Towers and Gardens

 

Today we're back in Ireland. We had left the Rock of Dunamase and were on our way to the tiny village of Timahoe (Irish Tigh Mochua which translates to House of Mochua). Our landlady had told us about the Round Tower, one of the few that you can find in Ireland.

Timahoe Round Tower was built sometime in the 1100s, on the site of a religious community founded around 600 A.D. by Saint Mochua, a warrior who converted to Christianity. The carved stonework of the tower is interesting. There are Romanesque style carvings that decorate the main entrance which is about five meters (16.4 ft) from the ground. The red door in the left photo belongs to the heritage center located in the church (no longer used as such) right next to the tower.

The Round Tower is almost 30 meters (98.4 ft) high, more than 17 meters (55.7 ft) wide at its base and its walls are nearly 2 meters (6.5 ft) thick. Quite impressive.

In the heritage center we met our first Irish storyteller. He was the curator of the museum who was obviously happy to have found an audience in these three Germans from California (we were the only visitors). He recommended visiting the Heywood Gardens.

It turned out to be a good recommendation. Again, we were the only people there - County Laois is definiteley off the beaten path!

Heywood Gardens is an 18th century landscape consisting of gardens, lakes, woodland and some architectural features that is set into a sweeping hillside.

There were some beautiful ruins which gave the landscape a romantic atmosphere.

A few sculptures could be seen here and there. Unfortunately there were no explanations, so I don't know who this lady is, but it seems she enjoyed the gardens.

The formal gardens were designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and it is likely that they were landscaped by horticulturist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932). The sunken garden was my favorite with its flowers and an elongated pool with a fountain in its center.

The gardener who seemed to have been on break showed some sense of humour.

The lake snuggled into the landscape, reflecting the trees and giving a home to swans and water lilies.

After leaving Heywood Gardens it was time for tea. We drove to Abbeyleix where we found a tearoom and ordered our cream tea - scones, jam, clotted cream and of course tea. Usually I'm not a tea drinker, but there are a couple countries where I make an exception because they know how to make tea properly; Ireland is one of them.

Rain's prompt this week is "Tea Party" - while not a party, I think it fits in. 

This day wasn't over yet. Soon we were off to our next destination - everything is so close in Ireland. More about that later.