Wildflowers At Lismore Castle in the Summer

It's very rare that Jacek and myself get time together, just the two of us. For the majority of our relationship we've been parents, and our children, of course, always come first. Except for trips to Amsterdam for birthdays, we never go exploring together, but one summer weekend was different. This particular weekend was full of wildflowers and castles and it was just perfect.

The two of us headed off to one of our favourite places within Ireland - the fairytale that is Lismore Castle Gardens. Lismore Castle itself is a private residence and is not open to the public - imagine living in a castle! But the gardens (there are two, an upper and a lower garden) are open to anyone to explore to their hearts content. And what gardens they are!

You now need to book tickets through the Lismore Castle website to visit. An adult ticket is €8.50 and children's tickets are €6.50. It's well worth the money. The lower gardens have the best tree swing for kids to enjoy and a obstacle course type play area with a tyre swing too - it's great fun for kids!

The upper garden has always been a work of art and anytime we've visited it looks absolutely amazing, but this time it looked even more spectacular. There were masses of wildflowers growing and it was like a dream. I can't lie, it actually took my breath away when I saw them and I actually stopped and said - "This is like something from a fairytale".

The wildflowers were a burst of colour and were so beautiful. We may have taken too many photos of them but they were a sight like nothing we've ever seen before. Absolute garden goals for sure. If you love flowers as much as I do I'd highly recommend a visit to see the wildflowers at Lismore Castle in the summer.

We visited on the weekend of July 24th and they were still looking beautiful, but I know someone else who visited the weekend after and they were all gone, so I think early July would be best if you want to see them in all their glory.

The rest of Lismore Castle Gardens is kept beautifully too. I especially loved this walkway with flowers covering the path. I took a lovely picture here of my boys years ago and it's still one of my favourites. There's also vegetable patches in the castle garden which always make me think of Mr. McGregor's Garden from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Plants are also for sale in the castle gardens.

Here I am walking from summer to autumn it seems! I highly recommend a visit to Lismore Castle Gardens. Whether you're going as a couple, a family or with friends, it's a perfect place for a day out and it's a place like no other. It really is like a fairytale and how special it is is the reason we return for a visit every year.

It's lovely to see Lismore Castle Gardens through the seasons and we caught a glimpse of autumn on our visit with some leaves turning golden and apples blossoming on the trees. It was so lovely.

If you want to make your visit to the Lismore area even longer, I recommend taking the Lady Louisa's Walk along the River Blackwater and up through the fields. It was a lovely walk and gave us this beautiful view of Lismore Castle along the bridge.

We found all these pretty pink flowers growing at the edge of the fields, it made for a lovely walk.

Other beautiful places to visit in the area are Ballysaggartmore Towers - which are equally as fairytale like, Cappoquin House and Tourin House. This part of Waterford has lots to offer and makes for a beautiful day out for all.