The Gardens of Powerscourt

Last week, when we left Paddy and Plunkett, they were halfway around the wonderful gardens at Powerscourt Estate, just south of Dublin in Co. Wicklow. They’ve seen a lot already…
…But there’s still plenty left for curious Beasties to explore! Let’s join them as they’re taking a breather in the peaceful environs of the arboretum. What great, deep conversations are they having on that elegant stone bench, I wonder?
“Reminds me a bit of the scenes on Endor from Return of the Jedi, this place.”
“No way, Plunkett! It’s the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, from the Harry Potter films!”

Uh-oh, this could get ugly. Quick, let’s distract them with games… Pine cone football, anyone?
Or how about a round of hide and seek? There must be millions of good hiding places in here!
“Found you, Paddy! Now it’s my turn to hide.”

But, as usual, Paddy has a trick up his woolly sleeves.
“If I climb up this gate…”
“…I’ll be able to see everything!”

The gates in the gardens at Powerscourt are something else – the one Paddy has chosen to scale here is the Venetian Gate, which has been a feature here since 1900. Its curling vine leaf design makes it the perfect way to enter the Herbaceous Border section of the gardens, and it’s positively gleaming since its restoration in 2016. Or how about the Bamberg Gate?
It originally graced the entrance of Bamberg Cathedral in Germany, and is 240 years old! It also recently had a facelift, and even the attendant eagles on the pillars got a shiny new coat of gold paint.

Ah – while we’ve been admiring the gates, Paddy has uncovered Plunkett’s secret hiding place. Now they’re off to have a better look at the walled garden. Inspired by his recent gate-climbing exploits, Paddy is keen to convince Plunkett to enjoy the views from on high as well.
“Come on, Plunkett! Nearly there!”
“This had better be worth it… Oh, look at those statues!”
“And what’s that up on the hill?”

The boys have no choice but to investigate further… Although they make time to stop for lunch along the way.
And, at journey’s end, they find themselves in a very peculiar place.
It’s the old family pet cemetery! Much less scary than the one in the Stephen King story, this one has memorials to faithful hounds and, if you look at the older headstone on the right, less conventional “pets” like cows get a look-in too.

But the boys can’t help wondering about the headstone they’re standing beside in the photo – what type of animal was Teddy? And what exactly brought about his mysterious, “accidental” demise? Join them in their wild speculations in the comments below – it is nearly Hallowe’en, after all!

And we’ll be back next week, with more monster shenanigans… See you then!