Chasing Summer –

About 20 minutes drive south from Belfast is Hillsborough and the residence where heads of state and royal family members reside when they come to Northern Ireland.

Technically, it isn’t a castle, but more of a royal manor house, but people liked to call their homes castles to make them sound grander than they were. Princess Anne was here in April and signed the registry. Of course, because of its status, absolutely no pictures are allowed of the interior even though you only go into the more public rooms. Enterance room, receiving room, library, dining room, and a few more official rooms.

The estate is in the village of Hillsborough, and yes, it is on a hill, but that isn’t why it’s called Hillsborough. The town itself has a couple of pubs, coffee shops and an impressive looking church. On the other side of the village are the remains of the original fort where the Hill family originally lived and which the village grew around and got its name from.

Entry to the castle is from Wednesday to Sunday and costs 20 pounds. We went on Monday when they opened just for us. The guided tour is about 45 minutes long, and unlike many historical homes, nothing is roped off, so you do need to stay with the guide and not touch anything.

The castle has seen a lot of politics and, like most historic buildings, was partially destroyed in a fire in 1934 and rebuilt. The story of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens | Hillsborough Castle | Historic Royal Palaces (hrp.org.uk)

As nice as the castle is, the real reason to visit is the gardens. There is almost 100 acres of land, with several gardens spread throughout the area. They are lovely already, and I can only imagine in the full bloom of summer how spectacular they’ll be.

Pineapples play an important role in the history of this property. Back before shipping allowed exotic fruits and vegetables to be brought easily across the ocean pineapples were a symbol of wealth and generosity. Families that could get a pineapple as table decoration were considered lucky and wealthy.

On the grounds are two overgrown pineapple houses where the family grew pineapples to rent for events or to buy.

There is also a gift shop and cafe at the site as well. Since we were there on a day when they usually don’t open the cafe was not in service but the gift shop was.

Definitely worth a visit.