Duckett’s Grove Walled Gardens and Pleasure Grounds brim with historical varieties of roses, peonies, perennials and flowering shrubs. They have been revived to reveal ancient paths, with beds and borders reinstated, in a mix of old and new styles.

The upper walled garden, hedged with boxwood, is planted with historical varieties of shrub roses and a collection of Chinese and Japanese peonies. A great variety of hardy and tender perennials adorn the landscape, as do choice flowering shrubs like echium, watsonia, acanthus, jovellana, daphniphyllum, iris, eryngium, beschorneria, euporbia and some ornamental bananas, which are a true test of the microclimate of the gardens.

The lower walled garden, once the site of the old orchard, contains a variety of fruits, such as figs and historical varieties of Irish apples. The borders also feature a variety of shrubs and perennials, all echoing the past. The restoration of paths and the sunken stone bridge, as well as plantings of oak, lime, hazel, spindle and laurel, all combine to rekindle the spirit of these great Georgian pleasure grounds.

The estate was designed in castellated Gothic revival style by Thomas A Cobden for John Davidson Duckett in the 1820s. It features numerous towers and turrets of varying shapes, round, square and octagonal. One tall octagonal turret rises from the structure, elaborately ornamented with oriels and statues.

Free guided tours of the grounds allow you to retrace its centuries of history. Learn about the origins of the Duckett family who first arrived here in 1695, the subsequent expansion of the estate, the building of the gothic mansion and its eventual sad demise.

You'll find the estate between the towns of Carlow and Tullow. Duckett’s Grove Walled Gardens and Pleasure Grounds are an unmissable destination during your stay in County Carlow.