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Loughcrew Historic Gardens

Garden

An insight into garden history, follies, big herbaceous borders and much more.

Address:

Loughcrew
Oldcastle
Co Meath

About Kells

Tel: +353 49 854 1356

Please mention ireland-guide.com when enquiring.

Loughcrew Historic Gardens

Opening Months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September
Opening Days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Opening Hours: 17th Mar - 30th Sept, daily 12.30-6pm; also open other months Sun & Bank Hols only: 1-5pm
Admission Charge: €7 adults; €3.50 kids; €5 OAPs, Students & Groups; €20 Family

Appointment Only
Admission Charge

Georgina Campbell

After a long and sometimes fateful history, a more serendipitous chapter has opened for Loughcrew. The original 17th century landscaped grounds, which were revived in the 19th century have been rescued again with help from the Great Gardens of Ireland. The restoration programme began in 1997, and work is ongoing. This is an intriguing place to take a walk through gardening and archaeological history. An avenue leads to the 6 acres of grounds, and to venerable survivors of the original plan: the great yew walk dating back to 1670, and a viewing mound.

Features include a long herbaceous border - long enough to rival Strokestown’s record breaker - with planting designed by Daphne Shackleton, a hot border known as Hell Fire and a Grotesque border, with labels, for the curiosities of the plant world. Other curiosities include a huggy walk (wait till you see the trees) and a waterfall flowing from under the roots of a tree.

Reminders of the distant past lie in the Loughcrew passage tombs and cairns, a medieval motte or moot, and the ruins of a church dedicated to St Oliver Plunkett, born in the Plunkett castle which preceded three subsequent houses on the site. Said to have been the victim of a curse, the 1820s mansion burnt down three times in a century and, after the last fire in 1960, was abandonded. The Ionic portico has found a new incarnation, as the most dramatic of a number of follies in the grounds.

Take stout shoes, and enjoy the walk to the Hill of the Witch and the Loughcrew Passage Tombs.

Best time of year to visit: March, April, May, June, July, August, September