Summer strolls through stately homes and gardens
What better way to while away a day than with a visit to a stately home and a stroll around gorgeous, manicured gardens. In Northern Ireland you’ll have the pick of the best.
Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, County Down
Northern Ireland’s royal residence is a gorgeous Georgian manor set in 100 acres of picturesque gardens. A guided tour of the ‘castle’ takes you back over the centuries to pivotal moments in British and Irish history that played out in the castle’s State Rooms, including the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The castle also has a significant art collection.
Outside you can stroll through the ornamental grounds to the eighteenth-century walled garden and beyond to peaceful woodlands, lakeside paths and picturesque glens
The gardens at nineteenth-century Mount Stewart are considered to be amongst the most outstanding in the world. They are divided into several unique elements including the Shamrock Garden, where mythological creatures are cut into the hedges, the Italian Garden, the Spanish Garden and the Walled Garden. Beyond the gardens there are 10 miles of walking trails through woodland and farmland.
The house has a fascinating story to tell and on a guided tour you will explore 250 years of history as you journey through elegant rooms with opulent furnishings.
Events are held in the estate across the year and to mark the summer solstice there will be a Sound Spa Retreat in the beautiful Temple of the Winds.
Built in 1766, Castle Ward is famous for its unique combination of Palladian and Gothic architecture. It’s said that the Viscount and his Lady wife couldn’t agree on what style the house should be built in, and each designed a side to reflect their taste. Guided and self-guided tours are available and reveal many fascinating facts about the décor and furnishings.
The mansion is surrounded by nature trails that wend through gorgeous landscapes along the shore of Strangford Lough and up into the mountains. The grounds of Castle Ward also contain key Game of Thrones shoot locations. The old farmyard doubled as Winterfell and beyond is the Whispering Wood.
Antrim Castle Gardens and Clotworthy House, County Antrim
These stunning 400-year-old gardens feature Anglo-Dutch canals, Victorian parterre elements, and the Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden. Located in the extensive grounds of Antrim Castle, of which little remains other than a small tower, the area also has a twelfth-century motte and bailey which would once have been the centre of an Anglo-Norman manor.
On a stroll through the gardens, you will encounter other historic features such as the 300-year-old Deerpark Bridge as well as contemporary additions like the Fairy Trail. A fine nineteenth-century stable-block and coach house, Clotworthy House, is now a heritage centre and café.
Florence Court, County Fermanagh
This beautiful eighteenth-century stately home is set on a sustainable estate with gardens, parkland and woodlands. It is home to a 250-year-old Irish Yew tree which is the mother plant of every Irish Yew tree in the world. The demesne is dotted with remnants from Florence Court’s long history as a self-sufficient estate, including a blacksmith’s forge, carpenter’s workshop and a sawmill.
A tour of the house reveals the turbulent history of its owners and afterwards you can enjoy excellent locally sourced food in the Stables Tea-room.
Built in the 1820s, this Irish gentry house sits on a 320-acre estate overlooking the River Blackwater. The house has an extraordinary collection of art by Ulster artists as well as a barrel organ and many other interesting antiques.
Visitors can explore the small rose garden with its sundial, the pleasure grounds with their charming pavilions and follow woodland trails before enjoying a relaxing snack in the tea-room beside the picturesque Clock Tower.
Castle Coole, County Fermanagh
Castle Coole is a magnificent eighteenth-century neoclassical mansion set in a woodland park. Among its notable features are a Grand Yard, ice house, and pump house. A tour of the house reveals ornate interiors as well as the basement where the servants worked and lived.
Outside, the estate offers peaceful walking trails along which you can see a rich diversity of flora and fauna.