Day 1
We depart from London Gatwick airport on our flight to Belfast (regional flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Luton, Stansted and Newcastle are also available on request). Upon arrival we will join our coach and transfer to our first visit, Mount Stewart, the dazzling and idiosyncratic gardens which bask in the micro-climate of low rainfall and humid coastal air that exists here. The Italian Garden south of the house is in the form of a giant parterre, edged in startling golden thuja or smouldering purple berberis and filled with plantings of carmine, yellow and scarlet on one side, with cooler blue, lavender and grey on the other. Elsewhere, there is a Spanish garden flanked by colonnades of clipped Leyland cypress, with huge eucalyptuses looming in the woods behind, and an exuberant and formal sunken garden surrounded by a fine pergola planted with clematis, honeysuckle and roses. The entrance façade of the house overlooks an entirely different landscape, a scene of serenity with noble trees leading gently uphill to a lake. East of the lake are blood-red and orange rhododendrons and the banks of the lake are planted with long drifts of arum lily. This is one of the most attractive and stimulating gardens, where traditional features are carried off with exuberance and panache, and we have allowed plenty of time here to take everything in.
Following our visit we continue down the Ards peninsula for a visit to the village of Greyabbey where we will see the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey which was founded in 1193 by Affreca, daughter of Godfred, the king of the Isle of Man. Architecturally it is important as the first fully gothic style building in Ulster; it is the first complete stone church in which every window, arch and door was pointed rather than round headed. Also of interest here is the physic garden, a recreation of the original monk’s garden.
After a glimpse of the Mountains of Mourne in the distance we continue to our hotel, the comfortable Dunadry Hotel in Dunadry, County Antrim, where we will enjoy dinner in the evening. All rooms in the hotel have en-suite facilities.
Day 2
We begin this morning with a guided tour of Belfast, a city whose splendid civic architecture, reminiscent of Glasgow or Liverpool, is often overlooked. We then travel north of Belfast and drive along the wild Antrim coast, by Glenarm, Cushendall and Ballycastle and on to the Giant’s Causeway. The 37,000 hexagonal basaltic columns were created by ancient volcanic eruptions some 60 million years ago, along the same chain of seismic activity that created Fingal’s Cave on Staffa, a hundred miles or so to the north. Of course, there is also a more romantic explanation – that it was built by the giant Finn McCool, as the consequence of a gargantuan spat with a Scottish adversary, although another version of the legend has it that he was merely trying to reach his girlfriend. Either way it is an impressive sight. We continue as far as Coleraine before returning to our hotel where once again dinner is served in the evening.
Day 3
After breakfast we leave our hotel and travel west to Derry/Londonderry, the city on the River Foyle that has played a central role in Ulster’s complicated and turbulent history. Here, in the company of an entertaining and informative local guide, we will walk round the city walls, which are among the best preserved city fortifications in Europe. Our tour takes in all the main sights along the one-mile circuit, including the original Gates - Shipquay, Butcher, Bishop and Ferryquay. The Walls rise to a height of 8m and in places are 9m wide. Completed in 1618 to defend the Plantation city, the walls have never been breached in three major sieges - even during the 105-day siege of 1689 when 7,000 of the 30,000 population died of starvation.
Crossing into the Republic, we continue around by Inishowen, the most northerly point in Ireland. We will then transfer to our comfortable hotel in Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal which has enjoyed significant regeneration in recent years. Dinner is served on arrival, with the evening at leisure, an opportunity perhaps to sample the pleasures of the various pubs in town, with their friendly chat and wonderful Guinness.
Day 4
After our full Irish breakfast, we have another day of stunning scenery as we travel round the rugged Donegal coast and into the Glenveagh National Park, once an enormous private estate, its steep valley sides clothed in natural woodland of oak and birch. In the afternoon we will visit the private garden at Salthill, created over the last 20 years by its enthusiastic owner. Vegetables grown in traditional ridges, old roses, perennials and shrubs feature in the walled garden.
We return to our hotel in Letterkenny in the late afternoon, with dinner served in the evening.
Day 5
Following breakfast we leave the hotel and return to the rugged north Antrim coast for a visit to the Downhill Demesne, which was designed and built in the late 18th century by the eccentric Earl Bishop. The demesne includes ruins, a mausoleum, beautiful gardens and walks and the renowned Mussenden Temple, perched on the cliff edge with superb views out to the sea.
Travelling inland on our way back to the airport, we will call in at Greenmount Walled Garden, part of Greenmount College of Agriculture and Horticulture. Built in the 1820s, it has been redesigned in a formal style, and includes a maze, rose garden, knot garden and fruit garden.
We will then return to Belfast for our return flights.