The Hills Are Alive: A Year at Kylemore Abbey

We learn how a group of nuns transformed a crumbling country estate to make it one of Ireland’s most popular heritage sites. From the transformation of the pioneering Victorian Walled Garden to developing their own line of soap, we see how the nuns’ ingenuity turned Kylemore into a mecca for tourists from all over the world.

As Autumn descends on the estate, we see the damage to the woodlands caused by a vicious storm, the garden team are furiously planting bulbs for the following spring, Snowy the pony is scanned for a possible foal and the nuns elect a new Abbess to lead them over the next decade. Advent arrives and we see the great house decorated in Victorian style and learn about the art of Gregorian Chant.

Christmas comes to Kylemore. The kitchen team prepare some festive treats, the nuns welcome the local community to enjoy their hospitality in the new monastery and there’s an insight into Christmas past in the old Abbey. As spring returns, we see how life returns to the garden, woodlands and the pony paddock, while a bunch of lay people sample monastic life at an Easter retreat.