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At the close of the Christmas Fair Martyn Todd, the Chair of Saintfield Development Association, presented Tonya McDonald with the bicycle she won in the SDA draw.  The bicycle was kindly donated by Motor & Sport Cycle Wholesale Ltd of Ballynahinch.

This year’s Saintfield Christmas Fair organised by Saintfield Development Association took place on Friday 4th December.  Plans for the evening were disrupted due to high winds, and alternative arrangements had to be made at short notice.  However the evening went ahead, with the stallholders being moved into the AYC Hall.  Fortunately the rain didn’t develop into anything serious.  SDA would like to thank the stallholders for venturing out on such a wild night, and the local businesses and traders who opened up for the evening.  And a big thank you goes to all the residents and visitors who came along and supported the Fair!  Let’s hope we have better luck with the weather next year!

Here are some photographs of the Fair.

Testimonials

 The street plan for the Christmas Fair on Friday 4th December showing the locations of entertainment and attractions can be viewed HERE.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Rowallane Garden, Saintfield.

It’s all go as the Christmas trees arrive and we hunt out the decorations, whilst untangling the fairy lights, in preparation for our festive fun which commences this weekend. We’ve even had a visit from Santa and his reindeers, Trixie and Pixie this week to start off the holiday season.

Our café is the place to be every weekend from 21 November to 6 December 12-2:30pm where you can sit beside the open fire and deck out your gingerbread man by helping to dress them using your awesome decorating skills.

What’s better at Christmas than popcorn and a festive family film? Wrap up warm and grab a hot chocolate or tasty treat and sit back and enjoy a festive film beginning on Saturday 21 November at 11am in The Barn. We will be running these every weekend through November and the films are as follows.

Saturday 21 November 11am – Elf
Saturday 21 November 2pm – Polar Express

Sunday 22 November 2pm – The Grinch

Saturday 28 November 11am – The Grinch
Saturday 28 November 2pm – Elf

Sunday November 2pm – Polar Express

Please note our barn has limited capacity and space is available on a first come first served basis.

From mid-November drop in every weekday and watch the Gardening team make wreaths and floral art in preparation for our Yuletide Market event on Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 December from 12-5pm. At this popular event soak up the Christmas atmosphere with Christmas carols, mulled punch and don’t forget to meet Santa and Pixie and Trixie our NI Reindeer.

Normal Admission and National Trust Members free apply. For further information over the Christmas period please visit us at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/rowallane-garden or call 028 97510131 and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nationaltrustbelfast

As part of this year’s Saintfield Christmas Fair Rowallane Community Hub will be hosting a Christmas Market

A Jewel In Saintfield’s Crown

 

Many of us in Saintfield know Rowallane Garden very well, and delight in the wonderful woods and gardens a short walk from the Main Street. Some of us perhaps forget what is on our doorstep – or we are so familiar with it that we don’t think about it! It is timely however to remind ourselves how lucky we are to have such an important National Trust property in our village. Bushmills may have the Giant’s Causeway pretty close, but Rowallane is only a short walk from Main Street!

Rowallane numbers: 70,000 visitors last year. Coincidentally the whole of NI has 70,000 NT members! 12 staff, including five gardeners, 30 volunteers working some three hours each a week. One second-hand bookshop. One dog exercise field.

SDA and the National Trust, working together

Saintfield village and Rowallane have a lot in common. Saintfield is an historic village, playing an important role in the events of 1798, and well-known for its Georgian buildings and the Main Street with its conservation area status. Rowallane Gardens boasts a Victorian walled garden, courtyard and bell-tower which form popular wedding venues, and unique features such as a bandstand and a water pump! Oh, an a unique collection of plants from around the world from the 19th century period of discovery!
Meeting recently with the SDA, NT Greater Belfast Area Manager Mike Dobson and Head Gardener Averil Milligan made clear their on-going commitment to working with the local community for the mutual benefit of the village and the NT. We look forward to continued engagement with our colleagues in the Garden.

Factoids: Rowallane means “beautiful clearing”. The Garden produces its own pottery, soap, and honey. The stones in the famous beehive cairns are called “baps”.

A rich and diverse location

Famous in its own right for the gardens – featured in season one of the Game of Throne TV series as the “Godswood” – Rowallane regularly hosts a wide range of events for the family. The Halloween events have just taken place and staff are now preparing for the “Festive Family Film Fun” events on the 21st, 22nd 28th and 29th of November – and of course the annual Christmas Yuletide Market on the 12th and 13th of December.

Wood is good for you! Research shows that spending time in nature helps with anxiety and depression and enhances empathy. The Observer newspaper recently reported that forest walks reduce heart rate and blood pressure and decreases stress.

See something new….every time

The Garden changes continually, and there is always much to see as the trees and borders shift through the seasons. Head Gardener Averil Milligan points to the new paths through the estate, and the funky new pieces of sculpture and art installations in the area between the lake and the bandstand – look out for the Leaf Chair, designed by local students.
All in all, worth seeing, and worth going to see!

This is a selection of photographs taken in Rowallane.

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Saintfield will feature on a programme this week made by IRISHTV. This will go out at 6:00pm on Friday 13th and 3:30pm on Saturday 14th on Sky Channel 191 and Freesat Channel 400. It will include a bit about Saintfield’s history, Saintfield Heritage Society, modern life in Saintfield and Rowallane Gardens.