On a recent visit to an old estate in County Laois, I was excited to find something very rare in Ireland: an old bathing house. Mr Winterly and I took advantage of a recent dry Sunday to visit Heywood Gardens in County Laois. The bathing house is set into the hillside down by the lake but the small and elegant landscaped garden was designed by the famous Sir Edwin Lutyens, and is one of only a handful he completed in Ireland. He also created the War Memorial Gardens in Dublin. In England, he was known for his garden collaborations with the legendary plants person, Gertrude Jekyll.