Grand days out... with a garden crawl

On a three-day tour of Co Down, DANIEL BIRD discovers a host of stately homes and sprawling grounds ripe to explore

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History Hillsborough

Walking through the grounds of Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, it’s clear to see who’s in charge. King Charles is a champion of all things agricultural - and the gardens of his Northern Ireland residence reflect just that.

Sitting in the 100-acres grounds, the “Irish Big House” was established in the 1750s. But this grand family residence was bought by the British government in 1925 and is now home to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, as well as being the official residence of the monarch.

It’s a jaw-dropping venue for political meetings and played a big role in the peace process in Northern Ireland. And it’s also where I kicked off my garden crawl of Co Down.

The grounds here, just 20 minutes outside Belfast, are truly fit for a king.

The fragrant rose garden is popular in spring and summer, and was laid out by Lady Granville, wife of the second Governor of Northern Ireland, who also happened to be the late Queen Elizabeth's aunt.

But my favourite part to wander through was the Walled Garden, built in the 1760s to grow fruit trees for the estate. In recent years it has been restored and now groans with vegetables, too, and there's herbaceous borders and an apple orchard. Charles will approve.

Entering Hillsborough itself, I brushed past the dining table where the likes of George W Bush, Gordon Brown, Queen Elizabeth and, of course, King Charles, have stuffed their faces. Waltzing through, pretending it was my own home, I dropped in to the Throne Room, built as an extension in 1797. It was here that Elizabeth II celebrated her Coronation.

One room I didn't get to see, unfortunately, was Lady Grey's study, where the Good Friday Agreement is on display, in the place where the negotiations took place.