Queenie, I'm Ba-aack! {No. 20}

Suzanne had to work today and Dean and I had originally planned to tool around Belfast city centre together but the weather didn’t look favorable so we switched gears and decided to explore our newfound Lisburn-area territory.  Suzanne casually mentioned during dinner the night before that “Oh, you should go see Hillsborough Castle while you’re down that way.”  It sounded vaguely familiar but I didn’t know why.  Then she says, “It’s where the Queen stays when she comes to Northern Ireland.”  Um, what.  And they give tours??  I’m there.  Bought my tickets online and soon as we got back to the cottage that night.

Meanwhile, Sir Dean had decided that he might fancy a little go at fishing since Larchfield offered that on a privately-owned stocked pond on-property.  Dean really grew to love fly fishing and fishing in general when we lived in Belfast so it was special for him to get a chance to do that.  The day was set—Hillsborough Castle and then a-fishing Dean would go in the afternoon.  

Cannot say enough wonderful things about our Hillsborough Castle tour.  They’ve only recently opened it for tours to the public so if you’re ever in the area, you should go.  For so many years and especially during The Troubles, they kept it closed to the public out of fear it would be targeted by the IRA.  So even during the time that we lived in Belfast sixteen years ago, it wouldn’t have been accessible to the public.  The only way I had even heard of it was that it used to be mentioned on the news from time to time as the location for major political summits during and after the Good Friday Agreement—President GW Bush and Tony Blair even met there during that time and there is a photo album of pictures in the room where they talked.  

Dean and I discussed later in the evening that, looking back, we walked into Northern Ireland not having any clue or appreciation for what was happening politically for the country during that time (1998-2000).  The Good Friday Agreement was a very new thing (passed in a referendum in May 1998 and we arrived in June, a month later) and “peace” was most certainly a work in progress.  It was a crucial and fragile time in the moving forward process after generations of warring and retaliatory acts of violence.  So to be standing in Hillsborough Castle sixteen years after we first left Belfast—to be welcomed in where that once wasn’t possible for fear of violence and to think on all the meeting-in-the-middle that happened right inside Hillsborough Castle (all the bigs were there—Gerry Adams, David Trimble, Bertie Ahern, Ian Paisley, Mo Mowlam, etc.)—is really powerful.  And to see Belfast straighten up and fly right—for its people to hold their shoulders back just a bit more and to see the enterprise and commerce that’s emerged as it has blossomed and begun to shine in the light of this new age is truly remarkable.  It honestly gives me hope for redemption in so many other areas of divide in our world, the least of which wouldn’t be the old US of A.  

Lunch in Hillsborough at The Parson’s Nose which, before any of the delicious food we had, already won because:  the name.  Beef Bourguinon and wheaten bread with Northern Ireland’s own Abernethy butter were scrummy!!  Dean always loves the array of fancy beer taps they have in UK/Irish pubs, so including a pic of that too.  

Hillsborough street decor.  They really love their Queenie!

Looking onto the front of Hillsborough Castle.  Even though it’s called a “Castle,” it is actually a Georgian country house and was built in the 18th century for the Hill family, Marquesses of Downshire.  They owned it until 1922 when they sold it to the British government.  In addition to the Queen’s and royal family’s apartments within Hillsborough Castle, the Secretary of State also has an apartment here.    

With Hillsborough Castle at the back, looking out of the gates onto the village.

Entry hall.  What looks to be stone walls is actually painted to resemble stone.  The entire inside of the castle burned to the ground in the 1930s but was built back almost exactly as it was before.  They let us sit on the sofas and chairs!  Felt right at home.  And as long as we didn’t use flashes, photography was completely allowed.  So happy!!

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had just been to visit at the end of June…and signed their own guest book?  The lady in the painting top left was Queen Elizabeth’s great grandmother (or was it great-great)?  Should’ve taken more notes.

This throne room/hall area can be hired for weddings or events.  And if you have a group of 20 or more, you can arrange for afternoon tea in this room!  Can you imagine??  Surely I could get 19 other willing participants so we could make that happen!

The gorgeous rusty “Red Dining Room,” for when the Queen only has a few people who are dining with her.  I loved the way Hillsborough Castle felt grand, but lived in.  There are lots of framed photographs around and you could tell…that it has life in it.

The larger dining room.  I gasped at the gorgeousness of the paint color when I walked in.  The gorgeous drapes and the beautifully patterned Ulster Weavers rugs and carpets (not just in this room but all the rooms) made it such a warm and cozy place.  Absolutely loved it.  You can barely see them in this photo, but to the left of the fireplace on the floor are two antique wood plate warming buckets.  Our guide told us they would put hot coals in the bottom and then there was a divider on top of the coals and they would pile plates on top of that to keep the plates warm.  

The most gorgeous, lovely, warm and cozy State Drawing Room.  LOVED all the color and pattern in this beautiful home!!  And all the beautiful lighting, both natural and electric.  More beautiful Ulster Weavers carpets and so many prized paintings and portraits.

And look!  Family photographs just sitting on the piano.  THE FAM.  It’s like I was right there with them.

Our guide told us that this photo was taken several years back when Sarah Ferguson was making an official visit to a boys’ school in England.  All the sweet boys were dressed for the occasion and sitting outside to wait for her arrival, which was by helicopter. The only thing they hadn’t accounted for was that there was a sand pit nearby to where the helicopter was landing and as it began to land, sand went everywhere and someone snapped this pic of these sweet boys covering their faces!  Such a great pic.  BUT THERE’S MORE:  then our guide shared that not too long ago, there was a lady who had come for a tour of Hillsborough Castle and when they walked in this room and she saw this photo, she happened to recognize her OWN SON in the photo.  And sadly, her son had passed away in the years since and she had never seen this photo until she walked into this room on her tour.  The Castle staff made the lady a copy of the photo to keep with her.  Can you imagine walking into a Royal residence and casually spotting a photo of your son who you lost prematurely at a young age?  I’ve tried to tell this story, in person, to more than one friend and can’t do it without getting choked up.  What a gift.  It had to have felt so good to get a new glimpse of a beloved, lost child in such an unexpected way.

I left the castle to take Dean back to Larchfield to go fishing and then returned by myself to tour the gardens at Hillsborough Castle.  I think they give guided garden tours on certain days but that may require advance notice.  So I just did a self-guided tour and I think I was the only person in the 96-acre grounds, which includes several lush formal gardens.  This is the entry to The Granville Garden which was established and created in the 1940s and 50s by Lady Granville, who was Queen Elizabeth II’s aunt. 

The back of the castle to my rear, all the windows in the living room and dining rooms look out onto this garden.  The pathways are the thickest, softest carpet of grass.  It is nothing like our East Tennessee grass.  If it hadn’t been slightly raining, I would’ve wanted to touch my bare foot to this.  SO soft.  Beds are all neat as pins.  That gigantic, mountainous green shrub in the background of this photo is Europe’s largest rhododendron.  This is ONE plant.  Supposedly it used to be largest rhododendron in the world but apparently some guy in China thinks he has one that is larger [eyeroll].  There’s a photo down below of part of the underneath of this plant.  

The most epic row of Lady’s Mantle which I have tried and failed more than once to plant in dumb Zone 5. 

Please look at how they have dug these beds.  The beds are recessed about 5-6 inches below the top layer of lawn.  Sheer neatness.  

Underside of the giant rhododendron.  Just one section of the underside.  I have never seen anything like it!

More formal gardens to the side of the castle called The Jubilee Garden.  Beautiful and unusual plants in this garden—fascinating!

Look at this deep purple flower!!  Allium?  No idea.  The bees were all over it.  I took about 14 pics of this flower.

Here’s one more.  Look at the little petals/pods/buds on the stems!  Can anyone tell me what this is?

Looking across the Lady Alice pond to the Lady Alice Temple which was constructed in 1880 and given as a gift to Lady Alice Maria Hill at her marriage to Thomas Taylor.  The Hill family built Hillsborough Castle and are the reason the town of Hillsborough is called “Hillsborough.”  

Looking out from inside the Lady Alice Temple.  I sat here for such a long time in total solitude.  I was grateful for the quiet and space to pray and listen.  

Just past the Lady Alice Temple is this mossy, gorgeous path called the Lime Tree Walk, lined with 150-year old lime trees.  All by myself.  After not much solitude on this trip, every minute in this garden was water to my thirsty soul.  

Quite literally BLANKETED in moss.

Photo creds to the front gate guard who I asked to take my picture here before I left.  Ha!

Deano’s great catch of the day—this rainbow trout that was about 16” long.  One of his best catches ever!  He was chuffed when he returned to Rose Cottage that afternoon! 

Our dinner at the lovely Newforge House near Moira!  Cannot say enough wonderful things about this beautiful Georgian home which is owned and maintained by John and Louise Mathers with John as chef.  The home has been handed down through six generations of John’s family and he oversaw the conversion of the home into a bed and breakfast in 2005.  Since then it has become part of the exclusive collection of Ireland Blue Book properties and has been given numerous awards for accommodation and cuisine.  We loved having dinner there.  I have heard their gardens are beautiful and had it not been raining before and during our dinner, I know I would’ve enjoyed those so much!  Thank you to John and the whole Newforge team for an evening we will not forget!  

Sidenote:  the pheasant (top right) was not at Newforge House but was spotted in Larchfield as we were leaving for dinner.  It was slightly rainy and my camera wouldn't focus but I only had a second before he took flight!  We saw several pheasant on the grounds at Larchfield while we were there.  So beautiful!   

Au Revoir, Par-ee! {No. 20}

Not pictured:  the chaos, as per usual, of Charles de Gaulle airport and the three outright miracles that had to have occurred for us to have even made our flight on time—which we did, praise to God.  That airport is insane.  I wonder if Orly is better or if it’s just that French people in general do not know how to be organized or expeditious about anything and both airports suffer mind-bending disorganization and understaffing.  They must know it’s chaotic by comparison if they’ve experienced almost any other big city airport in the world and they surely must receive a steady stream of complaints about it but it’s as if they really don’t give a flying…well, you know.  

We had allowed two hours before our flight and traffic put a dent in that so we only had an hour and half and even that was not long enough to get us to the gate without actual messengers of God in airport uniforms waving us through expedited lines at three different stages, none of which we legitimately qualified for.  Word to the wise:  allow three hours no matter where your flight is when flying out of CDG.  And equip yourself with some coping strategies. 

We were both so relieved to land in Belfast.  Exhaling.  Our former home, land of dear friends, tea, wheaten bread, greenest grassy fields, so many sheep, mild weather (I needed a jacket upon exiting the airport—in July—and I was thrilled to my inmost bones) and a complete lack of alarming recent terrorist incidents.  Immediately upon landing I knew the three nights wouldn’t be long enough.  

We normally stay at our former landlord’s vacation cottages up in Whiteabbey which is almost equidistant between our Carrickfergus friends on one side and the city centre of Belfast on the other.  But the Sherlocks were all booked up for our dates by the time we firmed and something about staying in a third city (after London and Paris) did not suit.  I knew we would be yearning for a country feel.  So we found a place a little further afield in Lisburn (south of Belfast) that does weddings and has a few self-catering cottage options if they aren’t booked up by wedding parties.  It’s called Larchfield Estate and I cannot praise it highly enough!!  God save the Queen, it was an outright dream.  We had a one bedroom cottage, beautifully finished, and access to the 600-acre property which was covered in photo ops.  Any bride who chooses Larchfield will have a giddy photographer.  

We checked in, settled and walked around the gardens and property before we set back out to meet our friends, Al & Suzanne, for a pub dinner at The Dirty Duck in a little area east of Belfast called Holywood (one “l”).  Hugs were tight and long, joy was palpable and the seafood chowder and wheaten bread cured all.  There is nothing so wonderful as putting physical arms around dear ones when that privilege is rarely afforded.  Suz and Al were our closest friends during our time in Belfast, which ended 16 years ago.  We met through our church there, Glenabbey, and through the years of having children around the same times and the advent of social media combined with a fairly regular string of visits, we are somehow closer than we’ve ever been.  In the first two minutes of being together, it feels like we never left.   

Northern Ireland, we love you!!

Settling in and exploring at Larchfield.  This is the back of Rose Cottage.

Honey, I’m home.  And never leaving.

The gardens at Larchfield behind the cottages were gorgeous!

Walking past the gardens back into the property we discovered this pond and a few more paths….

This is the back view of the main house at Larchfield where the owners reside.  That smoke coming out of the chimney in the brisk air as we walked around smelled…divine.

Lots of furry llama and donkey friends in the fields leading up the main drive to Larchfield.  The donkeys loved Sir Dean, who always seems to have a special way with the animal kingdom.

One of the old barns turned event buildings at Larchfield.  So charming!!  

Such a beautiful, cozy, happy reunion with our friends, Al and Suzanne Bennett at The Dirty Duck in Holywood.  Love love love these people and loved The Duck!  

Well, we only had to take ~10 pics in order to get one that met dual approval.  Photo creds to Sir Dean!  Bravo, bravo.  So thankful for Suzanne.  After 16 years and pretty regular visits, we are as close as ever.  Were it not for Suz and Al, there’s no way our connection to Northern Ireland and Belfast would still be as strong as it is.  And that connection is such a balm to my soul.

Recording the fact that once upon a time, while East Tennessee was suffocating in 100 degree heat indexes, we actually made a fire and had a cup of hot tea in JULY.  #becauseNorthernIreland  I miss fires so much.  This was one of the highlights of the trip for Lesli.