Dense with blossoming pyracantha, this section of the yard behind Huntington Castle, County Carlow has been converted into a picturesque residence. Home to the Durdin-Robertson family (members of which created a Temple of Isis in its basement in the 1970s), Huntington’s core is a tower house dating from 1625 but it has been much altered and enhanced ever since, not least by the addition of battlements in the 19th century so that it has an exceptionally pretty toy-like exterior. The gardens include a yew walk believed to be at least 600 years old.