22 | August | 2013 | jensinewall

Tags

fermangah, Florenc Court, friends, Ireland, northern Island, photography, photos, travel

With my New Zealand friend still occupying my spare bed and my house becoming more and more cluttered we decided to take a trip up North to visit a mutual friend. She followed her heart up there a few years ago and now lives near the stunning lakes of County Fermanagh. With two big double bed guestrooms and an acre of land to call her own, her living situation couldn’t be more different than mine.

Arriving late we spent the evening enjoying wine and each others company, catching up until past three in the morning, or at least some of us did as Miss New Zealand and Mr Fermanagh fled the scene early on in the evening, each to the own beds and some sleep.

The following day was a mixture of sunshine and rain, but warm, so we took the car for a spin and visited Florence Court, a beautiful old estate just outside of Enniskillen. This stunning 18th century home and it’s lovely grounds is the perfect place for a little ramble and some fresh air. Of course I had my camera on my shoulder and took photos as we strolled around the park.

Towards the end of our little trip we wandered around the beautiful walled garden and bumped into the gardener who was tending to the vegetable patch. With the help of volunteers the garden grows fruit and vegetables for the local eateries, basically bring local produce onto the communities tables.

As I chatted to the gardener about his produce the old flirt in me came out to play. And even though I may not have gotten a phone number (he was way to old for me anyway) I did go home with some fresh Fermanagh Onions!