Antrim Castle Gardens & Clotworthy House
Laid out in the 1660s in the Franco-Dutch style, Antrim Castle Gardens are among the best-preserved formal gardens in Ireland, complete with a canal, lime-tree avenue and geometric parterres. Clotworthy House, the handsome arts centre at their heart, adds culture to the greenery.
A Garden Frozen in Time
The centrepiece is the long canal — a mirror of sky and willow — flanked by clipped yew hedges that have stood for more than three centuries. Walking its length feels like stepping into a Dutch Golden Age painting, right in the middle of a Northern Irish market town.
Restoration work has returned the parterres to their original geometric precision, with gravel paths, box hedging and seasonal planting that shifts colour from spring bulbs through to autumn dahlias. Early morning, when mist sits on the water, is the most atmospheric time to visit.
Clotworthy House & the Wider Estate
The 17th-century Clotworthy House now functions as a community arts centre hosting local exhibitions, craft fairs and events — pick up a piece by a Northern Irish maker before you leave.
Beyond the formal garden, woodland walks thread through mature trees to the banks of the Six Mile Water river, where kingfishers are a regular sighting. The whole estate is free to enter and rarely crowded, even on summer weekends.
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