David and I have returned from a tour of the British Isles aboard the Queen Mary 2! We have made Transatlantic crossings on this amazing ship in the past. This voyage, we circled the UK, from Southampton England, past Wales, over the top of Scotland and back to Southampton.
The first stop on our journey was Cobh, Ireland, port city for Cork. Kindly, local folks heard that our famous ocean liner would be pulling into the dock, and they came to see her. We struck up a conversation with one of those locals, a red-haired, blue-eyed woman named Ann, who recommended that we visit Fota House, a restored home built in 1700 with working Victorian gardens and an arboretum.
Along the dock & train tracks, we saw a mural celebrating local butterflies, right next to a lovely pollinator garden. I love how public art turns plain buildings into uplifting spaces!
We took a short train ride to Fota House, and walked through the grounds, finding this Victorian greenhouse.
I made a quick watercolor sketch of the gorgeous lilies I found inside.
The picturesque building was full of flowering plants like this scented geranium.
We also toured the arboretum, where I marveled at ancient, massive trees like this one. Many of the trees were planted in the 1800s.
I admired rose bushes like the one that bore these fruits.
If you'd like to learn more about Fota House and its history, check out their website here:
If you find this inspiring, I hope you'll create art from these photos.
Beautiful photos and gorgeous art!!! Happy Autumn to you! Thank you so much for sharing, and warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.
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