Another little gem to visit, if you are near Kilkenny, is Shankill Castle in Paulstown - I passed it one day whilst driving the scenic route to Kilkenny and was intrigued. Of course on my first attempt to visit it was closed, as it is only open Thursday to Sunday, April to October and I was passing through on a Monday.
We did, however, make it down on the correct day after that, although we left it very late and unfortunately didn't have time to sit in the gorgeous café. It was such a hot day when we visited and it would have been lovely to sit out with some coffee but that's on my to do list for next visit!
It has a gorgeous relaxed atmosphere and the walled garden was just stunning, absolutely full of butterflies and the glorious scent of sweet pea




It was so nice to wander around the garden in the sun and head then over towards the house. We also tasted some of the yummy raspberries :)


We didn't have time to do the house tour although I would like to have a longer day there and fit in the tour as well, because I think it would be really interesting. It is now owned by the Copes, an artistic family who run lots of events and have spent much time restoring the house.
The grounds are just full of gentle charm and it really is a very beautiful spot to visit. There is an old church and graveyard which is another thing for next time. We didn't get to see everything but I really wanted to share this gorgeous spot with you before their season ends.




You can check out the Shankill Castle Website here - admission for the garden is €5 per person and for the house tour and gardens it is €10. I can't comment on the value of the house tour but we paid for the gardens only and it was well worth it and we would have spent longer there if we'd gotten to it earlier in the day.
Do bear in mind that they are only open until October if you want to fit in a visit.