Glenveagh Castle

Leave your car at the visitor centre and take the minibus around the lake to Glenveagh Castle and its gardens. The heather and rose gardens, the rhododendrons, the laurels and pines, and busts and statues are all lovingly maintained, but the walled kitchen garden is especially memorable, with its profusion of flowers and tidy rows of vegetables divided by narrow, grass walkways. Surrounding this oasis of cultivated beauty are thousands of acres of wild countryside, where the largest herd of red deer in Ireland roam. Glenveagh Castle was built in 1870 by John Adair, using his American wife’s money, in a fanciful gothic design that was popular in the later part of the century. The rooms have been beautifully restored and, for a small fee, you can tour the house (arrive by 2 pm if you’re traveling in July and August). The Glenveagh estate was sold to the nation by the castle’s second owner, Henry McIlhenny, who is largely responsible for the design of the gardens. (Open Apr–Oct, tel: 074 37090.)