Millstreet Country Park. The Best of Venison. So Much More

Millstreet Country Park

The Best of Venison. So Much More

Mont des Arts. Looking down and (below) looking up
as the water flows down the steps

Sat down for lunch in the café at Millstreet Country Park the other day. After all it was time for a break after a couple of hours walking through part of this amazing place, full of surprises, its gardens, water features, walks and bike rides, lakes and ponds, bogs and mountains. And Red Irish deer, of course.

The menu is short as you’d expect. But no shortage of food or drink (everything from water to wine). I spotted Venison in a sandwich and ordered it immediately. It was absolutely delicious, amazingly tender. Our server mentioned something about the owner's recipe and strict instructions but she wasn't revealing any secrets!

Delicious venison

We had started with a hearty bowl of soup (4.50) - it wasn't the warmest day of the week! And our other dish was a Sweet Chilli Chicken (chicken, chilli mayo, onion, tomato and mixed leaves). Another excellent dish for just €5.50. My MCP Special consisted of the venison, relish (superb), cheese and onion, leaves and slaw and came to €6.00. Oh by the way, the venison, butchered by Finn’s in Mitchelstown, is on sale here.

Circus Fountain

Nibbles is the name of the cafe and it is newly built, very comfortable and well equipped to deliver a relaxed dining experience serving hearty soups, gourmet sandwiches, selection of cakes and treats, speciality coffees, teas and hot chocolates. Much of the produce comes from the farm, their tunnel and gardens along with some from the wild (all part of the Foraging Trail). There is also a bistro here, open for the major events and available too for private functions. Both have terrific views over the park and nearby mountains.

The park is between Millstreet and Macroom and we could have taken the main roads but instead went cross-country, via Blarney, Tower and Rylane. From Rylane we headed for Aubane and it was here, just two hundred metres before the turn-off for the park, that we came across two plaques, one at either side of the narrow hilly road.

This little road was part of the famous Butter Road where farmers from as far away as Castleisland brought their containers of butter to the Butter Exchange in Cork City’s Shandon for much of the 18th and 19th centuries when Cork was regarded as the Butter Capital of the world. Here in Aubane there is a flat rock, known as the Kerryman’s table, and here the weary travellers rested.

Fairy Trail

The plaque at the other side also commemorates the Butter Road and its contractor John Murphy of Castleisland. This was unveiled in 1998 by the chairman of Dairygold and the butter used in Nibbles is by Dairygold of course! This is their area - the Kerrymen were only passing through. Read more about this particular butter road here.

Gardens galore

Aside from the food, the Park is a marvellus place to visit, great too if you have kids. The youngsters will enjoy the space, the bikes, the water (they have nets and rubber ducks for them), the large shuffleboard area, the Fairy Trail and more. It is popular for school tours and camps.

For the adults, in the Leisure Zone, there are gardens galore including a Sensory, Rose, Bee, Music and the Tertiary Garden. In the Active Zone, you’ll find the Wetlands, a Stone Circle, an Obstacle Course and much more. And in the Wilderness Zone, there are Picnic Areas, the Blanket Bog and the Hedge School Site and that’s just a fraction.

The highlights around the Visitor Centre are perhaps the two water features, the lovely Circus Fountain and the amazing Mont Des Arts. The latter, constructed in 2009, is a replica of the original Mont des Arts built in the central square in Brussels for the Universal Exposition of 1910.

And, of course, you have to see the red deer. In summer, the population peaks at about 250. By the way, the deer farm here is organic. Venison is processed by John Finn in Mitchelstown and the burgers are made by Jerry Pat O’Leary, a craft butcher in Millstreet. Check the latest venison prices here.

Games

Ballymaloe Garden Festival

Ballymaloe Garden Festival
Marking Ballymaloe's 50th Anniversary

Welcome!

Naturally enough, there will be quite a focus on food when the second annual Ballymaloe Garden Festival is held on 30th and 31st of August. Klaus Laitenberger will show you how to grow organic vegetables, Debbie Shaw will tell you all about raw food while Michael Kelly will present his guide to growing your own food.  

If you feel hungry after all that gardening, you’ll have choices. The Big Shed will be in use again and there will be food served by local market heroes. And that’s not all. Tom and Johann Doorley will be on hand on Sunday to show you “how to eat your garden”. They believe that good food should be enjoyed by everybody and that cooking is therefore a vital life skill.

The Festival, to be held in the grounds at Ballymaloe House, promises to be a wonderful weekend full of garden workshops, walks, and talks, says Aoife McCann. “We will have specialist nursery stalls filled with seeds, rare and old fashioned trees, shrubs, climbers, perennials, fruit, culinary and medicinal herbs and garden equipment all manned by experts.”

FORM Sculpture trail

“It will be all about sustainable garden design, layered pruning, saving seeds and our traditional native heritage, demonstrating different methods of propagation, growing interesting and unusual food, forgotten skills of  bygone times, foraging for cuttings and flowers for fabulous floral arrangements, growing your own vegetables from seeds, growing a market garden business, a photography workshop, cookery demonstration, first aid from your garden, native Irish bees and so much more.”

“We will be joined this year by Gary Graham, Brian Cross, Caroline Holmes, Fiann Ó Nualláin, Michael Kelly, Debbie Shaw, Tom and Johann Doorley, Thady Barrett and many others ……The timetable of events is available here.”

This year sees Ballymaloe celebrate its 50th year and to mark this Susan Turner has designed a new garden for the Festival, set within the walled garden. Susan will give the opening talk of the festival introducing the  50th Year Anniversary Garden and her design.

Borage.

Richie Scott of Artistic Alliance, together with some of the exhibiting artists, will give tours of  FORM,  an outdoor sculpture exhibition on the grounds of Ballymaloe House.

“The Big Shed will be back with a children’s area, plant, craft and gardening tools stalls. Lots of free talks given by our garden experts. There will be food served by our local market heroes. A delicious time to be had while learning about saving seeds, our edible landscape, first aid from the garden, conservatory plants and garden equipment demonstrations.”

Cost of entry to the festival is €5 per adult, with children under 16 free. Entrance tickets available on the day.

The garden lectures and workshops held in the Grainstore/Walled Garden will be priced individually, tickets will be available on the day and on website .

Any enquiries please email GardenFestival@ballymaloe.com or phone Aoife on 087 2675022.

The magic gardens of Villandry. Chinon Market and the Wines of Bourgueil

Day 13

The magic gardens of Villandry. 

Chinon Market and the Wines of Bourgueil

Joachim Carvallo and Ann Coleman were the couple that, in the early 20^th century, bought Chateau Villandry and created the 16^th century style gardens that you can enjoy today. The chateau was built in 1536. We were there today and, with the aid of two very good booklets, enjoyed both the house and the gardens.

While the gardens are undoubtedly the star of the place there are many treasures inside the building. The one that really stood out was the Mudejar ceiling, which combines elements of both Christian and Moorish art and was brought by Carvallo from a 15^th century palace in Toledo.

From the chateau you step out on to high terraces overlooking the gardens and can walk all around, going down to different levels as you wish. The Ornamental Garden, also known as the Love Garden, is best seen from above but you do get closer to the Water Garden (most of the water is recycled) and there is also a Sun Garden and a Maze.

Perhaps the real star is the ornamental kitchen garden where flowers and vegetables mix, well over 115,000 of them! There is a standard rose bush in each plot. The work is ongoing. It takes four gardeners three months each year to prune the 1,015 lime trees! Also needing pruning are the box trees which, if placed end to end, would measure a distance of 52km. All in all, quite a spectacle

The Christian/Arab ceiling

Hot at the chateau today!

After that, it was time for a drink and we headed to the Maison Jean Carmet des Vins de Bourgueil.  Bourgueil wasn’t really damaged by the hailstones earlier in the year so they are looking forward to a good harvest. After a rapid fire tasting, I decided to concentrate on the good years there of 2005, 2009 and 2010. That filled a carton and off we went, intent on dinner.

House of wines!

My man at the market for wine, beer and juice.

It was already in the fridge. First job of the day had been a visit to the local market. Among other stalls, we called to the Asian specialist we met last week and bought those fantastic spring rolls again. Main course though is beef “with three delicacies”. Sipping a local craft beer now in anticipation!

By the way, the crowd at the market was well down on last week.  Looks as if most of the holiday makers have headed home.

St Joan of Arc rides in to the market

KITCHEN AT FOTA HOUSE

Fascinating tour! UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS at FOTA HOUSE 
See my full post here

Well equipped

The game carousel