People ask me how does it feel to do back-to-back tours when you end up going to the same places twice and seeing the same things one more time.
My response is always the same: Fantastic.
But the biggest challenge is not comparing one moment with another. It doesn’t work. You have to accept each day, each moment, as a unique event. It is no point comparing what a garden looked like two weeks ago to what it looks like today.
However, it’s a funny thing, but most gardeners will often say to you ‘You should have been here last week’ or ‘It’s a pity you won’t be here next week because this will be in bloom.” But the point is, each moment is perfect – and it is, after all, certainly the only moment there is.
From Portmeirion, we headed over to Crug Farm Plants outside Caernarfon, where Bleddyn Wynn-Jones, esteemed plantsman, plant collector and plant hunter, very kindly escorted us around his beautiful garden, pointing out all sorts of rare and unusual specimens.
The sun came out and Caernarfon Castle looked extraordinary in the bright light. The town was busy and bustling, especially in the market square.
This town is one of the hotbeds for Welsh speaking people. The language is spoken naturally and with great enthusiasm everywhere.
We popped into the Black Boy pub – a pub that dates back to the 16th century. Inside members of my group had fun dressing up in Welsh costume and hats.
Before taking the ferry from Holyhead, we stopped once again at the town with the very long Welsh name. No one can say it.
In Dublin, we started our visit by going to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. We also enjoyed seeing the Long Room and I noticed that one of the busts featured the Duke of Wellington who clearly had a very prominent and aristocratic nose.
Skipping around Dublin, we visited some of the key Georgian squares and houses that were once homes of the rich and powerful when Dublin was the “second most important” capital in the Commonwealth before the parliament here was moved to London.
At the Guinness factory, we were entertained by stories of Arthur Guinness’s incredible career and business acumen and his wisdom in signing a 9,000 year lease for the property.
Here are some more general photos of the last few days on my second England-Wales-Ireland Garden Tour.
