- Westport House and Gardens: This iconic 18th-century estate, known as one of Ireland’s most beautiful historic homes, sits in a superb 400-acre parkland setting overlooking Clew Bay. The grounds include magnificent terraces, lakeside walks, mature woodlands, and wonderful formal and informal gardens with vibrant seasonal planting. Visitors enjoy panoramic vistas of the Atlantic, Achill Island, and Croagh Patrick, making it a romantic, family-friendly highlight of Mayo’s horticultural heritage.
- Enniscoe House and Gardens: Near Crossmolina on the shores of Lough Conn, this 18th-century house is surrounded by restored Victorian walled gardens, an organic walled garden, and 19th-century pleasure grounds extending to the lakeshore. Features include fine architectural elements (restored under the Great Gardens of Ireland programme), hardy ferns, period plants, woodland trails, and a nature walk through mature trees with stunning lake views, a peaceful, authentic example of classic Irish estate horticulture.
- National Museum of Ireland, Country Life (Turlough Park Gardens): Set around the Victorian Gothic Turlough Park House near Castlebar, these award-winning Green Flag gardens span 37 acres of landscaped parkland. Highlights include a restored Victorian conservatory as the focal point, a sunken garden with massive beech trees, a man-made lake with picnic islands, rare trees and shrubs, and fine broad-leaved specimens. The blend of formal and naturalistic planting offers year-round interest and a scenic cycle path connection.
- Ashford Castle Estate Gardens: Surrounding the luxurious Ashford Castle on Lough Corrib, these historic grounds (largely laid out by the Guinness family in the 19th century) feature formal terraces, a sunken (Tollman) garden, a walled garden with perennial borders, fruit, and vegetables, plus broad walks creating vistas across the estate. The balance of formal parterres and informal areas, with mature planting, provides elegant, timeless beauty amid one of Ireland’s most scenic lakeside settings.
- Drimbawn Garden (Clew Bay Garden Trail): A charming private garden near Tourmakeady, originally designed by Ninian Niven and recently restored and extended, this delightful spot showcases sustainable planting, colourful borders, and thoughtful design. Part of the annual Clew Bay Garden Trail (featuring unique private gardens in west Mayo), it offers inspiration for gardeners with its blend of heritage and modern creativity in a peaceful rural location.
Gardens to Visit
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Mayo:
Introduction – Adventure – Anthem – Archaeology – Attractions – Awards – Birdwatching – Camping – Castles – Churches – Contact list – Cycling – Dining – Equestrian – Festivals – Fishing – Folklore – Gardens – Golf – Graveyards – Happening – Haunted – Highest – Hiking – History – Holy Wells – Hotels – Hotels top 8 – Hunting & shooting – Instagrammable – Itineraries – Largest town – Luxury – MICE – Movies – Music – Name – New – Novelists – Off the beaten track – Poets – Pubs – Quotes – Random Facts – Restaurant Awards – Sacred Places – Saints – Songs – Spas – Sports – Sunsets – Sustainable – Things to do – Towns – Video – Villages – Walking – Wanderlist – Weddings – Wild swimming – Writers – 1837 – 1846 – 1852 – 1909 – 1955 – 1980 –
