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 who then…
At the approach to the picturesque village of Glenarm lie some derelict buildings - namely, an old pottery and what looks to have been a showroom of some kind. Situated next to the marina, they are, I guess, prime real estate and would make the perfect venue for a restaurant or a small hotel even.…
Can I just say quietly, at the outset, that I have relationship issues with roses ? In my head, I see these beautiful flowers as the preserve of 'proper gardeners', and I don't fall into that category (being slightly more haphazard in my approach and infinitely less knowledgeable). And so I don't have any in…
'Pausing for Thought' … I don't do it every day or even every week but then, suddenly, I reach a point where I need to stop and reflect on the weeks gone by - to celebrate the highlights, the little moments of joy, the beauty in the everyday. I'm sure there are many of us…
Our front garden is a tiny affair - approximately 8x7m. When we first moved into our bungalow, it was just a patch of boggy grass. After a few years, I figured I couldn't look at the grass anymore and we hired a local landscaper to do some work for us. Tony was a friendly chap…
These past few weeks seem to have gone by in a bit of a blur. Work is relentlessly busy and sometimes it feels like there is no time to do anything else. I'm sure we must all feel like that from time to time. Thankfully, though, the longer evenings allow for a quick potter around…
On Easter Monday my dad and I took a drive to Portglenone Forest, approximately a 45 minute drive from Belfast. It's a place I'd never visited before but it's been on my 'must visit' list for some time. Thankfully, this year, good weather and a day off combined perfectly to allow us to make the…
