Ardgillan Castle & Demesne

Opening Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Opening Days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Opening Hours: Open all year, 10-5pm (to 6 pm in summer).
Admission Charge: 0

• Appointment Only
• Admission Charge

Corrupted from the Irish Ard Choill (high wood), Ardgillan was aptly named until the Rev Robert Tayleur paid labourers a penny a day to clear the land for his new home in 1737. The estate, with its Gothicised house situated in a 200 acre park above Barnageera Beach and views stretching to the Mournes, is now owned by Fingal Council and is open to the public.

The garden has the benefit of old bones combined with new ideas. The Council have restored the gardens near the house, adding a new rose garden planted with hybrid tea roses around a lily pond and climbing roses ingeniously grown over a pergola of chains. Manicured lawns, a herbaceous border, the beautifully restored glass house with peaches, nectarines and grapes all provide a traditional note. A national collection of potentillas with over 300 varieties has been planted in this area.

The reinterpreted walled garden is full of interest: there is a potager where unusual vegetables like garden huckleberries and physalis are contained by hedges of clipped box; a herb garden has been laid out around a central lavender bed, and there is a neatly labelled herbaceous and shrub garden and Four Seasons garden (two seasons actually, as it is planted with tulips in spring and dahlias in summer).

The orchard area has fans of peaches and greengages and a collection of old Irish apple varieties dating as far back as Blood of the Vine (16th century) and Ballysattin (1820). The potting shed and bothy now house a gardening museum full of bygone horticultural technology, and new scree beds with Alpine displays have been created nearby.

Walks in the grounds are recommended, offering the opportunity to discover the ice house and the quaintly names ‘Lady’s Stairs’ leading to the beach.


Best time of year to visit: July, August

Gardens Strengths

Rose garden, herb garde, walled garden

Rare Plants worth mentioning

Collection of Potentilla Fruticosa

Groups & Tours

• Groups Accepted
• Groups Need Appointments
• Accept Only Groups
• Guided Tours

Tour Days:

Tour Times

2.30pm Thursdays in June/July/August

Additional

Trails

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Festivals

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Events

Concerts during the summer

Other Facilities

Great childrens playground, miles of parkland walks

Miscellaneous

Exhibition of coach design & Irish barony maps