our new Sligo Oyster Pickled Oysters. Infusing some of their gorgeous barrel aged balsamics with our freshly harvested oysters from the waters of Sligo Bay and the Wild Atlantic Way. Available in two delicious flavours, Water Mint & Lemon Balm Balsamic which is chosen as a finalist in the Blas na hEireann Awards 2024 and Blackberry Balsamic. If you are an oyster lover they are a must try!
As oyster season is September to April, these pickled oysters are a great new way for you to celebrate oyster season this year! Each jar contains half a dozen oysters and they are a perfect way of being able to take a little bit of Sligo Oyster Experience home with you, whether you have travelled from near or far.
Our pickled oysters are available to buy online, links are attached below. They can also be purchased in-store at WB’s Coffee House in Sligo Town.
Water Mint & Lemon Balm Balsamic Pickled Oysters & Blackberry Balsamic Pickled Oysters
After taking a few months break away from the farm tours to let the colder months of lovely Ireland pass, we are delighted to be announcing the return of our Oyster Farm Tours resuming from Friday June 10th.
We have really missed bringing people to the farm and although the break was necessary to make the experience of the Oyster Farm Tour the most enjoyable we can make it, we have been patiently waiting to get them started again so we are thrilled to be announcing this! If you are interested our tours run every Friday at 11am and last two hours.
During this tour you will gain exclusive access to a working oyster farm where you will be guided by Aisling, owner of Sligo Oyster Experience. You will learn all about Sligo’s ancient seafood and see the care, craft and expertise that goes into growing oysters, take in the stunning surrounding views of two of Sligo’s famous mountains Benbulben and Knocknarea along with the grand expanse of Sligo Bay, finishing off the experience by enjoying an oyster tasting by the shore while sipping a local craft beer or wine and other refreshments.
We are proud to be listed on this seafood trail, which runs along the entire Wild Atlantic Way route. Taste the Atlantic: A Seafood Journey is a dedicated seafood trail along the coast of Ireland created by Bord Iascaigh Mhara. It offers a variety of attractions and experiences to visitors which are designed to highlight Ireland’s seafood and coastal heritage. The trail also aims to encourage visitors to develop an appreciation about how seafood is caught and farmed along Ireland’s coast.
The immersive visitor experience will offer a platform to showcase Ireland’s hardworking seafood producers all the way from the top of Donegal right down to Cork. It gives visitors the opportunity to discover the best seafood establishments and see a mixture of traditional and more modern techniques used by our producers. The trail also focuses on meeting the producers, discovering where the seafood is caught and how it is farmed. This allows the end consumer to recognise the hard work and dedication of these producers.
The Salmon Experience at the Burren Smokehouse Visitor Centre is located in Lisdoonvarna. Discover their first kiln, unique salmon mosaics and taste their freshly Smoked Organic Salmon. Visit Kenmare Bay Seafoods on the South West Coast of Ireland where mussels are harvested from their organic sustainable farm. The mussels are brought directly to their nearby cookhouse facility where a range of chef-developed recipes are created using only the finest natural ingredients.
6. Ewings Sea Angling and Boat Charters
Sligo Boat Charters are located in the picturesque village of Rosses Point in Co. Sligo and offer fantastic boat trips along the Wild Atlantic Way. Your trip can be customised to suit your group and preferences so you can relax and experience the magic of Sligo Bay. A variety of services are available, including deep sea angling, shark fishing, seal watching, sightseeing and island tours. Email info@sligoboatcharters.com for more details.
5. Sligo Walks
Get out and about to admire the beautiful scenery and epic views that Sligo has to offer on one of the many walks around the town and county. Enjoy a forest walk at Hazelwood, a stroll on the beach at Strandhill or Enniscrone or a gentle hike on the Queen Maeve Trail at Knocknarea. The Benbulben Forest Walk offers stunning views of Sligo’s famous table mountain. Visit sligowalks.ie for a wide variety of routes along with information on the grade of walk, terrain, length and information about each walk.
4. Coney Island
Coney Island is situated in Sligo Bay and is the largest of the three islands off the northern coast of the Coolera peninsula. Escape for a couple of hours and enjoy a stroll or a picnic on a secluded beach. Coney Island is accessible at low tide by driving or walking over the causeway which is marked by stone pillars. Visitors should be aware of the tide times as the bay fills and empties twice a day.
3. Wild Atlantic Sheep Farm
Watch an amazing team of one man and his dog at work on their home turf. Demonstrations daily Monday to Saturday and booking is essential. Visit here for booking and more details.
2. Voya Seaweed Baths
Voya Seaweed Baths are located in the beautiful coastal village of Strandhill in Co. Sligo. Relax into a luxurious steaming bath filled with fresh seawater and wild, organic seaweed which has been hand-harvested on the Irish Atlantic coast. They also have a selection of additional treatments available to book, unwind with an invigorating massage, treat yourself to a detoxifying facial or a hydrating body scrub. Bookings can be made by emailing reception@voyaseaweedbaths.com
1. Eagles Flying
Visit Eagles Flying, Ireland´s biggest centre for Birds of Prey and Owls. It is currently home to about 100 Eagles, Hawks, Owls, Falcons and Vultures and situated on 27 ha of mature parklands near Ballymote in County Sligo. The interactive bird show is an unforgettable experience for all ages as Eagles, Hawks and Owls fly closely over your head or land right beside you. Visit www.eaglesflying.com for more details and updates.
If you are planning a getaway for a few days, then check out Adventure Sligo. Choose your adventure along the Wild Atlantic Way from a range of activity providers including kayaking, horse riding, surfing and sailing. Visit adventuresligo.ie for more details.
Check out Sligo Food Trail for a host of accommodation options and places to dine during your visit to Sligo.
Our tour introduces people to the Wild Atlantic Way, oyster farmers, tasting oysters, which are so fresh and straight from Sligo Bay. It’s a joy working by the bay.
The Sligo Oyster Farm Tour follows on from our popular Town Tour, which was launched two years ago in 2018. The farm tour was always something we intended to launch in 2020 and we didn’t know if we should proceed in the current climate.
Two weeks on and we are delighted with the response.
The Launch
We were delighted to welcome chef and restauranteur, JP Mc Mahon to launch the tour. He created a special oyster menu for the occasion which went down extremely well with all our guests. The launch evening was a great success and we were thrilled to receive a positive response and grateful to see so many people join us to celebrate our new tour.
We would like to thank you Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, Failte Ireland, Wild Atlantic Way and Wild Atlantic Oysters for all their support. Thank you to the Irish Independent, Sligo Weekender and The Sligo Champion for the support and coverage of our new tour. Plus the support of local craft brewers the White Hag for our launch.
New Sligo Oyster Farm Tour
The Sligo Oyster Farm Tour showcases Sligo’s stunning coastline and gives visitors an insight into the history of Sligo’s oysters, how they are farmed and the process of cultivation. The tour will uncover the history of oyster harvesting along the Wild Atlantic Way and the various methods that are still used today. Aisling will be your tour guide and will also introduce you to some coastal foraging and show you where edible sea vegetables grow along the coast, such as sea kale and samphire. The tour wraps up with an oyster shucking demonstration followed by an unlimited oyster tasting from our Sligo Oyster Experience Cart.
- The Sligo Oyster Farm Tour runs every Wednesday at 11am and 2pm and takes 1.5 hours. Tickets are €45 per person and includes unlimited oyster tasting. Booking is essential.
- Contact us directly for large group bookings.
The Sligo Oyster Farm Tour offers an immersive guided tour and visit to the Coney Island working oyster farm on the shores of Sligo bay, overlooked by the majestic Belbulben and Knocknarea.
Sligo is arguably the home of the oyster with the Irish word for Sligo ‘Sligeach’ meaning ‘abounding in shells’. Following on from Sligo Oyster Town Tour which was launched in 2018, the Sligo Oyster Farm Tour showcases Sligo’s stunning coastline and its native oysters with an exclusive tour of an oyster farm and a tasting of the freshest Sligo oysters, straight from the ocean.
The tour begins with a 15-minute Wild Atlantic Way rugged coastal walk with tour guide and owner of Sligo Oyster Experience and WB’s coffee house, Aisling Kelly Hunter. Along the way participants will learn ancient Sligo folklore and the history of Sligo’s native oysters, before arriving at the Coney Island Oyster Farm where they will experience oyster farming and the process of cultivation first hand. The group will be guided through the history of oyster harvesting along the Wild Atlantic Way and learn about the methods which are still in use today. Aisling will also introduce the group to coastal foraging by showing them where edible sea vegetables grow long the coast, such as sea kale and samphire.
The tour concludes with a visit to the Sligo Oyster Experience Cart where the group are treated to an oyster shucking demonstration before indulging in unlimited Sligo oysters with all the condiments, including a delectable seaweed dressing.
Aisling said, “I came up with the idea to run tours after my husband, Glenn, who is an oyster farmer introduced me to oysters, their history and harvesting in Sligo Bay. My background is in business and tourism and I saw a niche in the market for a unique experience showcasing this wonderful tradition. The tour really gives people an opportunity to appreciate Sligo. The Sligo Oyster Farm Tour adds an exciting ‘hands-on’ element. People really get to see how the oysters are grown, the impact the weather has on the farm and the hard work involved from the beginning of the process to the final product. I feel like the appreciation of the tasting experience that follows is heightened greatly by this element.”
The Sligo Oyster Farm Tour runs every Wednesday at 11:00am and 2:00pm. The tour takes 1.5 hours. Tickets are €45 per person and includes unlimited oyster tasting. Booking is essential. For large groups at least 24 hours advance notice is required. Private groups can also be catered for upon request.
Keep up to date with the latest news by following Sligo Oyster Experience on social at @SligoOysters.
Discover the history and learn of the current farming methods of harvesting oysters on the Wild Atlantic Way. The Sligo Oyster Experience begins at Sligo Tourist Office on O’Connell Street. Enjoy a short, scenic walk over Hyde Bridge where you can see the Garavogue River which flows to Sligo Bay and feeds the oyster beds. Admire the famous WB Yeats statue and listen to stories of summers spent by William Butler Yeats here in Sligo. Learn the history of our native oysters which grew in Sligo and Rosses Point.
Nest, you will visit WB’s Coffee House where Aisling will guide you through the history of oyster harvesting on the Wild Atlantic Way and how these methods have continued or adapted today. Learn the tricks of the trade with an oyster shucking demonstration and take photos of your experience at the oyster bar. A selection of naked or dressed Sligo Bay Oysters will be freshly prepared and served with a glass of crisp white wine, which has been carefully selected to compliment the oysters.
Tours in the Café will be on Mondays and Tuesdays at 4p.m. for Summer months.
We request all visitors to wear a mask during the tour. We will social distance different groups/ families for the tasting portion of the tour.
We were delighted to be a finalist in the Sligo Chamber Business Excellence Awards 2019 which took place in Sligo Park Hotel on Friday 8th November. The awards had almost 270 people in attendance this year with Mairead McGuinness, First Vice-President of the European Parliament, as Guest of Honour. The night had a great sense of positivity with Chamber President Conor McCarthy acknowledging the €225 million investment that has been announced for infrastructural projects in the county, the largest per capita allocation per county in the country.
We also celebrated 5 years in business last week at WB’s and are so lucky to have such amazing staff today and over the last five years. We are also truly grateful to all of our customers for their support. Looking forward to what the next five have in store.
This is a great opportunity to showcase the high-quality produce and seasonal ingredients that we are lucky to have on our doorstep. Sligo Food Trail will spearhead the programme in Sligo, and we are delighted to host events to celebrate Taste the Island.
On Saturday October 12th we will host a Beekeeping, Honey Tasting and Candle Making Demonstration at WB’s Coffee House & Deli Bar from 5 – 7pm. Ailbhe Gerrard is a farmer and beekeeper with Brookfield Farm and will be joining us for the event. Her vision is to bring agriculture back to its sustainable roots while also producing good quality food. Ailbhe also creates products from the wild honey, including hand dipped beeswax candles.
Over the course of the evening you will learn all about bees and discover how you can help to ensure they are protected. Enjoy a taste the honey and watch a demonstration on how to make a beeswax candle which make great gifts for people. Sit back, relax and enjoy a glass of wine with some delicious Sligo Oysters freshly shucked in front of you.
We will also host a Butter Making Demonstration on Saturday October 26th from 2-4pm. Violet Hunter will join us for this event to show us how to churn cream into a delicious country butter. Violet has been producing butter on the family dairy farm for a number of years. She will also demonstrate how to make a seaweed and garlic butter which goes perfectly with Sligo Bay oysters. Try some baked oysters for yourself as you watch a video of the oysters being harvested by Violet’s son Glenn.
You can also enjoy our delicious Sligo Bay Oysters by calling into WB’s Coffee House and choosing from our Oyster Menu which is available Thursday to Saturday 3pm – 6pm. Or book The Sligo Oyster Experience which will bring you through the history of oyster harvesting on the Wild Atlantic Way, followed by a tasting of these mouth-watering oysters which we will offer naked or dressed. Wash them down with a perfectly paired white wine or there are also local craft beers available.
Contact 071 9141883 or email hello@sligooysterexperience.ie to book these events.
The festival offers a range of gigs featuring folk, indie, comedy and much more. The festival is now in its 15th year and has a brilliant line up of talented acts and artists ready to take to the stage. You can join us for live music with no entry fee. On Saturday 19th October, we host Shane Joyce, followed by Padraig Jack on Friday 25th and Kilkelly on Saturday 26th October.
Artists joining us at WB’S Coffee House:
Growing up, Shane Joyce was influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and beat poets Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg with his first song writing ventures beginning at 15. Today, new influences may include everything from Hemingway to T. S. Eliot to more recent luminaries such as Phosphorescent, Fionn Regan and Laura Marling. Shane was announced as one of Hotpress Magazine’s ‘one’s to watch for 2018’ and in 2019 he played Glastonbury festival along with a number of other top European festivals. Shane’s second feature album will be released in 2020. Shane will play Saturday October 19th from 3pm.
Padraig Jack was born and raised on the largest Aran island on the West coast and is primarily influenced by his surroundings as well as artists such as James Taylor, Van Morrison, Paul Brady and The Eagles. Padraig enjoys airplay on top stations such as RTE Radio 1, iRadio, Raidió na Life and RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta. He has previously opened shows for The Saw Doctors, Donal Lunny, Mick Flannery, The 4 of Us, John Spillane and has appeared at the Westport Bluegrass Festival, SOMA, Shorelines, Skibbereen Arts Festival and Electric Picnic. Padraig Jack will play on Friday Oct 25th at 3pm.
Kilkelly is a project based in Berlin by Irish songwriter, Conor Kilkelly, with collaborators from the UK, Canada, Ireland and Germany. The songs are a mix of genres such as blues, folk and spoken word and a debut album has just been released. Kilkelly will play Sligo Live at WB’s on Saturday October 26th from 12pm. Followed in the afternoon by Butter Making workshop at 2p.m.
Our Oyster menu and full café menu is available throughout the events.
