Visitors beat path to Cork Gardens of delight

Offering everything from pet pigs to weird sculptures and even boat trips, the gardens of West Cork are full of unexpected treasures — and some of the best open their gates to visitors later this month as part of the 2014 West Cork Garden Trail.

Ironically, the trail, which was set up two decades ago and boasts some of the most beautiful gardens in the county, was, for many years itself a hidden gem, relatively unknown to the greater public.

However, following a well-organised publicity campaign last year which involved the launch of an attractive new website and accompanying brochure, the number of visitors soared.