In 2006 Michael Jackson spent five months in a farmhouse studio outside Rosemount, working on an album that never appeared. Grouse Lodge, the residential studio that drew him, has also had Muse, Morrissey, Snow Patrol and REM through its doors: an unlikely pull for a village of a pub, a school, a church and a community centre on the hills north-east of Moate. You can’t visit the studio, mind. It’s private, opening only for the odd music or heritage event. What you can walk is the hill above the village.
Knockastia and its cairn
Knockastia (Cnoc Aiste), a 200 m hill, is one of the higher points in Westmeath, and a short marked path climbs to a Bronze Age cairn on the summit. A Harvard Archaeological Expedition dug it in 1932 and found 44 graves dating to the sixth century – the mound had clearly mattered to people here for a very long time. It is a protected monument, free to reach, with a long view over the surrounding farmland to reward the climb.
On the hill’s southern slope, a disused quarry is a listed County Geological Site, a good exposure of Waulsortian limestone and now a haunt of birds of prey.
Around the village
A couple of local corners are worth knowing about. The Ballagh Famine Village nearby preserves the ruins of an 18th-century church, school and pub, with free guided tours during National Heritage Week each August and parking on site; the Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society handles visits. For anyone tracing family from here, a rare 1834 pre-Famine census of Kilcrumreragh parish, which straddles the Westmeath–Offaly border, survives and is held at the Dún na Sí Heritage Centre in Moate.
Village life
Rosemount keeps a strong community streak. Its GAA club, the Black and Amber, has nine Westmeath Senior Football Championship titles and a well-run underage set-up; it climbed back to senior grade in 2017 after winning the intermediate championship the year before. The village had its national moment in 2022, when local woman Rachel Duffy became the first Westmeath winner of the Rose of Tralee.
Practical information
Getting there – Rosemount is off the R390 from Moate or the N52 from Athlone, with the nearest train station at Athlone, about 20 km away. There’s short-term parking on Main Street and Church Lane, and longer-term parking by the community centre.
On the ground – Knockastia and the village are open at all times. There are no cafés in the village, so bring what you need or plan a stop in Moate or Athlone.
Time a visit for National Heritage Week in August if you want inside the Ballagh ruins. The rest of the year, it’s the walk up Knockastia and the view from the cairn that make the trip.