Birr Castle Demesne 1) Please COPY the ENTIRE FORM below and paste it into an email to start 2) UPDATE your information carefully. We check it, but might not notice any errors, etc. 3) Prefix the SECTION HEADERS with: *** - Example: ***Opening Days: (new info) 4) email the ENTIRE FORM UPDATED back to us ASAP: wd (at) armchair-travel (dot) com **************************************************************** **************************************************************** Garden Name: Birr Castle Demesne Last Modified (we set this): 24-01-2013 Garden ID (we set this): 0196 pic (we set this): 0196_birrCastle.jpg NOTE: If "missing", then please send us a picture for which is at least 1000 x 1000 pixels in size. Thanks! Garden Owner: The Earl & Countess of Rosse Address: Birr Co. Offaly Postcode: County: Republic of Ireland Country: tel: 00353 5791 20336 fax: website: www.birrcastle.com public email: mail //at// birrcastle.com admin / private email: (add here for GG-only usage) group master website: English Heritage Grade (I, II, II*): Opening Days & Times: All year; 7 days a week; 17th Mar - 31st Oct; 9am - 6pm; Winter months: 1st Nov - 16th Mar; 10am - 4pm Parties / Coaches (Yes/No): Yes Parties / Coaches Comments: Viewing by Appointment (Yes/No): Yes Viewing by Appointment Comments: Guided tours by arrangement House Open for Viewing (Yes/No): no House Open Comments/Dates/Times: National/Scotland Garden Scheme days (Yes/No): No NGS/SGS Comments (PLEASE include DATES and Times): Best Times of Year to Visit: MayAutumn ...To see (pair by line with Best times to visit): Magnolias in bloomStunning autumn colour Admission Prices: Adult 9 euro Senior/Student 7.50 euro Child 5 euro Family 25 euro Group rates 6.50 euro 12 (Yes/No only) items follow here- Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: No Lunches: Yes Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: Yes Only on Lead: Yes Events: Yes Other Facilities or Comments on (Yes/No) items above: Ireland's Historic Science Centre is an interactive museum revealing the family's achievements in early photography, engineering, astronomy, and botany. The 'Leviathan' Great Telescope - the largest in the world for over 70 years is fully restored and sits at the centre of the demesne. Special Features, Events/Dates and other comments: The Demesne contains over 50 of the champion trees of the British Isles, as well as geographic collections from Mexico, Pakistan, and Yunnan. Evergreen conifers, golden willows, carpets of daffodils, world-record box hedges, magnolias , a cherry avenue and the original plant of Paeonia 'Anne Rosse'.What's in Bloom?Magnolia Delavayi is a native of Yunnan in China. This is in bloom during the March/April period.Also, the Camellias, Crocus & Magnolia's are in bloom in the months of March & April. Roses are in bloom from May onwards.such as, the Rosa 'Duchesse de Montebello', When in bloom its dark green foliage strikes a dramatic contrast with its small fragrant double soft blush-coloured flowers. They can be found in the Formal Gardens. National Collection: Garden Designer: Description of Garden: With over 120 acres (50 ha) of gardens and grounds of 17th century parkland, and with the Victorian gothic castle catching the eye in vistas throughout the park, this spectacular garden has a huge collection of over 4,000 trees and shrubs to be admired. A marvellous walled garden has a tunnel running through the centre. Many of the plants here were grown from the original seeds collected on expeditions to China before WWII, others were collected by the owners' parents from the wild. The collections of magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas are particularly fine.But the most spectacular feature is the huge telescope, 'Leviathan', once the largest in the world, now completely restored and operating throughout the day, testifying to the range of interests and capablilities of the owner's ancestors. This is augmented by the new Galleries of Discovery. There are also the tallest box hedges in the British Isles at over 12 metres high. An extraordinary suspension bridge crosses one of the rivers and there has been much recent restoration of key elements of the garden by the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration programme. Garden History: The park was laid out in the 17th century when the river was diverted to make the lake, it has been slowly added to over the centuries with most of the rarer specimens collected, propagated and planted under the supervision of the 6th and 7th Earls of Rosse. Local Inns (name, town): Accommodation (name, town): Kinnity Castle, Dooleys Hotel,County Arms Hotel Restaurants (name, town): The ThatchSpinners Village/Town/Sightseeing: Birr Georgian Heritage TownClonmacnoise