Gardens and Parks in Waterford City

The City has plenty of open spaces from the People’s Park in the centre of the City, to smaller parks scattered across the City to Waterford Nature Park - one of the largest urban parklands in the country.

The People’s Park which is adjacent to the City Centre offers a relaxing environment for strollers, joggers, skate boarders and families. There are two playgrounds in the park for different age groups as well as a skate board park. The bandstand in the centre of the park is often used during the summer months for musical performances. The beautifully restored Park Lodge Café is a delightful spot to enjoy some light refreshments.

Waterford Nature Park, which covers approximately 50 acres, is an oasis within the City environment and serves as a wonderful local and regional public amenity for recreational and educational use. The park can be used in a wide variety of ways as it includes walking routes, play equipment, exercise spaces, nature trails, integrated wetlands, wildflower meadows and wildlife areas. It has a two kilometre walkway as well as a series of paths which traverse the park. The paths are a mixture of tarmacadam, as well as paths mown through the meadows, which will allow children to interact closely with nature. Stones collected in the park have been used to construct low stone walls which created small fields, which were then planted with flower and meadow seeds which in turn have become home to a variety of insects and butterflies.
café.

There are a number of other public playgrounds in the City including the Railway Square Playground located on Manor Street with a railway theme which commemorates the railway station originally located here.  A number of the original towers from the City Wall are located close by including the Watch Tower, Double Tower, Semi Lunar Tower and St John’s Priory. Also close by in St John’s Lane is Wyse Park, known locally as the ‘little park’. The park which was originally an early Quaker burial ground was donated to Waterford City Council by the Waterford Quakers on the condition that ‘the place be kept in decent order and under supervision as an open space in perpetuity for the benefit of the City’. On the Dunmore Road close to the Waterford Bowl/ Kidzone is another playground and multi use games area with basket ball hoops.

 Gardens
Waterford City has some of the most beautiful gardens in the country.  A visit to Waterford isn't complete without a visit to one or two, here are some to include in your trip:

Fairbrook House, Garden & Museum of Contemporary Figurative Art
Six acres of a former woollen mill (since 1776) have been changed into paradise . This romantic walled garden, situated at the river Dawn, was first established in 1994 by renowned Dutch artists Wout Muller and Clary Mastenbroek and evolved over the years. Ruins of the mill have been integrated in the garden design. Stones from former buildings have been recycled into walls, raised borders, obelisks and magic standing stones. Special water features, patio area’s ,lavender, fruit & wisteria walk, fire garden, fernery, bonsai, hidden garden. Woodland garden with historic millpond. Museum with unique art of Muller and Mastenbroek. 

Open by appointment only from 1st May – 15th Sept,  Wednesday – Sunday.  Guided tours only, no children - no dogs.  Easy parking, refreshments by appointment served on terrace or conservatory.  Summer concert in the garden 6th of August.  For more information visit www.fairbrook-house.com, email art@fairbrook-house.com or tel: 051 384657.

Abbey Road Gardens
The rich soil and sheltered site of this three quarter acre garden are a legacy from its past.  This was originally the Abbey Farm and was part of the medieval abbey of Killculliheen.  The garden is laid out in a series of garden rooms, some planted intensively and some calm green areas.  The owner/gardener is a passionate plants person who likes to grow unusual herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs with a special interest in Irish cultivars.  There are some small water features, scree beds and a lovely sheltered courtyard at the back of the house which houses a collection of pots of seasonal interest and this is a pleasant place to enjoy a cup of tea which is always included in the visit.
 
Opening Times: 2.00pm to 6.00pm from June 4th to June 20th 2011.  At any other time we will please call Margaret first on 0872209026.  Groups always welcome by prior arrangement.
 
Partly wheelchair accessible, toilet, limited unusual plants for sale.
Admission €5 (includes refreshments)
 
Directions;  Cross Rice Bridge from city ,  turn right,  keep in centre lane , go through traffic lights and take next turn right onto Abbey Road.  Pass Abbey Community College and over railway bridge, garden is on left on the bend.

Mount Congreve
The gardens at Mount Congreve consist of around seventy acres of intensively planted woodland garden and a four acre walled garden. Mr.Ambrose Congreve was inspired by Mr. Lionel de Rothschild's exceptional garden at Exbury in Hampshire, England. It was here that his interest in gardening was nurtured and he became infected with Lionel de Rothschild's passion and enthusiasm for plants such as Rhododendrons, Magnolias, Camellias and indeed many other flora from every continent in the world.

It was not until 1955 that he began to make large clearings in the woodlands to create the necessary conditions where the plants thrive. With the arrival of Mr. Herman Dool in the early sixties, who was Garden Director for thirty-nine years, the two men set about creating what is said by the Horticultural Society of Massachusetts to be a ‘Great Garden of the World’.

Words can only convey a small impression of what Mount Congreve has to offer. To get a full appreciation of what has been achieved here in such a short time one has to visit the garden as the seasons unfold. Visiting a garden like Mount Congreve gives people the opportunity to view plants from all around the world.

The gardens are open to the public on Thursdays, March to September inclusive, between the hours of 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. Admission is free of charge and is restricted to adults only. No dogs are permitted.

Guided tours for groups may be arranged by writing to The Estate Office, Mount Congreve Estate, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford. info@mountcongreve.com,tel: 051 384511 The fee charged is €15 per person, with a minimum of ten persons and a maximum of thirty persons. Visit the website at http://www.mountcongreve.com/