Thursday, July 21, 2016

Powerscourt Estate and Gardens

If you saw my latest outfit post you'll know that we visited Powercourt Estate and Gardens back in June. It was a beautiful day so I brought my camera with me to document our trip. I had wanted to visit Powerscourt for years but I'd never gotten around to it and it's under an hour away from Dublin so I had no excuse. I had seen countless photos of the estate and the gardens over the years but seeing it all in person blew me away.

Powerscourt estate was originally commissioned to be built on the site of a medieval castle in 1741 by the 1st Viscount of Powerscourt. Over the years an extra storey was added and it was was majorly refurbished in the late 19th century. In 1961 the Slazenger family bought it from the 9th Viscount Powerscourt. They spent the next 13 years restoring the house with the purpose of opening it as a tourist attraction but sadly in 1974 a fire broke out in the house leaving it in ruins for over 20 years. Thankfully the house has since been completely restored and in 1997 it was finally opened to the public.

Over the years Powerscourt has served as the location for many films and television productions beginning with Laurence Olivier's Henry V in 1944. Before the fire in 1974 it was the location for Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and since then The Count of Monte Cristo, King Arthur, Ella Enchanted and Tudors have all been partly filmed there. 


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These photographs don't do it justice but hopefully you can get some idea of how beautiful the place is, I'd love to go back in Winter to see it with all of the bare trees.

Visiting places like this makes me feel a little guilty that it's taken me so long to make a trip there but also excited that I live in a country with such a rich history and culture. I hope I continue with my exploration of Ireland, next on my list is the Giant's Causeway.

Have any of you been to Powerscourt or is there any famous places or tourist attractions in Ireland that you haven't yet visited and would like to?

Emma x

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