Annesley Gardens and National Arboretum (Northern Ireland) © Open Garden at Gardens-Guide.com - Open Times, Features, Admissions, Maps, History, & Local Amenities

Annesley Gardens and National Arboretum

Annesley Gardens and National Arboretum
Castlewellan
Down

BT31 9BU

tel: 028 4377 8664
fax: 028 4377 1762

Area: Northern Ireland
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Annesley Gardens and National Arboretum -- Northern Ireland

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Visitor Information

Email: customer.forestservice //at// dardni.gov.uk
Garden Website: www.forestserviceni.gov.uk
Group Website:

Annesley Gardens and National Arboretum
Last Update* 27-01-2011
Northern Ireland
Text-Only version here

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Opening Days and Hours

NOTE for 2013: Please check with garden owners or their website to confirm current dates open http://www.forestserviceni.gov.uk

Every day; 10am - 6pm, or dusk

Parties / Coaches: Yes

Groups / Coaches need Appointment: No

House Open for Viewing: No

National Garden Scheme days: No

Best Times of Year to Visit:

To see:

Admission Prices

Per Car £4.20; Minibus £10.50; Coach £25; Motorcycle £2.
Annual Permits available, see own website.

Onsite Facilities

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes

Shop: No
Plants for Sale: No
Lunches: Yes

Teas: Yes
Light Refreshment: Yes
Picnics: Yes

Dogs Allowed: Yes
On Lead only: Yes
Special Events: No

Other Facilities & Comments:
Lunches Easter - Sept.
Camping and Caravans in the Park. Closed 1st Nov - 16th Mar.

Disabled information plus mobility and walking aids

Garden Features & Events

100 acres of arboretum with at its heart a 12-acre walled garden called The Annesley Gardens. One of the finest collections of trees in Ireland, including 42 Champion trees and 20 of the oldest specimen trees in British Isles.
In the Forest Park is the Peace Maze, the world's longest and largest permanent Hedge Maze.

English Heritage Garden Grade:

National Collection:

Description of Garden

Designer:

The National Arboretum extends to 100 acres in the Castlewellan Forest Park where a mile long lake and the Mountains of Mourne provide a spectacular backdrop. The core of the collection is still in the original 12 acre walled garden with its formal layout of intersecting paths and two fountains providing focal points. The planting is in the gardenesque style and beautiful tree specimens of a wide diversity of species and age draw enthusiasts from all over the world.

Apart from the trees there are bulbs, herbaceous borders, including topiary 'bottles' of Irish Yew, and one of the largest displays of Tropaeolum in horticulture.

History of Garden

In the 1850s the area next to the 18th century kitchen garden was transformed in to a pleasure ground for the Annesley family. It included terracing, flights of steps and pools with dolphins supporting water basins. A good deal of exotic planting was involved with the planting of 10 wellingtonias, monkey puzzle trees and some rhododendrons. In the next decade the 4th Earl Annesley enlarged the area and built vineries and conservatories. When his brother Hugh succeeded in 1874 however, the pleasure ground was made into an arboretum of international importance. With the help of his gardener, Thomas Ryan, the 5th Earl planted over 3,000 different species of choice tree and shrub specimens from across the globe were planted in the arboretum in the years 1874 to his death in 1908.

After the death of the sixth earl in an accident, his sister Mabel took on the property and managed to maintain it, in spite of the loss of the supporting estate through the land acts. Her son Gerald Sowerby, who assumed the name Annesley, inherited it in 1940 and taking a great interest in the arboretum, began to build up the collections again.

In 1967 the Forestry Service of the Department of Agriculture purchased the estate from Gerald Annesley and opened it to the public in 1969. Since then it has been enormously extended to cover more than 100 acres. The castle has been let out to a Christian sect.

Nearby Northern Ireland Hotels, Facilities & Amenities

Hotels & Accommodation:

Restaurants:

Inns & Pubs:

Villages / Towns / Sightseeing:
Mountains of Mourne 4 miles away

- Northern Ireland

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*Information Updates
We directly contact each garden for update information every year in January.

The garden information above was last updated on 27-01-2011

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0089_Annesley.jpg - Annesley Gardens and National Arboretum (Northern Ireland)