We are staying in a lovely hotel in Enniskerry, County Wiklow. And by good luck and fortune, it was built on a portion of the Powerscourt Estate. The photo above is the Castle, which dates back to the 13 Century. Old farts will recall the movie “Barry Lyndon, “ which was filmed in part by Stanley Kubrick at the Powerscourt Estate. That building was almost totally destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the 1960s. See…There’s a light out there for Norte Dame !!!
Only two rooms are open to the public unless you get married here. But people flock here for the 47 acre gardens which has been rated as one of the best internationally
The gardens are centuries in the making. Often, discoveries led to their expansion. For example, after Japan was opened to the world in the 1850s, their reverence to life and garden concepts were copied at estates like Powerscourt:
The same thing happened when the World discovered the redwood trees of California. They were planted on many of the large estates in Ireland. At first, I was shocked to see them. I would guess that few Californians know of this effort to grow OUR tree in so many places. And as I mentioned the first time we visited, a redwood tree was planted as Ireland’s memorial to the children who died in the potato famine. Silly me…I thought that was the only one. And then I see groves in Enniskerry and Powerscourt!!! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am, especially since global warming is such a threat. But I think they love the climate and rainfall of this Emerald Isle
This discovery and introduction to the Powerscourt gardens was not limited to redwoods. They brought in tree specimens from China, Japan, and Europe. I chose to focus on the tree I have always loved. An audio system allows visitors to listen to descriptions of the estate and “The Tree Trail.” I mentioned to Mrs Bear that I want to come back without the cameras so I can give the audio tour my full attention !!!
A couple photos to end. The first are of the pet cemetery. And finally a pic of the tower built as a playground for the Viscount’s children. Sometimes you just get lucky and get to see something totally unexpected !!
The Adventures of Barry Brink 