Welcome to my weekly blog,  SATURDAY SESSIONS!

In this blog, for the perusal of all our students, past, present and future, I include an extract from our interactive presentation Course, Ireland and its Culture.

If you wish to ask me any question about the text, by the way, just send me an e-mail at greg@bluefeather.ie

POWERSCOURT GARDENS in County Wicklow, 'The Garden of Ireland'

The 2km-long avenue to Powersourt is lined with beech trees, hundreds of years old. On the right as you enter, you see the magnificent Powerscourt golf course.

Powerscourt was a Norman-Irish castle dating back to the 13th century and was reconstructed in 1741. (Stanley Kubrik's Barry Lyndon was filmed there.  Great film! An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th century England.)

Today, the big house hosts a variety of quality shops and restaurants. The location - with a superb view of the Sugarloaf Mountain - and the design of the buildings and delightful gardens is irresistible for photographers.

Powerscourt Gardens were recently voted by the National Geographic as the third most beautiful gardens in the world, after Versailles in Paris and Kew Gardens in the south of England! 

To walk around the Italian and Japanese gardens on a sunny day and enjoy the splendour of the huge variety of trees is a great pleasure. There is also a Pet Cemetery.

The Waterfall nearby, the highest in Ireland at 121 metres, is a lovely spot for  a picnic.