Hillsborough Castle, in the pretty village of the same name, is the residence of the Royal Family when they visit Northern Ireland. Originally built in the 1750s, the running of the castle and the one hundred acres of garden that surround it was taken over in 2014 by the charity Historic Royal Palaces. They then began an ambitious project to restore the house and garden to its former glory. In 2018 the Castle and Gardens opened as a tourist attraction to the public. Since then, work has been ongoing to restore the 18th century walled garden. And, so it was, on a sunny day , that I came to spend a happy hour (or was it two?), discovering the beauty of Hillsborough Castle’s walled garden.
The walled garden
The walled garden is a large, four acre site that historically was used to produce fruit, vegetables and flowers for the castle. This summer, the walled garden, complete with additional car parking, two cafes and a shop, were opened to the public. And on a recent day off work, that was my destination. Because, quite simply, I can’t resist a walled garden !
I wandered around the walled garden, taking in the beautifully planted herbaceous borders that line the walkway, the herb garden, the wildflowers and the glorious colours throughout. The whole garden was alive with the sights and sounds of pollinators. The bees and butterflies who buzzed and fluttered around the garden to their hearts’ content.
Here’s a few of the many things that caught my eye on my meander around Hillsborough Castle Walled Garden….
The herb patch…filled with sage, thyme, lavender and a swathe of wallflowers
Pollinators
Verbena hedging
Beautiful borders
Hellenium…
Towers of sweet smelling sweet pea
Last, but by no means least, wildflowers…
Other attractions
The estate is home to many other attractions including the castle itself. You can get a guided tour of the castle, the stunning Lady Alice’s temple and the Granville rose garden. The latter was originally laid out by Lady Granville who was aunt to the Queen.
I really enjoyed my time here (and tea and a scone in the cafe too !) and I expect it will be the first of many visits to see the gardens through the seasons.
For more information on opening times, ticket prices and the history of the Castle and the gardens, please visit the Hillsborough Castle website
Thanks for stopping by,
Paula
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What beautiful gardens! Such a lovely place to visit on your day off. Time could definitely escape me here.
Absolutely Lisa…I could have stayed there for hours !! 🙂
Very beautiful.
Thank you 🙂🙂
It looks like a lovely place for a summer wander, I can hear the busy buzzing of the bees….
It was lovely Andrea, nice to get a little bit of summer as I seem to have missed most of it so far!
Lovely photos. I always wanted a walled garden. My current neighbours just make me want the wall to be a high one 😉
Thank you ….and I feel your pain !!
I would wander around the walled garden, taking photos ALL DAY! This place is absolutely fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing your photos. xx
I know…it is so easy to lose yourself in a beautiful garden !!