Five Gardens Even the Locals Miss

Beyond Altamont there's a whole quiet world of walled gardens, follies and wild meadows. Bring a flask.

Everyone comes to Carlow for Altamont. Rightly so — it is one of the great Irish gardens, tended for decades by the late Corona North and now safely in state hands. But there are others, and most weekend visitors never find them.

Duckett's Grove. The gothic silhouette is the postcard, but the walled gardens behind the ruin are the real story. Two of them, restored by Carlow County Council, planted with a mix of formal box-hedging and cottage-garden abandon. Entry is free. A café. A playground. It is the best free day out in the county.

Huntington Castle, Clonegal. Yes, the castle is the main attraction. But the seventeenth-century yew walk in the garden is nearly unchanged since it was planted. Stand at one end of it on a still autumn morning and it feels like the past exhaling.

Delta Sensory Gardens. Just outside Carlow town, on the grounds of Delta Centre. Sixteen themed sensory gardens designed for wheelchair users, visually-impaired visitors and quiet contemplation. Beautifully maintained. It is genuinely one of the loveliest urban green spaces in Ireland.

Lisnavagh House. Private, but the gardens open a handful of days a year for the Irish Georgian Society and for weddings. If you can time a visit, do — the rhododendron walk is spectacular in April.

Kilgraney Country House. Not a public garden, strictly, but if you stay for a night the herb garden and orchard are part of the deal, and dinner is served from what's picked that morning. Cheaper than it sounds. Better than it should be.