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While I intended to spend about 5 days in Ireland, plans changed! I ended up landing Saturday evening with a scheduled departure for Sunday afternoon. Not a whole lot of time to do anything, and I certainly didn’t achieve my goal of sleeping in a castle. My Saturday night was pretty low key with dinner at a local pub with my dear friend and a walking tour of his neighborhood, Swords. While I couldn’t pull off sleeping in a castle this trip, I did find Powerscourt, a gorgeous estate located near a waterfall. And if you know me, you know I love castles and waterfalls! My host assured me we could hit up both in the morning and have me at the airport in plenty of time for my flight home.
Powerscourt Estate is located just south of Dublin, nestled in the Wicklow Mountains. We arrived at the estate and gardens just as the doors opened and to my disbelief the sun was shining in Ireland! If you notice the sky in these photos, you’ll see it didn’t last too long.
While I only had a brief time in the gardens, I highly recommend you plan to spend at least half a day here and enjoy a coffee or meal on the terrace overlooking this stunning view. We saw everything on the map as we wandered through the beautiful gardens, but I didn’t truly have a chance to take everything in and appreciate all of its beauty. Below are a few of my favorite things, but there’s plenty more of you to explore on your own should you have the chance.
The Italian Garden
As you descend down the stairs into the various gardens, the first you will encounter is the Italian garden. The Italian Garden consists of several terraces, the lake with fountain, and Italian style flowers and trees. It was the first part of the garden to be built, but its completion took many years.
These winged horses watch over Lake Triton in the Italian Garden. They’re among the first things you see as you enter the gardens.
Tower Valley
The estate house isn’t open for the public to wander around. There’s a gift shop and the restaurant, but I’m not too sure what else goes on in that building. Luckily the lookout tower is available for explorers and from the top you get a great view of the house and Sugarloaf Mountain. And don’t forget, when that lookout tower was built hundreds of years ago, the trees weren’t quite that tall, so the view was a little better!
The view of Powerscourt from the Tower.
Even though the trees make the tower look smaller than it appeared many years ago, you can see it is still quite a large structure compared to me!
The Tower on site offering lovely views of the mountains and estate.
Dolphin Pond & Walled Gardens
There’s no denying that dolphins are some of the most beautiful creatures on Earth. This small pond has been on the estate since the early days, and eventually the Dolphin fountain was added to enhance the beauty of this pond. You can see the stunning gates of the Walled Garden in the background of the photo below. Inside the walled garden you’ll find many varieties of plants and flowers. Some I’d never seen before!
The Dolphin Pond, named for its fountain.
While the beauty of this garden arrangement is simple and elegant, it really makes you think about how difficult it actually is to maintain this entire estate. Everything is pristine and orderly. I can barely keep an orchid alive.
This is the Julia Memorial, one of the sweetest places in the gardens. It was built by a son in memory of his mother. The four statues are four great Italian artists: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Benvenuto Cellini.
Powerscourt Waterfall
Powerscourt Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in Ireland, is just a 10 minute drive away from the estate. This is a great spot for a hike, a cookout, or grabbing an ice cream from the snack stand. As I mentioned, I was in a rush, but I took a few minutes to dip my toes in at the base of the waterfall and snap a few photos. My friend hiked around the rocks a bit before we headed back to Dublin.
I might be slightly overdressed and completely unprepared for a hike, but it makes for a nice photo.
Powerscourt Waterfall is the tallest in Ireland and only a ten minute drive from the estate.
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The Powercourt Valley is stunning. The exteriors itself are so enthralling , that I wonder what it would be within the powercourt. And that waterfall is just tempting. Can you wade through it? 🙂
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You can! It’s full of stones and low water with a small stream. It’s nice to just dip your toes in and cool off a little, but not deep enough to really swim!
Lovely blog article and thank you for visiting and recommending us! I have shared it on our Powerscourt Estate Facebook page!
Warmest Regards
Carmel
Thank you! I had a lovely time and hope to be back again one day when I have a little more time!
Lovely! I see you like castles, i think Slovenia would be the place for you. Google the Predjama castle, i can totally see you there:)
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Wow, Powerscourt is such an enchanting place!! The garden is so well maintained and beautiful. Overall this looks like an ideal day trip from Dublin city.
Gorgeous! You got some amazing shots. I love waterfalls and never miss a chance to see one. I would love to see this one in person.
This is just spectacular. I LOVE castles too and despite the hundreds I’ve seen I always think each one is like I’m seeing one for the first time. Such beautiful gardens and to have a waterfall closeby as well, what a great place. I really love that photo of the tower peeking out from the foliage. Just beautiful.
What a romantic day away! You’re right – this is definitely not hiking attire, however it does make for lovely photos. I had to do a double take on the Italian Gardens shot as I actually thought it was a park I had visited in Rome!
Those pictures look like a scene from a romantic or disney movie but also mixed with scenes from Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter (the waterfall in particular).
Really enchanting!
We went last December and are going again this December. It is very impressive even in Winter.
Oh wow, I wouldn’t have expected that. But good to know!
Very astounding and magnificent place. It is like a fairy tale coming true. I am sure you felt like a princess.
This looks lovely! I’m ashamed as a Brit to say I’ve never been to Ireland, I hope I manage to go before we leave the EU!!!!! :O
I love the dress! Beautiful flowy princess in the wilderness! I cant believe you were in ireland for such a short time!
I am kind of sad that you didn’t get the chance to sleep in a castle. But Powerscourt is such a gorgeous place and it is so close to Dublin. I love your dress but definitely not something I will wear for a day out roaming.
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These gardens are spectacular. the Italian garden you pictured could have been in Italy. This looks like a great place to spend a day exploring
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This would be a lovely place to wander around and pretend to be royalty for a day, right? What beautiful gardens and lakes and statues.
There are just so many places around Dublin that are almost unspeakably beautiful although this really looks to be something a little bit spiecial. The grounds really are wonderfully elegant and it looks almost like they could film some Downton Abbey there! It’s particularly nice to see the perfectly maintained gardens in the foreground and the wild, rolling hills in the background… really enjoyable post
The dress looks stunning against the waterfall. This is beautiful. I extra appreciate it because I love the outdoors 🙂
What a gorgeous place! I love how the classic architecture blends with the scenery. And those gardens and waterfalls, Amazing! What a perfect place to explore
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