These gardens were mainly laid out in the 17th century by the Esmondes who built Huntington Castle in 1625. This includes the French limes on the Avenue, the “parterre” or lawns to the side of the house, the fish ponds on either side of the centre walk through the wilderness and the majority of Yew trees which comprise the Yew Walk.

Larger plantings have resulted in Huntington possessing a number of great Irish trees, including four varieties of hickory, a cut leaved oak, Siberian crab and buckeye chestnut.

A lake at the bottom of the wilderness was built for ornamental purposes but next to it is one of the earliest water turbine houses in Ireland, providing Huntington with its own electricity as early as 1888. Both the lake and turbine house are to be restored in the near future. The River Derry – also being the boundary line between Counties Wexford and Carlow – flows along the bottom of the wilderness, providing a pleasant setting for woodland walks.

“The first thing that strikes you about Huntington, apart from the derelict beauty which hangs over most of the ascendancy buildings, are the palm trees. Several tall specimens suddenly appear at the end of the long yew tree avenue.”

Mal Rogers, Aer Lingus Cara Magazine August 2005