Another fabulous day here in Ireland. Surprisingly it was warm all day long, no rain today!! We were told to expect weird weather. But I had no idea I'd be experiencing all four seasons in one day. LOL Yesterday it was warm in the morning, chilly midday and pouring by the end of the day. So I was very happy to get through the day completely dry.
We had another busy day today. We started the day off by going to Woodstock. Woodstock Gardens are located in the south east of County Kilkenny, just outside the picturesque village of Inistioge.The main development of Woodstock Gardens occurred in the Victorian Period, with the works being overseen by Lady Louisa Tighe and head gardeners, Pierce Butler and later Charles McDonald. The gardens were restored to the period 1840 to 1890 with every effort being made to use plants and materials typical of the era. Woodstock Gardens are home to a mix of formal and informal gardens, with an arboretum, walled garden, terraced garden, yew walk and rose garden. Also of significance are two stunning avenues, the Monkey Puzzle Avenue and Noble Fir Avenue. Recently added are a rustic summer house, constructed from materials from the gardens, and a fountain to replace the original, which was sold from the gardens about 1930. The arboretum is home to many fine specimen trees from Asia and South America in particular. A number of these trees are recognised as champion trees due to their size.
The second stop was the Tintern Abbey. A Cistercian abbey, founded c. 1200 by William, the Earl Marshall, and named after Tintern in Wales. The remains consist of nave, chancel, tower, chapel and cloister. It was partly converted into living quarters after 1541, and further adapted over the centuries. The Abbey was occupied by the Colclough family from the 16th century until 1960s.
Okay and the third and final stop of the day was Hook Lighthouse. The present structure is about 800 years old and is the oldest intact operational Lighthouse in the world. Hook Lighthouse offers guided tours of the lighthouse tower all year round. I elected not to Climb the 115 steps to the spectacular view from the balcony. Lets just say I'm very sore from all the walking I did so I walked around and took a bunch of pictures.
That wrapped my day up. Tomorrow is my first day of class, so wish me luck:) There probably won't be any picture uploads tomorrow. But I'll still update to let you know how the day went.... Thanks:)
Oh and I also uploaded all the pictures to my shutterfly account if you don't like the Facebook version.
Peace, Love, and Cookies
XOXO :)
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