Heywood Gardens (Designed by Lutyens) — Attraction in The Municipal District of Portlaoise

What a great place to visit. There is a huge car park, so plenty of parking even when busy. There are toilets maintained by the OPW right beside the car park 👍

To reach the gardens follow the signpost. There is a short enough walk through the forest towards the gardens. The first port of call is the sham castle, built by the rich to entertain their guests. From here you pass a small ruined structure called The Orangery which is right beside the entrance to the main garden and the secondary school built on the site of Heywood House (lucky kids to have a path to a Lutyen's garden from their school yard!!!)

The garden is pretty epic, built on a prominent hill overlooking the river. They are quite compact and very well preserved. The highlight for us was the circular walled section with the pool and fountain. A very nice place to sit and take in the views of the surrounding countryside which is spectacular.

If you fancy a longer stroll, there is a 6km circuit. If you have small kids like us you can take the forest path up to the garden, but come back via the river walk to...

Fancied a drive on this beautiful summers day in July. Prepared a bite to eat for the journey, few supplies and I ended up in bealady graveyard in Rathdowney to visit my Mother's grave for the first time since before the pandemic, possibly a few years too long. Anyway I done some general cleaning of the grave, visited my Brother in law's, my Grandmother and Grandfather and God Uncle Pat's grave and a few people I once knew. Done a bit of weeding and general clean then lay down in a quiet part of the graveyard. After leaving I stopped off at circle K garage to get fuel for car €2.11 diesel which was the cheapest I've seen all week. They have a supermacs on site which was quite busy but I picked up a coffee, sausage roll, apple turnover and fudge Sunday from granny's he shop to lead me on my way. Where I stopped off at Heywood Gardens took a few snaps and on my way back towards Portlaoise that's when I got the idea to drive to Rock of Dunamase to finish the journey and try catch last of the sun light. I'm grateful to live in such a wonderful part of Ireland. Good...

Lutyens Garden is a beautiful garden located in Ballinakill, County Laois, Ireland. I was amazed by the romantic eighteenth-century garden with a spectacular hillside setting and gothic features. The garden is divided into four parts, a sunken garden linked with a formal lawn, an alley of pleached limes backed by stone walls decorated with niches and classical urns, a series of herb gardens and a terraced pergola that overlooks the largest of the ornamental lakes. The garden is also home to various birds and flowers, making it an ideal place for nature lovers.

I visited the sunken rose gardens, herbaceous borders, and extensive tree-planting. The garden was so serene and peaceful that I felt like I was in another world. The garden benches were perfect for taking a break and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. I would highly recommend visiting Lutyens Garden to anyone who loves nature and wants to experience the...