Tour Overview
The south-western corner of Ireland is home to some of the country’s most stunning scenery, its coastline sculpted by the Ice Age and now influenced by the warmth of the Gulf Stream. This mild and gentle climate allows a rich variety of sub-tropical flora to thrive here. From our base in the lively and cultured city of Cork our trail takes us round some memorable and beguilling gardens, where the enthusiasm and skill of the owners are evident.
Ilnacullen on Garnish Island must be the highlight, with its magical setting on an island bathed in the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. This world famous garden of rare beauty is surrounded by exceptional views of sea and mountain scenery.
Hidden in the suburbs of Cork city itself are two stunning and very different gardens - Brian Cross’s garden of Lakemount, and the wonderful garden of Poulacurry. We also visit Ballymaloe Cookery School Gardens, which include herb and kitchen gardens as well an ornamental fruit garden and shell house; and Cedar Lodge, an award-winning garden specialising in rare and unusual plants. We are also fortunate to see two outstanding private gardens which so impressed and delighted our garden group from Uruguay a couple of years ago – Kilravock and Demesne.
Day 1
We will depart from London Gatwick (other airports available on request) on our direct flight to Cork. Upon arrival in Cork we will be met by our coach and set off for our guided tour of the city.
Later we will continue to our accommodation at the Imperial Hotel, Cork. This well known hotel has played host to several well-known guests including Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens and the composer, Liszt. All bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms, direct telephone, T.V, hairdryer, iron & ironing board and tea/coffee making facilities. The hotel’s facilities include Ireland’s first Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa with treatment rooms, dry flotation bed and hydrotherapy pool and hair salon.
Dinner will be served at the hotel in the evening.
Day 2
This morning after a full Irish breakfast we take the ferry across to Garinish Island in Bantry Bay to visit Ilnacullen, surely one of the high points of our visit to Ireland. Some gardens become so well known that their reputation quickly outstrips the actuality. Ilnacullen is, if anything, even more beautiful than one expects it to be. The garden, commissioned from Harold Peto, was made for Annan Bryce in 1910. The elegant Italianate folly overlooking a sunken garden is familiar from countless photographs with the Caha Mountains behind. The beauty of Ilnacullen comes from its wonderful intermingling of the formal and the wild.
We also visit Kilravock at Durrus, the private garden of Malcolm and Phemie Rose. The garden, started 15 years ago from a two acre field with the help of a neighbour, overlooks Dunmanus Bay and has featured on television and in several national and international publications. The garden has a viewing platform, indoor fernery with water features, Mediterranean garden, woodland area with collections of Hostas and Acers and many southern hemisphere plants.
We return to the hotel for dinner.
Day 3
Following breakfast we leave the hotel to visit the private garden of Demesne at Castlemartyr. An old–fashioned garden, lovingly created out of a field by its owner and added to over the years, the garden is very much in character with the house and is very natural with herbaceous plants and two ponds.
We then drive to Ballymaloe Cookery School Gardens. Tim and Darina Allen have created a charming, rapidly expanding garden, part of which is given over to formal gardens of fruit, vegetables and herbs but other parts are purely ornamental. A magnificent pair of double herbaceous borders leads out to an elegant summerhouse, its interior encrusted with shells.
Out final visit of the day is to Cedar Lodge, an award-winning garden of two acres, specialising in rare and unusual plants with mixed borders of shrubs and herbaceous perennials. A large bed of exotic grasses and a 100ft pergola draped with climbers are two special features.
We return to the hotel for dinner.
Day 4
This morning after breakfast we visit Lakemount Garden, nestling high in the hills above Cork. Brian Cross has created, according to the RHS, one of Ireland’s “flagship gardens”. It supports the cultivation of a multitude of plants from every corner of the globe with flawless standards of horticulture, and the recent addition of a charming cottage-style area has enhanced the garden’s atmosphere of calm serenity.
Our last visit of the tour is to Poulacurry, a romantic garden surrounding an 18th century house overlooking a valley. Restored 10 years ago, there are great vistas of formal avenues with Acers backed by mixed shrubs; and rose gardens set in paving with old features such as mill stones, steps and arches. The seasonal highlight is a riot of colour from a vast array of floribunda and shrub roses.
We then drive to Cork Airport for our return flight to London Gatwick, where we disperse after arrival.
3 nights dinner, bed and breakfast at the Imperial Hotel, Cork
Scheduled return flights from London Gatwick to Cork (other regional flights available on request at a supplement)
Comfortable coaching in Ireland
Visits to the gardens of Ilnacullen and Ballymaloe Cookery School; and to the private gardens of Kilravock, Demesne, Cedar Lodge, Lakemount and Poulacurry
Services of a Brightwater Holidays tour manager
Single room supplement £75.00
Insurance £35.00 (66 years and above £70.00)
Overnight accommodation before or after the tour available on request
London Gatwick airport
Other airports may be available on request at a supplement.