30 | FEATURE : G ARDEN TOURISM Gardens to visit on the Wild Atlantic Way and ’s Ancient East If you’re exploring the Wild Atlantic Way or Ireland’s Ancient East, travel writer Yvonne Gordon picks out some of the best gardens along the way.

shrubs on 11 acres Wild Atlantic Way (garden tours are available). The gardens With 2,500km of coastline, the Wild include a fernery, Atlantic Way has some of Ireland’s pleasure gardens, a rose most spectacular scenery. This is garden and a summer where the land meets the Atlantic house. There are all Ocean, creating dramatic cliffs, rocky types of gardens too at headlands, beaches, coves and bays. , from the The Wild Atlantic Way is the world’s bog garden and poison longest defined coastal touring route garden to a fern garden and it starts in Co. Cork, and ends in and herbaceous border, the Inishowen Peninsula in Co. with displays of colour Donegal, passing through nine in the different seasons. counties on the way. Derrynane House and Gardens, Co. Kerry In West Cork, there is As well as all the natural and historic an abundance of sites all along the route, there are lots of beautiful gardens, activities for visitors and garden visits such as Rosewood are a big feature of the Wild Atlantic Gardens at Lough Way, with many of the gardens having Hyne in stunning waterside settings with Atlantic Baltimore. The views and mountain backdrops, and gardens are set on some with microclimates allowing exotic four acres, with species to flourish. woodlands, a pond, greenhouse Starting in Cork, drop into Fota House, and kitchen and Gardens which has an garden, and are extensive collection of rare trees and just one mile from Lough Hyne Blarney Castle, nature reserve. Co. Cork Inis Beg Gardens Kells Bay Garden, Co. Kerry in nearby Baltimore is a

Garnish Island, Co. Cork

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Muckross House, Co. Kerry

collection of plants on 2.5 acres, including plants usually found in tropical environments, grown in glasshouses. Collections include Asian, Australasian, South American and Mediterranean plants. At Himalayas. There is an abundance of Derrynane House, the ancestral home of birdlife on the shore. Also on the Beara Daniel O’Connell, you can explore Peninsula, the Mill Cove Sculpture House, Co. Cork plantations, garden walks, ornamental Garden near Castletownbere is run by gardens and a summer house on the 97acre estate with restored walled artist John Brennan and has four acres 300-acre estate. gardens, specially planted woodlands of gardens with 50 sculptures, all and winding shoreline trails, plus bird overlooking the sea. Further north on The Wild Atlantic Way hides and four kilometres of tracks. in Co. Clare, Vandeleur Walled Garden On the Ring of Kerry, drop into Kells covers just over two acres, surrounded by Heading west to Bantry, the magnificent Bay Gardens, which has 17 acres of stone walls. The demesne also has gardens at 18th-century subtropical plants, a walled garden, walking trails with access to adjacent are laid out in Italian style over seven primeval forest, river walk and cliff walk woodland covering 160 hectares. In terraces with a parterre and a with dramatic views of Dingle Bay. Near Connemara, Co. Galway, a popular monumental staircase (you can also tour Milltown, you’ll find the lovely Dhu walled garden is the six-acre Victorian the house. One of the highlights of the Varren Garden which has a diverse walled garden at Kylemore Abbey which Bantry area is Garnish Island in is well worth a visit accessed by ferry Kylemore Abbey, for its stunning from Glengarriff pier, at the Connemara, setting — the foot of the Beara Peninsula. Co. Galway magnificent garden Garnish has a unique was built between microclimate and the island is 1867 and 1871. At home to many rare and exotic the foot of the species, Italian gardens and a Slieve Aughty Martello tower. Mountains in south- east Galway is Also in Glengarriff, the Ewe Woodville Walled Gardens, Glengarriff is a wild Garden, which dates garden set on a hill with back to the 18th- waterfalls, bridges and a unique century and has a combination of art, history and 1.5 acre walled creativity. There are four garden which has themed gardens plus been restored, a interactive sculptures. museum, stables and a dovecote Derreen Gardens in which is home to a family of doves. Lauragh on the Beara Peninsula has more Mount Falcon in Co. Mayo is set on a than 60 acres of 100-acre estate with everything from garden with twelve fishing to archery and a recent kilometres of paths addition is a kitchen garden, where winding through the the chef grows unusual vegetables woodland. The and herbs for use in the restaurant. garden, which is a At the Orchard Cottage in Muine, a haven for wildlife and one-acre cottage-style garden is set in a habitat for deer, a sheltered spot near Clew Bay with hares and squirrels, plenty of rare plants plus a pond, also has some rare and Fota House, orchard, bamboos and climbers. They exotic plants that were Co. Cork also serve coffee and homemade brought back from the cake. The Irish Garden September 2016 34 | FEATURE : G ARDEN TOURISM

There are plenty more magnificent , gardens to be found along or near the Co. Carlow Wild Atlantic Way, which ends in Inishowen in Donegal. No visit to Donegal is complete without a visit to Glenveagh, Ireland’s largest national park, which has lakes, forest and mountains plus a beautiful castle. As well as the park itself, there are two main gardens at the castle — the Pleasure Garden and Walled Garden, and the gardens have rich and diverse planting. The estate is well known for its rhododendrons and azaleas as well as exotic species of plants from around the world. Ireland’s Ancient East Ireland’s newest tourist trail, Ireland’s Ancient East takes visitors through 5,000 years of history, tapping into the rich cultural heritage on the east and Gardens with its 19 hectares and Less well known might be the secret midlands of Ireland, from ancient landscaped gardens, and Mount Usher garden at Corke Lodge in Bray, which passage graves, wells and round towers Gardens in Ashford need no has a woodland setting with specimen to castles, stately homes and abbeys. introduction. The gardens at Mount trees dating back to 1810. Or take the Many of these beautiful ancient Usher were first planted in 1868 and family to Greenan Farm Museums and settings either have magnificent have 5,000 species of plants and shrubs Maze which has a full-sized Celtic grounds to explore or are near from all over the world, as well as a hedge maze and a great nature walk stunning gardens. garden café. which passes farm animals such as hens, pigs, ducks, sheep and horses. Wicklow is also home to the National Botanic Gardens in Kilmacurragh, a 52-acre historic garden with everything from wild flower meadows and herbaceous borders to new and exotic species.

The Irish National Stud and Gardens in Kildare is where you’ll find the beautiful Japanese Gardens, which are more than 100 years old. Further south, the Carlow Garden Trail has maps and garden trails Japanese Gardens, that include gardens like Altamont National Stud, Gardens, a blend of formal and Co. Kildare informal gardens set over 40 acres. As well as mature trees and woodlands, If you’re visiting Newgrange or the Boyne Valley, don’t miss the Battle of The Boyne Visitor Centre in Oldbridge House, Co. Meath where the gardens include a walled garden. Or drop into Lough Crew gardens in Oldcastle which has gardens dating from the 17th- to 19th-century, from landscape and pleasure gardens to lake and forest walks. The central six-acre area has a lime avenue, lawns and terraces, and a magnificent herbaceous border and physic border. Lough Crew also has guided walks and an adventure centre.

In Co. Wicklow, the ‘Garden of Ireland’, gems like Powerscourt House and Mount Usher, Co. Wicklow

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there’s a lake, bog glen decorated by Catherine and Ice Age glen and Iveagh Gardens, Poer, Countess of there are many exotic Dublin Tyrone, in 1754, and a tree specimens in the bridge built in 1205 gardens. for King John to cross the River Clodagh. A In the sunny south-east, Sitka spruce planted the John F. Kennedy on the estate in the Arboretum in New Ross 1830s is among the has 4,500 types of trees tallest trees in Ireland and shrubs from all over at 50 metres. the world, set over 623 acres. There are 200 Tourin House and forest plots, by Gardens, Cappoquin, continent, plus an Co. Waterford is set on ericaceous garden with more than five acres on 500 different the banks of the river rhododendrons. Mount Blackwater and has Congreve in Count carpets of snowdrops Waterford is an 18th-century Georgian Also in Waterford is House and daffodils in spring, plus a huge estate and mansion and the garden is set in Portlaw, the last of four castles built by collection of 100 different bearded iris on 70 acres with more than three the de la Poer family after their arrival flower which bloom during summer. At thousand trees and shrubs, thousands of in Ireland in 1167. It has been home to Woodstock Gardens, Inistioge, Co. rhododendrons, camellias, conifers, the Marquis of Waterford and his Kilkenny the Victorian gardens have a climbers and herbaceous plants, and a ancestors since 1170. The surrounding collection of trees from all over the four-acre walled garden, café and garden grounds include an outstanding world, including many champions and shop. arboretum, a shell grotto built and one of the longest monkey puzzle avenues in Europe. Also at Woodstock is Malahide the noble fir walk which is more than a Castle, quarter mile in length, planted by Co. Dublin William F. Tighe in 1878.

In neighbouring Co. Tipperary, drop into Dundrum Nurseries in Dundrum. Their Celtic Plantarum is currently under refurbishment, but the nursery and garden centre offers a wide range of good value plants. At in Co. Laois, the 1790 country house designed by James Gandon is surrounded by 35 hectares of gardens dating to the 18th- century. The gardens contain many rare trees and shrubs, as well as Japanese maples, rhododendrons and azaleas. Clonaslee Gardens in Portlaoise, Co. Laois was established 15 years ago and is a rural garden developed around an old

Heywood Garden, Co. Laois Powerscourt Gardens, Co. Wicklow

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farmyard containing specimen trees and shrubs and a rich tapestry of herbaceous perennials. At Heywood Gardens, take a tour of the lakes, woodlands and magnificent formal gardens, a real gem designed by the famous architect Sir Edwin Lutyens who also designed the War Memorial Gardens in Dublin. , Co. Waterford Whether you travel the Wild Atlantic Way, or the Ancient East, this autumn and winter, there is a wonderful choice of gardens and parks to visit and enjoy — some are open seasonally but many are open year- round. Always check before you go, full details of all gardens open to the public are available on www.garden.ie 8