Places we visited -
Kilruddery House and Gardens ... but closed when we got there as changed to weekends opening from beg of October!
So travelled onto instead to Mount Usher gardens 20 mins away.
Dartmouth Square and Fitzwilliam Square.
My final morning with Theresa and Ellie. Off we went motoring onwards Kilruddery House and Gardens but... on arrival we found that October visiting times had changed and it was no longer open to the public, only at weekends.
We clambered out of the car and into glorious sunshine and wandered off to the welcoming courtyard of shops, coffee shop and restaurant. All I can say is that Mount Usher Gardens is one of the most wondrous places I have ever visited. It is awe inspiring. Theresa’s photos distill its perfection for all to appreciate. Its history and development owe much to the foresight of William Robinson, champion of the wild garden. It is a 22 acre paradise with the tumbling Vartry river as its spine. Edward Walpole first started planting here way back in 1868. Whatever season you visit in, it is always a jewel of discovery.
On the way back and reaching Dublin city, Theresa veered off in certain directions to show me some typical Dublin heritage architecture, and we passed through red-bricked Dartmouth Square (loved it) and then onto the gracious and majestic Fitzwilliam Square with its tall grey-bricked town houses and customary black railings rising from the pavements. Thank you Theresa, you know I’m passionate about historic architecture and heritage, and you always know what will grab my attention.
Theresa dropped me off at Dublin international airport to catch the plane home to Nottingham East Midlands Airport and back to Beeston. I was fortunate enough to meet a lovely lady, a sculptor and architectural landscaper, who suggested a joined-up taxi ride home knowing we would have to wait another 30-40 minutes at the Skylink bus stop. I took her up on her offer and we had a most enlightening conversation back talking about Beeston and its how public art and sculptures, and proposed architecture could be used more effectively to arouse spatial awareness and creative urban planning.
Home at last and straight into bed.
What a fantastic two weeks I had experienced with Pam Miller in London and Theresa Moynes in and around Dublin. Never to be forgotten. Thank you lovely ladies for your joyful and invigorating company.