Tips for Visiting Kylemore Abbey Ireland

You have to love visiting an attraction where a husband built a lakeside castle for his wife. Kylemore Castle is now known as Kylemore Abbey run by Benedictine nuns and is one of Ireland’s top attractions. Here is our guide and tips for visiting Kylemore Abbey in County Galway.

History of Kylemore Abbey

I have seen photos of this iconic place and have wanted to visit. It did not disappoint. I’m so glad this made it into our one week itinerary in Ireland.

Mitchell Henry, an Englishman doctor and industry tycoon, built the original Kylemore Castle in 1867 as a romantic gift to his wife. The couple honeymooned in the area and fell in love with it.

Mr. Henry bought the 15,000-acre estate that only had a hunting lodge. Located in the Connemara, in western Ireland, the granite and limestone castle was 40,000 square feet with 70 rooms.

Unfortunately, Margaret contracted dysentery while on a holiday in Egypt in 1874 and died at only 45 years old. This left a devastated Mitchell a widow with nine children. They brought her body back and buried it on the property.

A friend of the Henrys, the Duke of Manchester, bought the castle and estate for 63,000 (pounds) in 1903. He and the Duchess made numerous renovations to the castle during their stay and in line with entertaining more people.

Due to financial difficulties, they sold the castle sold again in 1914 to a London-based banker. Though, some rumors circulated that it was lost in a gambling game.

In 1920, the Benedictine Order of Nuns acquired the home. These nuns, known as the Irish Dames of Ypres”, fled their monastery at Flanders, Belgium during World War I. The nuns have always focused on education and made the abbey into an international boarding school in 1923.

Many students graduated from Kylemore Abbey through its decades of operation. The school finally closed in 2010.

The Benedictine Nuns still reside in Kylemore Abbey today. Though, they now also have to share it with thousands of tourists exploring the abbey and its grounds.

Exploring the Victorian Walled Gardens

Though, there’s more to this area than the beautiful abbey. The vast property also has a 6-acre Victorian walled gardens.

Located about a 20 to 30-minute walk from the visitor center, it was possible to walk to it along a paved, tree-lined trail. It actually looked like a pleasant walk especially if it was a warmer day.

But, since we were here on a brisk November, we opted for the complimentary shuttle bus. The bus came every 15 minutes and took about five minutes to transport visitors to and from the garden. There was a small bus stop and shed for visitors to wait with times for pick up and drop offs.

The Victoria Walled Gardens would be more impressive during Spring and Summer especially since those were the times they change their ‘bedding”. But, during our visit in late Fall, there were a lot of bare trees and shrubs and hardly any flowers.

It was still a nice place for strolls. We had the gardens to ourselves most of the time. This area was the Heritage Garden since it only featured plants and vegetables from the Victorian era.

So, it gave a sense of what the Mitchell family and the castle’s residents saw when they lived here. When it was first built, the garden actually had 21 heated glass houses surrounded by a brick wall. The houses were built for exotic plants and vegetables.

The Benedictine nuns restored this garden that fell in disarray over the years. Vines and weeds took over and the glasshouses collapsed.

The nuns opened the gardens to the public in 2000. The 6-acre garden was divided into two sections along a stream.

Western part of the Garden

The western part was filled with vegetables, fruit trees and herbs which were also used in their restaurant. You have to admire attractions that were also self-sustaining. Don’t miss the trail outside of this gate for a stroll among the oak trees.

The bigger portion included the formal flower garden with several structures. There were various informative boards throughout the garden making it easier for self-guided tours. We liked the chairs strategically placed around for visitors to admire the flowers.

There were also the Tea Rooms/Tea House outside of the walls. It is open from May to September serving refreshments. It looked like a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the views after strolling in the gardens.

Check the Head Gardener ‘s House

It was hard not to miss the Head Gardener’s House overlooking the flower gardens. The house was open for visitors to explore and see how the head gardener lived during the Victorian times. It was wonderful to see it decorated for the holidays. The Benedictine nuns used this house over the years as a guest house.

There were a couple of other structures worth exploring like the ‘Workman’s Bothy’ or quarters for a glimpse at the garden workers’ lives and the tool shed to see the tools they used to beautify and maintain these gardens.

Don’t miss the small area near the entrance to meet the garden’s resident pigs. Unfortunately, they weren’t out during our visit.

Touring the Abbey

Part of the admission cost includes touring the abbey’s interior which we highly recommend. Several ground floor rooms were open to the public. These restored rooms were a wonderful look into the life of the Mitchell family, its subsequent residents and this beautiful castle.

It’s possible to do a self-guided tour since there were only about five rooms to see. But, it was worth doing the 30-minute guided History Talk. We learned some interesting things about Kylemore Abbey’s history and its residents through the years.

The Duke of Manchester who actually bought the castle from Mr. Mitchell married an American heiress. Her rich father financed many of the renovations and maintenance. Rumors of losing this castle to gambling were also confirmed.

We started our tour at the entrance hall filled with oak. It had welcomed guests and eventually school children from all over the world over the years. The tour continued on to the inner hall and saloon hall which had the grand staircase. They used glass ceilings here to brighten the rooms which I’m sure every bit helped.

The Drawing Room and Dining Room were decorated for the holidays during our visit. There was a portrait here of Margaret Henry who inspired the creation of this castle. Don’t miss the impressive Italian marble fireplace too.

We’ve seen our fair share of royal and elegant homes. I like that Kylemore wasn’t as opulent or over the top with gilded items. It felt very much like a home where you could imagine its residents enjoying a cup of tea or relaxing by the fireplace.

A couple of the rooms have also doubled as a place to show exhibits of the Benedictine nun’s artifact collection or pf the Kylemore Abbey Girl’s School. The nuns still live and use the rest of the castle for various purposes.

Explore The Neo-Gothic Church

While the 19^th century castle was the heart of this area and attraction, don’t miss the Neo-Gothic church located about a five-minute walk away. We were lucky enough to be here on a sunny albeit cold day. So, it was still a pleasant walk along the tree-lined path along the lake (Lough Pollacapull).

The church was also known as the “Cathedral in Miniature” though it was more like a small chapel. Mitchell Henry built it in memory of his wife after she died. It was built as an Anglican church but was re-dedicated as a Catholic Church after the Benedictine nuns arrived in 1920. The nearby mausoleum is the burial site for Mr. and Mrs. Henry .

They currently use it for concerts and shows. Luckily, it was open so we were able to walk around inside. The stained glass windows were beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the architectural details. It would be a beautiful experience to attend a concert here.

We really enjoyed our visit to Kylemore Abbey and the Victorian Walled Gardens. For a family travel perspective, my teens didn’t roll their eyes or complain about being dragged here.

There were plenty of outdoor spaces and the attractions were interesting. It was definitely worth the almost 1.5-hour drive from Galway. The drive to the Connemara area was also beautiful and scenic.