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!
“Greetings from Powerscourt House, everyone!”
Powerscourt House is in County Wicklow, and it’s only about half an hour south of Dublin. You wouldn’t think it, would you? The house is set in spectacular and varied gardens, and has made Lonely Planet’s list of the 
So, while Plunkett has been enjoying the spectacle of the house, Triton Lake and the Italian Gardens, all set against the backdrop of the Sugar Loaf Mountain, where has Paddy gone? I thought he’d at least be trying to persuade one of those winged horses to take off and give him an aerial view of the grounds… Oh wait, there he is.
… And wait by the stone lantern for Plunkett to catch up!
The Japanese Garden was created in 1908 by the 8th Viscount and Viscountess Powerscourt, making it one of the newer features of the grounds. But funnily enough, the boys stumbled on one of the oldest parts just around the corner – the grotto!
“Paddy, look at all this wonderful moss!”
“Paddy! It’s a Beastie-sized waterfall! I could stay and watch it all day…”
“Hey, what’s that weird-looking building in among the rocks?”
Sold! As we know, 
Let’s go inside!
Aha! Nice one, Plunkett… You’ve found the fish pond!
What did he want a pool for? Well, in the dark days before the fridge-freezer, a “fish larder” like this one meant that the family could keep sea fish handy and fresh all year round!
“Smugglers! It has to be smugglers!”
In here, fish are raised from teeny fry to adult size… Then they can move to the main pool.
Wow, they’re friendly! They must love the camera… Or could it be that they know when John the guide is coming around with his bucket of fish food?
Is it the perfect Beastie-sized house? Not quite.
Luckily, the days of segregated sea bathing here are long gone, and Paddy can enjoy a view of the shallow pool without outraging anyone’s delicate sensibilities. He almost looks like he’d like to go for a dip himself!
Look! There’s even a fireplace inside, so getting dried off afterwards wouldn’t be a problem!
Plunkett likes it too, despite his initial reservations.
“Maybe we should stay here for the winter. I reckon they’d like a pair of resident Beasties!”
It seems the locals are pleasant, too. We all know about how well 
Then, on the horizon… Look, a lighthouse!
“Look, Paddy! It’s open!”
But alas, Paddy will have to stick to admiring the lighthouse from ground level. The Beasties’ small stature has 
Paddy is planning to take it a step further. He’s pretty sure everyone wants to hear his rendition of “Ode to Joy” blasted out over the sea at 120 decibels.
How could any adventurous Beastie resist a signpost like this one? So many possibilities!
Looks nice and peaceful, doesn’t it? But just as Plunkett is unwrapping his sandwiches in preparation for a nice quiet lunch in the countryside…
Looks like the boys might have stumbled upon the home of Velocity 2 – the fastest zipline in the world!
Plunkett is happy to pose with the sign, even though he is secretly dreaming of getting back to his picnic. But Paddy is hungry for adventure… And his curiosity leads him deeper into the building.
Later, Paddy rejoins Plunkett at the bottom of the quarry. Plunkett has had a lovely afternoon of munching cheese and pickle sandwiches and watching the humans hurtling down the zipline. And he’s very interested to get a Paddy’s-eye view!
Well, that’s all the proof I need. Well done, Paddy! Although I really don’t know how your next adventure will ever compete with this one…
That’s right, it wouldn’t be a Paddy and Plunkett day out if they weren’t wreaking havoc on a train somewhere… And this time it’s the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway that’s getting the Beastie treatment. Luckily for them, the railway has a monster of its own to keep these two under control – the legendary Welsh Red Dragon!
Nope, definitely not.
Fortunately, Plunkett has got some sense into his woolly head – juuuuuust in time, by the looks of things!
I tried to ID Paddy and Plunkett’s train, but I didn’t get too far… Are there any locals out there who can help?
“This Gelert must have been a pretty important person!” says Paddy.
Hanging out with all those owlets certainly put a smile back on Paddy’s woolly face.
“Plunkett! PLUNKETT! Can you see the keys for these anywhere? I think I’d like to take one of them for a spin!”
But Paddy and Plunkett were in a bit of a pickle when we left them 
Fortunately, I was getting all alarmed over nothing… Turns out that this rather large octopus is a big fan of the boys, and couldn’t wait to snatch them up for a hug and a photo!
Anything else lurking in the shadows? The 
He’s wandered into the Seahorse Nursery, another of the Sea Zoo’s ongoing conservation projects.
Pollution of the world’s oceans with plastic is already having a serious impact on marine life… And unless we fix this plastic problem, all of the fantastic creatures Paddy and Plunkett met here could vanish from the seas forever! They don’t want to see this any more than I do, so they asked me to wrap up this post by sharing a few little things we can all do to bin the plastic… For good.
The Menai Strait is the narrow stretch of water that separates the island of Anglesey from the Welsh mainland. It looks calm enough here, doesn’t it? But strong and ever-changing tidal currents make it highly unpredictable and tricky to cross. In the past, this served the locals well – Anglesey was one of the last refuges of the Druids, at a time when they were being displaced all over Britain by the arrival of the Romans.
The Lobster Hatchery is one of several conservation projects based here in Anglesey Sea Zoo. Overfishing in the 1980s meant that local wild lobster populations took a huge hit, so the Hatchery is here to help them get back on their spiny little feet. The main focus of their work is a captive breeding programme, but research and education are also important aspects of what they do.
Well, moon jellies, if you’re going to be particular about it… But they do have an otherworldly look to them, don’t they? He could have watched them for hours – which is unusual for Paddy!
And although Paddy was momentarily distracted by the starfish that was taking a stroll across the front of the tank…
… It wasn’t long before he found a new way to pass the time – playing hide and seek with the fish!
But what’s that stirring in the hidden depths of the aquarium? Uh-oh!
By all accounts, Paddy was ready to storm off in a huff… Until Plunkett corrected himself. Parys Mountain is a mine – in fact, during its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the largest copper mine in Europe.
“Look, Plunkett! Blue and orange rocks!”
“Hmmmm, what have we here? An old stone windmill, perhaps for pumping water out of the mineshafts? Fascinating! And look at that stonework!”
“Wow! That’s pretty incredible!”
It really is! And all the more so when you remember that this massive hole in the ground…
This beautiful beach with its tempting turquoise waters greeted the boys as they set out from 
“Plunkett! LOOK!”
… He will be able to admire its 21 soaring arches in relative peace.
The port at Mallaig is the gateway to the Western Isles, and although Paddy would happily have traded in his rail ticket for the chance to be captain of a pirate ship, Plunkett gently reminded him that this post is supposed to be about trains. Speaking of which… We’ve another one to catch! Don’t be late!
Plunkett reckoned that it was close enough – this still-active steam train is 
A few trains later, the boys were back in Glasgow… And because travelling Beasties know how to have a good time, they invited themselves into an empty penthouse suite in a nearby hotel for a little R&R.
“Can’t talk! Eating!”
“Not bad at all! Hey Plunkett, where are we off to next?”