2 Best Sights in The Midlands, Ireland

The Lutyenses' house, once in the pretty Georgian village of Ballinakill, burned down in 1950 due to an electrical fault, but the gardens, with landscaping most likely attributable to the famed Gertrude Jekyll, are still worth a detour. Guided one-hour tours by prior booking (Monday--Thursday) are available through this gardener's paradise, where a formal lawn flanked by traditional herbaceous borders leads to a sunken Italian garden. Highlights include a rose called Natalie Naples and Johnston's Blue geraniums.

Connecting 10 of the county's celebrated formal gardens and expertly maintained privately owned ones, this driving route promotes the area's horticultural heritage. There's no trailhead for the tour so start the trail wherever you wish and spend as long as you'd like in each garden. Stops include the state-run gardens at Emo Court and Heywood House, as well as Gash Gardens in Castletown, which offers a delightful river walk along the banks of the Nore; the demesne gardens of Castle Durrow, with its glorious scented roses; and the organically managed potager-style kitchen garden of Dunmore Country School, just outside Durrow. For those interested and with time to spare, the Dunmore School also holds one-day gardening courses. There is a charge for only one garden, at Ballintubbert (€10); admission to the others is free.

Maps of the trail are available in Portlaoise Tourist Office based in the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Church Street.