Side Trips from Dublin - Dublin - page 159

Kilruddery House & Gardens This estate has been the seat
of the earl of Meath since 1618. The original part of its mansion,
dating from 1820, features a Victorian conservatory modeled on the
Crystal Palace in London. The gardens are a highlight, with a lime
avenue, a sylvan theater, foreign trees, exotic shrubs, twin canals,
and a fountain-filled, round pond edged with beech hedges. They
are the only surviving 17th-century French-style gardens in Ireland.
Kilruddery, Bray, County Wicklow (off the N11). & 01/286-3405. House and gar-
den tour

€ 8 ($9.65) adults, € 6 ($7.50) seniors and students, € 3 ($3.60) children;

gardens only 2 ($2.40) children.

House May-June and Sept daily 1-5pm; gardens Apr weekends 1-5pm, May-Aug
daily 1-5pm.

€ 5 ($6) adults, € 4 ($4.80) seniors and students, €

Mount Usher Gardens Encompassing 8 hectares (20 acres)
along the River Vartry, this sylvan site was once home to an ancient
lake and more recently laid out in the informal, free-range “Robin-
sonian” style. It contains more than 5,000 tree and plant species from
all parts of the world, including spindle trees from China, North
American swamp cypresses, and Burmese juniper trees. Fiery rhodo-
dendrons, fragrant eucalyptus trees, giant Tibetan lilies, and snowy
camellias also compete for your attention. Informal and responsive to
their natural setting, these gardens have an almost untended feel—a
floral woodland, without pretense yet with considerable charm. A
spacious tearoom overlooks the river and gardens. The courtyard at
the entrance to the gardens contains an interesting assortment of
shops, which are open year-round.
Ashford, County Wicklow (off the N11). & 0404/40116. http://homepage.eircom.
net/~gardens. Admission € 6 ($7.50) adults; € 5 ($6) seniors, students, and children

5-12; € 22 ($27) families. Guided tours € 10 ($12); call for appointment. Mar

17-Oct 31 daily 10:30am-6pm.

National Sea Life Centre Admittedly, the national aquar-
ium and sea park offers good family fun, but it's woefully overpriced
considering its small size. Situated at water's edge, the center pro-
vides a child-focused introduction to the denizens of the deep. The
labyrinthine path through the aquarium begins with a rock tunnel
carved by a winding freshwater stream; from there, you follow the
water's course toward the open sea, from freshwater river to tidal
estuary to storm-pounded harbor and finally to the briny deep.
Along the way, kids are quizzed on what they're learning, as they use
“magic” glasses to read coded questions and find the answers on spe-
cial scratchpads they've been given. One remarkable feature here is
the close access visitors have to the sea life. When you bend over and
eyeball the fish, they as often as not return the favor, surfacing and

Kids