MOUNT PLEASANT
The Ards Peninsula, a strip of land sandwiched between the Irish Sea and the eastern shores of Strangford Lough in County Down, is home to a damp climate, luscious vegetation and one of Ireland’s most impressive estates.
Mount Stewart is a vast Georgian house at the heart of some 950 acres of gardens and parkland. It was the family seat of the Marquesses of Londonderry, also known as the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family, who played a leading role in British and Irish political life. The house contains art by George Stubbs, jaw-dropping displays of silver, and furniture from far-flung places. But it has also been home to a cast of unusual characters and colourful stories.
The last of the Vane-Tempest-Stewarts to live in Mount Stewart was Lady Mairi, the Dowager Viscountess Bury. She died there 10 years ago, but had already gifted
