A day in Wicklow

We had a lovely day out.  

First stop, The National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh.  We wandered, and thoroughly enjoyed the sunny weather.  Trouble is, we come away from these garden visits with more ideas than we can cope with.  Who wouldn't want a tree with bark like this?  It's a Chilean myrtle, and readily available, unlike the Wollemi pine that I still hanker after (we left one in Norfolk, and can't find one to buy here in Ireland), and of which they had several specimens.  And they had some lovely rhododendrons/azaleas - where can we fit some more shrubs in, or even a whole rhododendron bed?

Then we drove up to Bray, where we had a late lunch in a pub.  Sadly the menu was very meat focused, there wasn't much choice for W, who didn't fancy fish and chips, so ended up choosing a prawn starter with a side of fries.  But my meal was a lovely sizzling beef dish.

We then drove down to the waterside (1st extra), though there was a chilly wind, so we mainly sat in the car and watched the passing assorted folk.

And the main reason for the outing?  I'd come across an advert for a concert of Early Irish Harp music, and bought tickets for the Mermaid Arts Centre.  And what a wonderful immersive concert it was.  See extras for a poster that W was given as we left, and a photo of them performing.  And see here for a trailer.  I can thoroughly recommend - they have another show up in Roscommon on 14th June - for two pins I'd drive all the way up there to listen to them again.