The future visitor centre has largely completed its restoration and is awaiting the installation of the visitor centre components, which are currently under development. Our staff offices are also nearing completion with a new floor being laid.
Finished ceiling and light fixtures in Block 1
Block 3 and 4, the future Grange Hall, is also progressing well. The upstairs room of Block 4 (the one that had no roof and a breeze block back wall) is nearing completion and downstairs has flooring laid over the underfloor heating pipes. Block 3 is mostly refloored and plastering is also coming on well. The stairs and lift are the only major outstanding construction remaining.
In Block 7 the demolition has progressed well, with almost all the dividing walls removed to create three large open spaces, which will later be developed into the three community offices which will be available for hire. The changes in wall colours are the only sign remaining of the separate rooms that once existed. The roof tiles and insulation have also been stripped away to facilitate any necessary repairs prior to the space being made ready for use.
The future event space has the beginnings of the store walls installed. The metal supports are currently being surveyed for potential defects before they are either repainted or restored and repainted.
Block 8 Stone Walls
The most striking change by far is in the first courtyard, which has been getting its new surface for the last view months with the laying of cobbles (rounded stones) and setts (square stones), the installation of lights and the addition of golden-brown exposed concrete. An unusual vehicle with an extremely long boom arm was used to deliver the concrete, so that it could be pumped up and over Block 6 before being laid in the courtyard.
Boom delivery exposed concrete over Block 6
Exposed concrete being spread in Courtyard 1
The new exposed concrete certainly brightens the place up when compared with the previous black tarmac which covered most of the courtyard. When you eventually get to explore the new courtyard, you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for the stone star/flower in one of the cobbles. So far, I have come across one but haven’t had a chance to search for more.
In the Annesley Walled Garden we have gotten a refurbished Gothic gate and Ladies gate. The Terrace greenhouses will get the last of their new glass installed during the first week of October. We’ll miss the greenhouse work crew as they have become something of a feature of the Bothy Yard.
Once the roof was completed on the central vine house, the scaffolding was removed enabling the inside clearance of the glasshouse which revealed a water feature and small quirky bridge that hadn’t been seen in a long time. As you can see from the photos the inside of the glasshouse has a long way to go yet, but the garden team are itching to get started rejuvenating the soil and filling it with beautiful plants. In the meantime, they are adding rose beds to the grass in front of the vine house.
Vinehouse water feature
Quirky stone bridge
Over the next couple of months, the last of the storm damage will be cleared away. Tree surgeons will be on site tidying the damaged collection trees, removing fallen trees, remaining stumps from the initial clearance and associated wood piles. The affected grass areas will be landscaped and prepared for future planting. After the heavy machinery is done, the paths will be given a final spruce up. Last to be repaired will be the hole in the wall as it is useful for getting the heavy machinery and wood in and out of the garden without risking damage to the gates and paths. We will all be very glad to see the last corbel added to the top of the rebuilt wall, as it should symbolise the end of the restoration of the garden.
The Castlewellan Arboretum and Annesley Walled Garden is situated north of the foothills of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Come and rediscover the Annesley Walled Garden at Castlewellan Forest Park. Created and developed by generations of Annesleys, this internationally renowned Walled Garden has been restored as part of the Castlewellan Historic Demesne project co-funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The Castlewellan Annesley Garden Tree Trail leads visitors through the most historic and botanically significant parts of the garden, highlighting 26 notable trees and shrubs. These trees offer seasonal interest, vibrant colours, and botanical diversity throughout the year. Many of the specimens featured are champion trees, the tallest or broadest of their kind in the British Isles.
Castlewellan Forest Park is located on Forest Park View, Castlewellan, County Down, in a dramatic setting of mountains and sea. Castlewellan Forest Park has one of the most outstanding tree and shrub collections in Europe. The beauty, vigour and perfect shape of the trees in the National Arboretum attract tree enthusiasts from around the world.
