We worked with the Irish Heritage Trust to extend and enhance the Walled Garden  & Woodlands visitor attraction at Strokestown Park Estate. We paid special attention to the stories – both big and small – which have impacted the gardens’ final form we see today.

Visitors are guided around the gardens via a series of story-led interpretive panels that are inviting and colourful both visually and  in terms of their written content. Each panel is designed to fit with each location – each highlighting a unique aspect of the garden worth noting, while fitting together to give the larger picture of the function of the garden over time. Personal artefacts and imagery from the Strokestown archive were woven into the stories as appropriate, giving yet another layer of interest to the anecdotes of the gardens.

For Strokestown Woodlands we created a suite of interpretive installations throughout the woodlands that work in harmony with the forest. This small woodland has fine specimens of mature beech and oak and is home to a variety of creatures and flora. We wanted visitors to really connect and feel immersed in it.

A sense of arrival

In order to give the woodland entrance more emphasis we landscaped the site entrance area and designed an impressive natural timber gateway with side gates for children. The gate announces and invites you into the relaxing other-worldliness of the wood. A  prominent map gives an overview of the  woodlands and highlights key features.

The Woodland Trail

Visitors are encouraged to find the 12 nature themed rubbing plaques, learn about the creatures that live in the woodland, listen to and spot the birds that inhabit the woodland and find out more about the leaves and fruits that belong to the trees.  Play the forest xylophone and to find the burrow tunnels and get up close and personal with the forest floor.