The final, full day in Ireland, and we spent it exploring Wicklow, just east of Dublin. We had heard great things about Wicklow from our friend Jon Noone, and thought it would be a relaxing place to decompress before heading back to the U.S. of A.
We were fortunate to book luxury suites in the Tinakilly Country House in Wicklow. Was a wonderful wrap-up, treating my bride like royalty in a historic home, built for Captain Robert Halpin, commander of Great Eastern when it laid most of the world's transoceanic telegraph cables. Halpin is reputed to have been given an open check from the British Government to build his new mansion in gratitude for his contribution to improving world communications and thereby world trade. He recruited the then very fashionable Irish architect, James Franklin Fuller, to design and build the house in 1876. (More about the house below)
Off we went to spend our last full day on the Emerald Isle exploring the grounds of Powerscourt Gardens.
Powerscourt Gardens features 47 acres of manicured gardens and was ranked the third best garden IN THE WORLD by National Geographic! So there!
(And in case you're curious, Château de Versailles in Versailles, France is number 1, with Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England clocking in at number 2)
The estate is the legacy of Lord Powerscourt, who was keen to make his mark and assert his position as one of importance in society so he set about transforming the medieval castle at Powerscourt into a grand mansion. In 1730 the 1st Viscount Powerscourt commissioned the German-born architect Richard Castle to build Powerscourt House, a 68 room mansion which was completed in 1741. The mansion was designed around the medieval castle in the style of Palladian architecture and featured baroque dome-roofed towers on either side, giving it in the words of one architectural historian, “the massive dignity of a great Italian Renaissance villa.”
The Italian Garden offers the best in garden landscaping and design. The garden was designed to create a view that was part of the wider landscape and the result is a magnificent vista in every season. The exquisite series of terraces linking the house to the lake were constructed between 1843 and 1867. The design of the upper stone terrace nearest the house was influenced by Villa Butera in Sicily and the steep streets of Genoa and other Italian towns.
Triton Lake
Popping out to say cuckoo - a Sound of Music reference? Not the last one you'll read in this blog entry!
The Pepperpot Tower was built in 1911 using the stone from an earlier church that was on the grounds of Powerscourt after the 8th Lord Powerscourt, Mervyn Wingfield set about building a new church in Enniskerry town.
Its unusual name comes from its design of which it is said was based around the Lord’s favorite pepper mill!
The tower is surrounded by a ring of 12 cannon, some taken after The Battle of the Boyne and others apparently from the time of the Spanish Armada. The tower was built to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales to Powerscourt.
Nearby Powerscourt Waterfall and its surrounding valley are also owned by the Powerscourt Estate, although the two pieces of land are no longer directly connected. At 397 feet in height, it is the second highest waterfall in Ireland.
The Walled Garden is a peaceful, self-contained interlude while wandering the grounds.
Ditto for its surroundings
The next two pics are just two in a series of goofball shots that Jack and just had to stage. Can't you just hear the Von Trapp Children singing along with us?
Nearby Powerscourt Waterfall and its surrounding valley are also owned by the Powerscourt Estate, although the two pieces of land are no longer directly connected. At 397 feet in height, it is the second highest waterfall in Ireland.
Back at Tinakilly, we had a wonderful final pint with the son of the current owners of the inn, a delightful host who regaled us with questions about the states and his educational adventures away at college.
Out back in the gardens, it was time for one final hug to cap off the trip of a lifetime.
To those of you who have muddled through the series of these blog posts to experience Ireland through our pictures, thanks for reading along.
To our traveling partners, the Spences, we sure did log us some miles, meals, and memories!
And most of all, to my partner in crime, Jackie, here's to an unforgettable pocket of memories, start to finish. There's no one I'd rather see the world with side-by-side. You're a treasure and you helped fill the Ireland days with laughs, love, and experiences that have changed our views of the world.
Slainte!
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