Exploring Mount Stewart, National Trust Northern Ireland

On the shores of Strangford Lough, just a short drive from Belfast, sits a beautiful country estate. This is National Trust property Mount Stewart, family home of the Marquesses of Londonderry.

If you love the history and glamour of old country homes and the lifestyle the ‘other half’ enjoyed living in them , this is the place- and the post- for you.

Mount Stewart: The House

Mount Stewart is filled with treasures and stories, a nineteenth- century mansion house with the feel of an extraordinary family home. We have the imagination and energy of Edith, Lady Londonderry to thank for that.

She was a woman with a creative spirit and a bold imagination, both of which she poured into turning Mount Stewart into a sanctuary for family and friends. Edith, Lady Londonderry was clearly pleased with the result as she wrote to her husband Charles,’ This is the most divine house, why do we live anywhere else!’

I think you’ll agree the house is indeed ‘most divine’.

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression but Mount Stewart needs no second chance; once through the grand front entrance, the Central Hall waits to take your breath away.

Marble columns, life size sculptures and a floor of local Scarbo stone equals beauty everywhere you look.

There’s no set route to explore Mount Stewart, visitors are free to meander room to beautiful room. Sitting rooms, a breakfast room, dining rooms formal and informal.

Each one packed with portraits, books and beautiful things. Minimalism has no place here.

The formal dining room features a table laid for dinner with place cards representing members of the family and the guests who have joined them over the years, including one Winston Churchill.

The West Stairs are dreamy; walls of Fortum & Mason Teal, yet another chandelier overhead and the painting Hambletonian, Rubbing Down presiding over it all. Easy to imagine guests descending these stairs, dressed to the nines for dinner.

Mount Stewart is a vintage country house dream and I am here for it.

In amongst all the grandeur, a humble corner caught my eye and my nose.

A tiny room where flowers from the gardens were dried, scented with oils and mixed into a pot pourri. Lady Edith sold the Mount Stewart special blend to raise funds for charity. I’d love the National Trust to recreate it now.

Mount Stewart: The Gardens

If the house is the result of Lady Londonderry’s creativity and imagination, the gardens are an absolute flight of fantasy.

Gardens, plural. There’s a whole network of them and miles of walks on the wider estate. Mount Stewart is a visit-over-and-again kind of place.

The gardens are full of touches that are every bit as extra as the interior of the house- think gates adorned with golden leaves and gate posts topped with swans and crowns. Wouldn’t expect anything less, really.

If there’s one garden not to be missed, it’s the Dodo Terrace. All about the garden, you’ll spot stone creatures and a carved ark.

The Ark was an exclusive social club started by Edith and Charles in the early days of WW1. Members took on identities that were usually a play on their name or character. Charles, for example, became Charlie the Cheetah. Because he was sleek and elegant, but also because his wandering eye was an open secret. I do wonder which creature represented Edith herself?

Elsewhere, the gardens are a world of beautiful planting, lily ponds and mythical creatures. It’s a fabulous combination.

Mount Stewart is a wonderful and whimsical place, one I’d highly recommend adding to your Northern Ireland itinerary.

Inspired to visit Mount Stewart?

Admission is free for National Trust members, prices for non members and all the information you’ll need to plan a visit can be found here.

If you enjoyed this post you might also like to read about my visit to Hinton Ampner in Hampshire.

Helen x