gardens of the emerald Isle

Day 1 | Thursday 17 June
Belfast
Our journey begins in Belfast, a city transformed in recent decades and a fitting gateway to the gardens of the north. We gather this evening for welcome drinks and introductions before dinner together in the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant. Overnight Belfast (D)

Day 2 | Friday 18 June
Titanic Belfast
In the early 1900s, Belfast was home to one of the world’s greatest shipbuilders, Harland & Wolff, who began construction on Titanic in 1907. We begin the day with a morning talk to set the context for the visits ahead, before making our way to the state-of-the-art Titanic Belfast. The dramatically modern museum rises beside the original Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices and the Hamilton Graving Dock, the very place where Titanic was designed, built and launched, and tells the story of her conception through to her maiden voyage and her enduring place in history. We spend the morning exploring its nine interactive galleries, spanning over 100 years of maritime and social history, with time to walk the decks of the SS Nomadic, Titanic’s tender ship and the last remaining White Star Line vessel in the world. The afternoon and evening are then at leisure to enjoy the city and its historic waterfront. Overnight Belfast (B)

Day 3 | Saturday 19 June
Glenarm Walled Garden & Antrim Castle Gardens The ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim, Glenarm Castle has remained in the same family for over 600 years. Journeying north this morning along the Causeway Coastal Route, we arrive at Glenarm to visit its celebrated historic walled garden. Created in the 1820s and opened to the public in 2005, the garden is now overseen by head gardener Jordan MacWhirter in consultation with the renowned plantsman Neil Porteous. Traditionally the source of the castle’s vegetables, fruit and flowers, it is today unashamedly a thing of great beauty, with herbaceous borders, specimen trees, topiary, original glasshouses, sculpture and spectacular wildflowers set against a backdrop of surrounding hills and sea. In the afternoon, we then continue to Antrim Castle Gardens on the shores of Lough Neagh. Among Northern Ireland’s most significant historic landscapes, the gardens have evolved over more than 400 years and blend botanical beauty with remarkable heritage features, including 17th-century Anglo-Dutch canals, ponds and avenues, a 12th-century motte, a Victorian Pleasure Garden, expansive parterres and the Platinum Jubilee Clockwork Garden. After time to explore, we return to our hotel in Belfast. Overnight Belfast (B)

Day 4 | Sunday 20 June
Mount Stewart
There is a feeling of enchantment about Mount Stewart, romantically situated on the shores of Strangford Lough in County Down and considered one of Ireland’s finest gardens. It is the creation, in the 1920s, of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, and a sense of wonder and whimsy waits at every turn – from the formal Italian Garden with its sculptural representations of her family and friends, to the Dodo Terrace, to Mairi’s Garden and its ‘Mairi, Mairi, quite contrary’ fountain. Head gardener Rob Wilson leads us through the formal gardens, after which there is time to wander the 19th-century neo-classical house and the internationally renowned rhododendron collection, already erupting in yellow, red, white, orange and purple. We then continue around the lough for lunch at Daft Eddy’s on Sketrick Island, with its incredible views over the water. On our return to the hotel in the late afternoon, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Belfast (B, L)

Day 5 | Monday 21 June
Newgrange & Dublin
Brú na Bóinne is Ireland’s richest archaeological landscape, home to over 150 Neolithic monuments, of which Newgrange is the largest and most ornately spectacular. Built more than 5,000 years ago, it is older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids, and among the oldest astronomically aligned structures in the world. At the winter solstice, a shaft of sunlight travels the length of the passage to illuminate the burial chamber within, an alignment achieved with remarkable precision by its Neolithic builders. Departing Belfast this morning, we explore the site before continuing south to Dublin, our base for the next four nights. On arrival we take a guided walking tour of the city, with time to freshen up before dinner in the hotel’s Fawn Restaurant. Overnight Dublin (B, D)

Day 6 | Tuesday 22 June
Ardán Garden & Danesmoate House
A beautiful half-acre creation of Nuala Doherty and Conall O’Caoimh, Ardán Garden sits within the UNESCO Dublin Bay Biosphere, close to the summit of Howth on a scenic peninsula north of the city. Following a morning lecture at the hotel, we travel out to the gardens, where we will be welcomed by Nuala and Conall, who will show us a garden whose planting is a direct response to its rugged coastal hillside. After a break for lunch in the seaside village of Howth, we then travel to Danesmoate, one of Ireland’s most remarkable private gardens. The 17-acre estate was purchased in 1988 by Adam Clayton, the bass player of U2, after the band recorded parts of their iconic album The Joshua Tree there. It now combines an 18th-century Picturesque landscape with major modern planting, including over 4,000 new trees alone. We will be having an exclusive, private tour of the garden with head gardener, Darragh Stone before returning to our hotel for an evening at leisure. Overnight Dublin (B)

Day 7 | Wednesday 23 June
Airfield Estate & Corke Lodge
One of the last surviving examples of Dublin’s rural heritage, Airfield Estate in Dundrum is a working farm and garden preserved amid the city’s expanding urban landscape, just a short distance from the centre. On a guided tour this morning, we explore its ornamental gardens, productive orchards and carefully managed land, learning how horticulture, agriculture and city life have long been intertwined here, and how the estate continues to champion sustainable growing. After a break for lunch on the estate, we continue to Corke Lodge, a private garden created by architect Alfred Cochrane around an early 19th-century house. Woodland walks lead through a sequence of garden rooms, follies and composed vistas, many incorporating stonework salvaged from the former Glendalough House – a distinctive blend of architecture, history and horticulture in a tranquil rural setting. We return to our hotel in the late afternoon. Overnight Dublin (B)

Day 8 | Thursday 24 June
Mount Congreve & Cork
The south-western corner of the Emerald Isle is a gardener’s paradise, its temperate climate allowing plants that would never survive outdoors elsewhere in Ireland to thrive and producing some refreshingly original combinations. Heading south today to the beautiful city of Cork, our first stop is Mount Congreve, one of Ireland’s great gardens, renowned for its sweeping woodland walks, rare plant collections and magnificent seasonal displays. The estate dates back to the 1750s and was home to six generations of the Congreves up until 2011. Originally the gardens were made up of a lone terraced garden and woodland of ilexes and sweet chestnuts, however in 1955, Ambrose Congreve began creating large clearings to make way for his new plants. With the later guidance of Dutch horticulturist Herman Dool, the gardens developed into one of the finest collections of temperate plants in the world and now encompasses more than 70 acres of landscaped grounds along the River Suir. Our guided tour here offers an engaging introduction to its history, design and remarkable horticultural variety. Following our visit we continue to Cork, where we embark on a tour of its historic landmarks – all clustered together within easy walking distance of one another, before reconvening in the evening for dinner in our hotel. Overnight Cork (B, D)

Day 9 | Friday 25 June
Blarney Castle
Dating in part to the 1400s, Blarney Castle is today a partial ruin of accessible rooms, towers and battlements, and at its summit, built into the external wall, sits the famous Blarney Stone. Many and increasingly outrageous are the legends of its origins; the brave may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss it and gain the gift of the gab. For those who would rather keep their feet on the ground, the extensive gardens are a joy, forever changing and featuring herbaceous borders, woodland walks, a Fern Garden and Rock Close, a Carnivorous Courtyard, and even a Poison Garden, home to some of the most toxic plants in the world. We return to Cork in the early afternoon, with the remainder of the day at leisure to explore more of its historic centre. Overnight Cork (B)

Day 10 | Saturday 26 June
Bantry House & Ilnacullin
Commanding magnificent views across Bantry Bay, the seven terraces of Bantry House descend gracefully towards the water, with the house itself – also included in our visit – occupying the third terrace. The gardens were laid out in the early 1800s by Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry, inspired by what he had seen in Italy on his Grand Tour; lawns sweep down to the bay at the front, while at the rear the monumental One Hundred Steps mount through the terraces from an exquisite Italian parterre. The White family still live here, and so the garden remains, miraculously, much as it was 200 years ago. After our visit this morning, we then take a private ferry across the bay to Ilnacullin, also known as Garnish, an island garden of diminutive size and rare beauty. In 1910 John Annan Bryce bought the island and, with the great architect and designer Harold Peto (of Iford Manor and Buscot Park fame, for those who have toured English gardens with Mike), set about creating a corner of paradise; Peto’s Italianate Loggia Garden at its heart astounds in both beauty and situation. After a break for lunch on the island, we return by ferry and coach with the afternoon at leisure. Overnight Cork (B)

Day 11 | Sunday 27 June
Ballymaloe Cookery School & Ballymaloe House Founded in 1983 by Darina Allen on a 100-acre organic farm in County Cork, Ballymaloe Cookery School is today one of the most prestigious in the world, its alumni numbering many internationally renowned chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. Following a lecture in our hotel, we depart for its beautifully restored gardens, parts of which date back to the 1850s, taking in the herb garden, greenhouses and the productive plots that supply the school’s kitchens. With such accolades on our doorstep, lunch is of course at nearby Ballymaloe House: Pimms and canapés greet us on arrival, followed by a three-course menu of modern Irish cuisine showcasing local produce. We return to our hotel in the late afternoon. Overnight Cork (B, L)

Day 12 | Monday 28 June
Lismore Castle & Heywood Gardens
The ancestral home of the Cavendish family for over 400 years, Lismore Castle is today the residence of Will, Lord Burlington, son and heir of the Duke of Devonshire, and his wife Laura. Our journey home to Dublin this morning takes us past rolling hills to reach the castle, where head gardener Colm O’Driscoll leads us through gardens said to be the oldest continuously cultivated in Ireland. Successive generations have left their mark, and the result is a wonderful mix of traditional and modern, with two graffitied sections of the Berlin Wall lying in the woodland and exciting plans afoot to restore the 19th-century Paxton glasshouses. After a break for lunch at Bramley Abbeyleix in County Laois, we visit nearby Heywood Gardens. Landscaped in the 18th century in the naturalistic style associated with Capability Brown, Heywood was transformed in the early 20th century when architect Sir Edwin Lutyens designed an ambitious series of formal gardens around the house. Their geometric terraces, pergolas, pools and garden rooms provide a striking contrast to the surrounding parkland, with planting said to have been overseen by Gertrude Jekyll. The house is now gone, but the formal gardens remain, said to be the finest example of Lutyens’ work in Ireland, and we enjoy a woodland walk beneath towering beech before continuing to Dublin, where dinner tonight is at a local restaurant. Overnight Dublin (B, L, D)

Day 13 | Tuesday 29 June
National Botanic Gardens
Just three kilometres from Dublin’s city centre lie the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, founded in 1795 and home to over 16,000 species and cultivars drawn from habitats around the world. Following a morning lecture in the hotel, we make our way out to them. The jewel in their crown is a set of exquisitely restored historic glasshouses, most notably Richard Turner’s Curvilinear Range, widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of 19th-century iron-and-glass architecture, within which rare and exotic plants from the tropics and subtropics thrive. The gardens also hold whimsical sculpture, beautiful herbaceous borders, a rose garden and a grand double row of yew trees dating from the garden’s early years, their branches forming a shaded, cathedral-like walk. After a morning here, we return to the hotel, with the remainder of the day free to explore Ireland’s capital. Overnight Dublin (B)

Day 14 | Wednesday 30 June
Mount Usher & Hunting Brook Gardens
Created in 1865 and spread across 20 acres along the River Vartry, Mount Usher is a garden made special above all by its trees, now home to thirty-two of the Champion Trees of Ireland alongside some 4,500 other varieties of tree, shrub and plant. Its serenely peaceful layout owes much to William Robinson (1838–1935), Ireland’s most famous gardener, of Gravetye Manor in Sussex and great proponent of the Wild Garden. After a morning spent exploring its garden trails, with lunch in the garden cafe, we continue to Hunting Brook Gardens in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. This secluded paradise of Jimi Blake, one of Ireland’s most internationally renowned plantsmen, features five acres of contemporary exotic gardens and 15 acres of woodland and valley. “My planting style is creative and unconventional,” says Jimi. “Nothing is ever finished in Hunting Brook – it’s a constantly evolving canvas.” Schedule permitting, he will lead us through his trademark tapestry of plant combinations. We return to Dublin in the late afternoon with the evening at leisure. Overnight Dublin (B, L)

Day 15 | Thursday 1 July
Powerscourt
Set in the wild Wicklow countryside, Powerscourt House & Gardens was recently named by National Geographic the third best garden in the world – high praise indeed and a fitting place for our garden visits to culminate. There are so many highlights: Ireland’s longest herbaceous border, the Triton Lake with its fountain modelled on that of the Piazza Barberini in Rome, the exquisite Japanese Garden and, most dramatic of all, the Italian Garden, its sculpture and terraces sweeping down from the house towards Sugar Loaf Mountain. After a morning wandering these sublime gardens, we cross the courtyard to the Powerscourt Distillery for a whiskey tasting paired with local artisan food. Returning to our hotel, there is time to freshen up before our farewell dinner at one of Ireland’s top restaurants brings the tour to its close, back in the city where it all began. Overnight Dublin (B, L, T, D)

Day 16 | Friday 2 July
Depart Dublin
Our tour concludes after breakfast this morning. Please check individual travel plans for onward transfer arrangements. (B)