Greyabbey
BT22 2QA
Grey Abbey House is considered to be one of the finest Georgian country houses in Ireland and has remained in the possession of the Montgomery family since 1607.
The central portion of the house was built in 1762 and retains many interesting architectural features and fine 18th century plasterwork.
The gardens include mature woods, borders and a Southern Hemisphere collection along with parkland meadows and fields.
Part of the Chilean collection of plants and seeds from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh is held in the southern hemisphere garden, together with plants from Tasmania, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil, some of which have been collected by the present owners on their travels.
There is also a Walled Garden, a Vegetable Garden, late Summer border and Shrub Rose border. The curved wall has been re-stocked with fan-trained fruit trees and the two orchards contain a collection of Victorian fruit trees, along with a recently planted collection of Irish apple trees.
Ticket numbers for the visit are limited to 45.
The cost is £24 (plus Eventbrite booking fee of £2.34) for members and also for a limited number of personal guests.
The visit will be between 2.00pm and 5.00 pm.
The visit will include the gardens, a guided tour of the complete house and refreshments in the marquee at the rear of the house.
Because visits to the house are limited to 15 people per group, tours of the house will be at 2.00 pm (15 people), 3.00 pm (15 people) and 4.00 pm (15 people).
Tickets for the house tours will be allocated on arrival. If you would prefer to go on the 4.00 pm house tour, you may wish to arrive slightly later than 2.00 pm but please leave sufficient time to enable you to enjoy the gardens and refreshments beforehand.
You are welcome to wear a mask for the tour of the house and elsewhere if you wish.
The afternoon should give sufficient time for members to enjoy the gardens, the house tour and refreshments. You can also take the opportunity to visit the Anglo-Norman Cistercian Abbey ruins.