JUBILEE WALKS
WALK: Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, County Down
Georgian Grandeur
Just a few miles south of Belfast is Northern Ireland’s only royal residence, a charming home surrounded by scented gardens, peaceful lakes and towering woodlands, says Helen Moat
enjoy a wildlife wander through Hillsborough Park and Forest 
St Malachy’s Church boasts a 64-metre high spire and a fan-vaulted ceiling that imitates Westminster Abbey’s Henry VII Chapel; 
Tucked into rolling County Down countryside, Hillsborough has recently been granted royal status, offering a stunning 18thcentury stately home and gardens, a Georgian village and serene forest park.
Hillsborough Castle (more an absurdly grand townhouse), built in the 18th century by Will Hill, the first Marquis of Downshire, is the official Northern Ireland residence of Her Majesty the Queen and the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland. Dignitaries are lavishly entertained in the State Rooms, including the Queen, who visited in her Coronation year and has returned many times since.
“ DISCOVER A STUNNING STATELY HOME AND REGAL GARDENS”
Historic Royal Palaces is returning the castle to the 1950s this month, by celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a vintage garden party. Join a special jubilee tour or visit the gardens and state rooms independently (prebook online) before finishing with a ramble through pretty Hillsborough Forest.
1 WAY OF ST MALACHY
At the bottom of Main Street (beside the public car park), you’ll find the grand entrance to St Malachy’s Parish Church flanked by two stone lodges.
Follow the long, tree-lined avenue up to the church, restored by the first Marquis of Downshire, then continue up Main Street past handsome terraced townhouses of arched doorways and courtyards with enticing coffee shops, inns and delicatessens.
2 HIDDEN GARDENS
Turn right into the Square at the top of the street to enter the castle. Having viewed the State Rooms – Throne Room, State Drawing Room and State Dining Room – go outside and take the path through the Hidden Pinetum to follow the east bank of the lake. Continue through the Gasworks Field to the Hydro House, reaching the Walled Garden via the Coronation Meadow.
3 POND LOOP
Continue west and south of Lady Alice’s Pond, then loop around the Lost Garden with its exotic planting, now under restoration. The path joins Yew Tree Walk to the Granville Garden with its perfumed roses.
4 HIGH TREES
Back on Main Street, turn right and head up Dark Lane on the opposite side of the road to the artillery fort, remodelled in the 18th century to provide a setting for lavish entertainment.
If you still have energy, you can circle the lake, otherwise, make for the dam head where you can enjoy the cast of resident waterfowl, such as swans, greylag geese, coots, moorhens and cormorants.
Soaring ornamental trees include western hemlocks, Douglas firs, Italian cedars and Californian redwoods.
5 BACK TO THE CHURCH
Continue straight on, dropping down through the forest. Take the second left and follow the boundary wall to a gate leading out on to Ballynahinch Road.
Turn left to return to Main Street and the end of a glorious ramble filled with regal history and natural beauty.
The house is closed between October and March, when access to the gardens may be from Moira Road.
Helen Moat is an author and travel writer. Born in Northern Ireland, Helen now lives in the Peak District.