Blessingbourne Estate’s Gardens
Blessingbourne Estate’s Gardens span 550 acres of mature woodland and fairy-tale forests. Here you can enjoy a peaceful escape in the beautiful blossoms or a fun and exciting run around the twisted branches in our forest walks.
Arriving at Blessingbourne you soak in the sights of the large mature Yew trees and Holm oak standing proud at the front of the manor house. This tranquil location is complimented by delightful gardens featuring a terrace, lawns and borders with a sunken garden. Go for a stroll around the 4km walk through our nature reserve to fully appreciate the gardens and forest walks around the Estate. The twisted branches and trees scattered throughout our forest walks make beautiful arches and add to the magical feel of our Estate.
In June 2016 the Lowry family were delighted to open the ‘gardens’ at their home in support of The Ulster Gardens Scheme. This was established to raise funds to support work in gardens cared for by the National Trust in Northern Ireland.
Walking around the beautiful blossoming Gardens at our Estate will no doubt inspire you to add to your own garden! And what better way to gain inspiration and ideas for expanding your garden and adding a pop of colour.
Victorian Rock Garden
The unique Victorian Rock garden dates back to the 18th Century and the creation of Mary Montgomery and Hugh.
The remnants of this beautiful reminder of the History surrounding this Historic Estate withholds its old world charm and character. Huge Gunnera plants originally stood pride of place in this garden when is was first created. And you can still view Gunnera plants all over the Estate to this day.
The space in which the Rock Garden covers was originally a wood. However, several trees were left remaining in order to shelter the Garden from the North and East winds. This allowed the plants and flowers to grow undisturbed.
Sunken Garden
The Sunken Garden was created by Angela Lowry in the mid 80’s, with the help of her husband Captain Lowry and Hughie McMahon. This has grown to be a popular addition and is highlighted in the beautiful Wedding photography taken on the Estate.
Memory Garden
Within Blessingbourne Estate’s Gardens, The Memory Garden is the most recent addition to Blessingbourne’s grounds. This was developed to commemorate the American Army who were based at Blessingbourne during the Second World War. The central feature of this part of the garden is the impressive oak tree. The oak tree now flourishes and is stands proud looking down on the private lough Fadda.
Fairy Tree
It is well known that the Irish love their fairy stories! And so we are very proud that our Estate is home to our very own historic Fairy Tree!
Guests on the Estate should make sure to visit this unique nod to Irish folk lore. As the Hawthorne Trees are amongst Ireland’s most ancient and can live to be 400 years old. Due to this, you can pin point spot a lone Hawthorne tree on a road or in a field by itself across Ireland and Northern Ireland. This is because it is considered very bad luck to disturb the inhabitants.
Our Fairy tree is particularly beautiful when it blossoms during the Spring season. However, please do not be tempted to take a blossom with you, as it is bad luck to bring them inside the house.
We can’t guarantee that you will meet a fairy whilst on our Estate. However, many guests have felt a mischievous presence whilst walking near our fairy tree! So make sure you keep your eyes open, as the wee folk are known to disappear when you blink!
Private Lough Fadda
While exploring our fairy-tale forest walks and strolling around the Estate you will often enjoy the stunning views of our private lough Fadda. This is very popular with fishermen and boating enthusiasts as the tranquil lough is beautifully calm. Adding a certain serene backdrop for many of our Gardens.
Dog Friendly
All of our Self catering Courtyard apartments are pet friendly. So our guests often bring their four legged family members on holiday with them! Similarly, all of our Gardens and walks are dog friendly and we encourage guests to bring your pets to enjoy the blossoming gardens with you. We are sure that they will enjoy stopping to smell the roses just as much as you do.
