Ballymaloe House is set on 300 acres of land, a combination of gardens, woodlands, and farmland.
We encourage our guests to explore the grounds, we provide a map to help navigate the estate along with a pair of wellingtons, allowing you to wonder effortlessly along the paths which are suitable for every fitness level. The longest walking trail is approximately 1 hour and meanders along woodland paths, estate boundaries and the Ballymaloe farm parameters.
For those who appreciate horticulture, a short walk to the walled garden is sure to be a highlight. Organically managed garden provides us with a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers, used in our menus. Weekly guided tours with the head gardener, Mags Coughlan, take place during the growing season, find out more.
The land around Ballymaloe House Hotel is sustainably managed, with an emphasis on biodiversity, wildlife welfare and nature preservation. Walking trails are carefully maintained for the guests to enjoy, although much of the land has been designed for re-wilding. Learn more about our sustainable practices.
Head Groundskeeper Tobias Pedersen is an expert in sustainable land management and looks after different ecosystems and sensitive initiatives such as wilding plantations, pollinator planting, owl breeding boxes, and beehives.
Our guests can join bi-weekly guided tours with Tobias to learn more about biodiversity and the efforts we take to preserve it.
The walled garden is managed organically, by an experienced Head Gardener Mags Coughlan and her team. The garden provides us with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers for the house.
To name a few, we grow loganberries, gooseberries, raspberries, currants, and rhubarb. We produce seakale, native to Ireland, growing it under a cloche. We seed save and grow produce from seed each year.
To learn more, our guests are invited to stroll through the different sections of the garden or to join a Mags on a guided Walled Garden tour where she explains the planting techniques, variety of seasonal vegetables, herbs, and salads we grow and harvest. Tour takes place in the growing season on Wednesdays at 11am.
