Togher
Dunleer
Barmeath is a flamboyant castle set in over 10 acres of historic gardens overlooking Dundalk Bay. Home to the Bellew family since the 1670s, the main design of the garden is by Thomas Wright of Durham who came to Ireland in 1745.
The grounds feature a lake, islands and a rustic rock bridge which is typical of Wright’s work. In the unusually large walled garden there are roses, fruit trees, a summer house, herbaceous border and the vegetable plot.
PROGRAMME FOR THE VISIT
- 12:30 pm There is an opportunity for visitors to picnic in the grounds overlooking the lake. Please bring a picnic chair along.
- 2.00 pm For visitors who booked the RED tickets for the tours of the house and the garden, half of this group will take the tour of the garden first. This tour will be led by Lady Bellew.
- The other half of this RED ticket group will take the tour of the house first, led by Lord Bellew.
- The visitors who booked the BLUE tickets for the garden tour only will join the 2.00 pm tour of the garden led by Lady Bellew.
- 3.30pm The visitors who booked the RED tickets for the tours of the house and the garden will swap over to take the other tour.
BOOKING INSTRUCTION
THIS VISIT IS OPEN TO IGPS MEMBERS AND A LIMITED NUMBER OF PERSONAL GUESTS; pre-booking is essential.
Tickets for IGPS Members are FREE, but must be pre-booked on the Eventbrite site.
There are two types of tickets available to book for IGPS Members:
- A RED ticket that comprises a tour of the house and a tour of the garden (28 FREE tickets available);
- A BLUE ticket that is for a tour of the garden only (13 FREE tickets available).
A limited number of personal guest tickets are available for pre-booking. It costs £17.41 each (£15.48 plus Eventbrite booking fee of £1.93) for a tour of the house and garden or £6.60 each (£5.16 plus Eventbrite booking fee of £1.44) for a tour of the garden only.
DRIVING INSTRUCTION FROM NORTHERN IRELAND
Take A1 towards Dublin (A1 becomes M1 after border) and come off at junction 14 (signposted Ardee / Derry). Junction 14 is approximately 30 minutes from Newry and not long after Applegreen service station (which is a good place to freshen up and meet up). At roundabout at Junction 14 take 1st exit (L2226) towards Drumcar. After one mile reach T junction( Dorian’s Bar opposite) and turn RIGHT and then almost immediately turn LEFT. After one mile at T junction ( several gabled houses opposite) turn RIGHT and continue for just over a mile to T junction. Take LEFT and continue for 1.3miles to T junction (largeish white house opposite). Take RIGHT and continue for 1.2miles – Barmeath Castle is on the right where an IGPS volunteer from the Northern Committee will be waiting to greet you.