There's something really charming about farms. Probably it's just me, because I've spent most of my life living in a bustling urban landscape.
When I realised there was an actual working farm within walking distance of where I lived in Dublin, I added Airfield Estate to my list. On a lovely spring day, I set out to explore this little rustic haven.
Airfield Estate is a privately-owned estate that was established in the 1890's by the Overend family of Dublin. The family home still stands today at one corner of the premises; the rest of the area is dedicated to compact pastures for grazing, horticultural and flower gardens, a cowshed and dairy unit and a couple of lakes. Let's start off with the pastures, because that was how I started my exploration of this place. Here are a couple of adorable donkeys:
When I realised there was an actual working farm within walking distance of where I lived in Dublin, I added Airfield Estate to my list. On a lovely spring day, I set out to explore this little rustic haven.
Airfield Estate is a privately-owned estate that was established in the 1890's by the Overend family of Dublin. The family home still stands today at one corner of the premises; the rest of the area is dedicated to compact pastures for grazing, horticultural and flower gardens, a cowshed and dairy unit and a couple of lakes. Let's start off with the pastures, because that was how I started my exploration of this place. Here are a couple of adorable donkeys:
In the next pasture, there are lots of lovable goats and chickens:
The best one was with the cows, partially because I came at the right timing when the opened the sheds to allow the cows to make their way to the pasture. Watching the cows trudge in a line towards the grassy patches was really a cute sight!
Adjacent to the cowshed is, well, you guess it, a milk processing unit. Airfield Estate produces its own dairy! It was interesting to learn about the process that goes behind the milking of cows.
We've covered donkeys, goats, cows, so who's missing? Sheep. Yes, these guys have sheep here, and though they weren't out grazing that day, I could see them in the shed. Airfield Estate also has put up an informative board about the lambing season i.e. the process of the birth of a lamb.
That's the animals done! Moving on to my favourite part - the gardens! Airfield Estate has no dearth of gardens - there are gardens here meant for ornamental purpose, bee gardens or for growing veggies and fruit. I personally love plants a lot so this part always excites me. The first thing I saw before heading into the gardens was this, an apothecary's guide to plants, which I thought was very interesting. Read it carefully, something might just stand out to you!
One of Airfield Estate's major products is honey. So, there is a bee garden that has been specially created to aid bees in pollination. This garden has specific plants like lavenders and roses that are more attractive to bees. The plants are only allowed to grow to a low height so as to not hinder the routes of the buzzing bees.
Just round that corner, there is a neatly-maintained walled garden complete with a glasshouse. Don't miss seeing the uniquely-shaped crab apple trees there.
If I had some land, I would love to grow my own vegetables. Trust me, you don't need a farm for that! A small plot of land should do the trick. These are some vegetables, fruit and flowers that are grown at Airfield Estate. Doesn't that spinach look delectable?! Side note: I didn't realise dandelions were so useful.
That's about it for the gardens! If you walk beyond the gardens and the pastures, you can spend some time at the lovely lake that lies in one corner of Airfield Estate. They have built this wooden deck so you can walk by the cattails and snap some Insta-worthy shots.
Another couple of interesting things I saw along the way are 1) this fairy tree, a hawthorn. Fairy trees are commonly sighted in the Irish countryside, if you look closely enough. Legend has it that ill luck will befall you if you disturb the "wee people" living in these trees. So, how do you spot one? Fairy trees are often ash trees or hawthorns. Most importantly, they grow in isolation, for example, in the middle of fields, where there is no other tree of their kind in close range. Many fairy trees are also spotted in sacred sites like the Hill of Tara. Leave little gifts and offerings at such trees and you will placate the fairies and bestow good luck upon yourself (see my Hill of Tara blog post about how people decked the fairy tree at the site with ribbons and all sorts of nice stuff). Try cutting fairy trees and you can imagine the consequences.
After seeing all of this, it was almost time for me to attend a house tour of the Overend family house. They conduct these tours daily. So I walked all the way back to the Overend House which is near the entrance of Airfield Estate. I was still a bit early, so I explored this little grove of trees outside the Overend House.
Top left: Wollemia, a rare tree native to Australia, once thought to be extinct, Top right: A "TB Hut", a wooden shed that can rotate to allow sunlight in, was used to house people convalescing from tuberculosis, Bottom left: Gingko tree, the only specie in its plant family, Bottom right: Yew tree (an evergreen variety native to Ireland), has come to light in recent years for being able to produce the secondary metabolite paclitaxel which can be used to treat some types of cancer.
And finally, we've come to talking about the Overend House tour. Let me start off by saying that the tour was very engaging and informative and our guide was a lovely lady who presented the information so nicely. The Overend family was a close-knit family comprising of a couple and their two daughters. It was purchased by Trevor Overend, the father, in 1894 and remained in the hands of his daughters Leticia and Naomi until they handed it over the Airfield Trust in 1974 to be owned and preserved by the people of Ireland for generations to come.
There are many things the Overends used in their time that still remains in the house today - like a 100 year-old teddy bear the girls owned as children, as well as the sweet love letters Trevor wrote to his wife, the girls' mother.
There are many things the Overends used in their time that still remains in the house today - like a 100 year-old teddy bear the girls owned as children, as well as the sweet love letters Trevor wrote to his wife, the girls' mother.
As you can see, the Victorian-style clothes that Trevor and his wife owned are preserved too. The guide also confirmed this - that dress was HEAVY. Kudos to the Victorian women. Seen below are some toys owned by Leticia and Naomi.
The tour mainly discusses the lives of the Overend sisters, who loved to travel and spent a lot of their time doing charity work. There are lots of old photographs and paintings around the house which are snapshots in time and describe the adventures of these women. You can pore over the photographs below and appreciate the vintage charm of the bygone era.
I also wish to bring special attention to the letters Trevor wrote to his wife and daughters. No one writes letters like that anymore. (If you are reading this, I absolutely love letters. Just saying.)
And finally, look at the black and white tiles in this indoor corridor (left). They are the original tiles of the house! They have been preserved in spite of all the refurbishment the house has undergone. And just take a moment to appreciate the ceiling design (right); it is original and in one of the main rooms of the house.
- Visited March 2019, written August 2019 (I've tried my best to remember all the details and will not go so long without writing after visiting a place from next time)