Ireland day 1343. Monday 02 June 2025- Ardgillan Roses

Today’s summary	Sleeping patterns more or less back to normal now. In the morning Val went on a run and I did some shopping and finished off the slideshow I’m giving (by Zoom) to a friend tomorrow. In the afternoon, we drove up to Ardgillan to look at the roses, and in the evening we went out for dinner at Malahide’s newest Japanese restaurant
Today’s weather	Mild dry and bright in the morning, more wind and feeling cooler in the afternoon. Strong southerly wind. Appx 16c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Ardgillan Roses

Commentary

I’m pleased to report that our sleeping patterns are more or less back to normal now, so by the time we had enjoyed tea in bed, it was almost 9am. At that point, we got up and Val, in a rush of hot-headed enthusiasm which I’m afraid I didn’t share, went off for a run round the Demesne. I, meanwhile, dragged myself into the land of the living and did some shopping (most of the shops were closed, by the way, as it’s a Bank Holiday here in Ireland today but fortunately the supermarkets were doing a roaring trade).

Afterwards, I finished off the presentation I am giving electronically to a friend in the UK tomorrow, and tested the technology. Unfortunately, WhatsApp video seems to suffer from a sound “echo” problem so really isn’t suitable. So it will have to be “Zoom” instead.

Once all that was done, for lunch we had some more of the delicious salad Val made on Saturday, and then discussed plans for the afternoon. In the end, we decided to take a short trip up the coast to Ardgillan, to take a look at the roses in the demesne grounds. We had been so impressed with the displays in Japan that we thought we’d take a look at their Irish counterparts.

We weren’t disappointed. Although it’s probably another week or so until they are at their best, the roses in the garden were beautiful, and presenting themselves today in a whole variety of colours, scents and growth habits. We spent an enjoyable few minutes taking a look and trying to guess in advance which ones would have the strongest scents (it was mostly the pink ones that were most fragrant). We also had a look in the walled garden at the neatly manicured vegetable plots, and in the various greenhouses – which were all, very pleasingly, open to visitors. I do like greenhouses because they remind me of the Mediterranean!

After pausing for a cup of coffee and a croissant, we beat a path back to Malahide and got ready for our evening out. We had decided to visit the “new” Japanese restaurant that has opened in New Street recently (though we subsequently discovered that it actually first appeared on Malahide’s cultural scene last August). Still basking in the afterglow of our recent oriental trip, we thought we would see if we could prolong the aura a little longer here in our back yard.

Now that we’re back from our dinner, I can safely say it was “OK”. Probably a 3 out of 5 experience at best, and quite pricey at €130 for two (including a glass of sake). We enjoyed it, though I’m not sure we would rush back as there are plenty of other restaurants that we need to try first.

And on that note, I’m going to sign off. Even though it’s only 9pm, and we are assuredly over the worst of jet-lag, I’m ready to put my feet up in front of the TV then head off for an early night.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Here we are! Ardgillan House is to the North, over our shoulders	*Curious Chinese Dwarf Banana (Musa lasiocarpa) growing in one of the greenhouses. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before and it was certainly quite striking.*

Oh my favourite! Bougainvillea, thriving in the same greenhouse as the banana	Lovely (water)lilies

*Chinese Ground Orchid (Bletilla striata). We also saw them growing in abundance in the flowerbeds in Japan. Quite a coincidence to find it in Ireland too!*	At the entrance to Ardgillan demesne – the Mournes are just visible on the northern horizon, if you look closely enough

Some of the roses really were this extraordinary purplish colour (I noticed some in Japan, too). A stepping stone, perhaps, on the search for the elusive blue rose