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(6)

Help with DIY and gardening near Dublin, Ireland

Ireland
Favourited 940 times
Last activity: 2 May 2024

Profile information

Host rating
100 %
Last replied
2 May 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 5 days
Feedback
6
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Availability

2024

Min stay requested: at least a week

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What's this?

Details

Description
We are a very active retired couple living in an old period residence on 60 acres. We need help with gardening (gardens open to the public) & maintaining large house and its surrounds. We have recording studios, dogs, poultry, beekeeping and grandchildren!!
We are located 20 minutes from from Dublin centre and the airport.
We are both interested in photography & use Photoshop CS & have very fast wifi.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Gardening, beekeeping, musical skills & proximity to Dublin. We are well served with public transport.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
A knowledge of horticulture would be wonderful but not essential. General gardening, property maintainence & normal household tasks.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
En suite bedroom in house with us sharing meals, helping with cooking, using TV room
What else ...
We are close to cinemas, large shopping centre, art galleries and theaters.
Dublin may be a small capital, but it is a multicultural cosmopolitan. It has an impressive collection of museums and galleries, and cuisine from all over the world.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 578926984116

Feedback (6)

14 Sep 2023

Left by Workawayer (Clément) for host

My workaway's experience at this place couldn't have been better. All the family was very welcoming and lovely. I stayed in this incredible place over two months.
There was an amazing variety of work which was possible to do as taking care the preparation of wedding, parties, corporate events, projects constructions and gardening.
This is a… read more

(Excellent )

22 May 2023

Left by Workawayer (Julen ) for host

it has been my first experience of this kind and it has been great, I have spent two months working and living with Olive, Mark, Lance and their family, they have treated me very well.
I went to Ireland to learn English, they had a lot of patience with me, because my English was a beginner, several days they offered to take me to the bus stop so… read more

(Excellent )

10 Apr 2023

Left by Workawayer (Robert) for host

The work in itself was the greatest experience I had with workaway so far! First of all, I stayed at Olive’s place for four weeks during March and April. Originally, I was supposed to stay for only two weeks but I could not find another host in time, so I stayed longer. Mark and Olive were very welcoming, they are very talkative people and I… read more enjoyed listening to their stories. On the other hand, Lance is their son and he is living with his wife Alex and their kids on their property, too. They were so kind and funny and very welcoming, as well. Whenever I had a problem or there was something that I needed, I could ask anytime.

The work:
Like I said, doing this kind of work was the best I have ever done. The variety of work that needed to be done was just so huge and that made the overall experience so much better because I was not doing the same job each day over and over. And almost every single task was a joy to do get done. We were outside almost all the time and even it was raining we did something were didn’t get wet. The tasks were all about gardening, maintenance and help around the house but not about babysitting and cooking at all. That included weeding in the garden, planting trees and flowers, cleaning up the garden, somewhat mowing the lawn. Also helping around the house was great fun. I did wood splitting, chopping down bushes and trees, cleaning with a power washer, driving around with a dumper and helping to prepare the studio and the wedding facility. Not to forget, the amount of hours we were working was totally up to us. I wanted to have a day off, no problem. Everything was really flexible and relaxed.

The cultural exchange:
Now, this was something else. I was told by another workaway hosts that there are two types of workaway experiences: the personal ones and the workforce ones. There is nothing wrong about that, they are just different and we were helping out as a “workforce”. Olive showed or told us what needed to be done in the garden. Sometimes she would join us but many times we were working on our own, which was totally fine. I wouldn’t say I learned nothing but also I didn’t learn anything new in particular. I have to say, sometimes I only saw Olive and Mark one or two times a day and that also had to do with the accommodation. On the other hand, Lance was the one who worked with us together. It was a great fun talking with him about stuff and laughing about a lot.

The accommodation:
We were sleeping in a mobile home, not in other rooms of the house. On the one hand, this was really nice because we had our own space just for us, separate bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room with a kitchen just for us workawayers. The three of us would cook for ourselves and eat together and spend time together, which was really, really great. However, it was not the perfect time to stay in a caravan. Many times, it was really cold, especially during the night, and it was difficult to heat up the caravan due to problems with the heaters. I had a heated blanked for myself but the others did not and without a proper radiator it took some time to get used to cold air inside. Also, it was really difficult to get the moisture out of there, so many of my clothes were damp. Obviously, we had no internet in the mobile home. So, whenever I needed to do some work on my laptop for example I would sit inside the house. However, Olive felt uncomfortable with me sitting in the living room using the internet and also she didn’t like when we went to a restroom in the house. All of that is totally alright, I get that. She just wanted to keep her privacy but all of that felt really distant and not really personal.

What else:
The property is located in a suburb of Dublin. There isn’t really much do to there but there are buses going every 20 minutes and the last one goes back at 11.30pm. That was really awesome because you could go anywhere, anytime. I was meeting many friends and Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is of course really beautiful but also very popular. What I liked most was taking a bus or a train and going outside of the city and seeing a bit more of County Dublin. Also, there was a bike that I could take anytime.

To conclude, working at their place was amazing. The location is so great because you can go anywhere from there really quickly. Olive, Mark and Lance were really kind and welcoming. But living in the caravan was difficult, sometimes. However, having other workawayers around was a pleasure and it made me feel a little bit sad having to leave.

(Very good )

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Accuracy of profile:
(4.8)

Cultural exchange:
(4.5)

Communication:
(4.8)

14 Sep 2023

Left by Workawayer (Clément) for host

(Excellent )

22 May 2023

Left by Workawayer (Julen ) for host

(Excellent )

10 Apr 2023

Left by Workawayer (Robert) for host

(Very good )

19 Dec 2020

Left by Workawayer (Maksimilijan & August) for host

Mark, Olive, Lance and the whole Wilkinson family are wonderful, kind, respectful and generous hosts. It was a pleasure staying with them and helping them with different tasks around their beautiful house and gardens. We learned a lot about gardening and working with different tools and machines. That was fun :) We stayed in a great little mobile… read more

(Excellent )

12 Feb 2019

Left by Workawayer (Juan José) for host

Mark and Olive are such amazing hosts! I visited them in September, 2018 and stayed there for a week. Since the first moment I felt a part of the family. My english isn't as good as I'd like (still needs to improve hahaha) but they were really nice and helped me a lot. Olive is a great cook (still remember those delicious dinners) and Mark was… read more

(Excellent )

9 Feb 2019

Left by Workawayer (Lisa Maria) for host

Olive and Mark are a lovely couple. I was very lucky to stay there one week. Their dogs were wonderful, and little dog Papper was always with me. Because of my education of horticulture I was the most time outside, and I love that work! There are many flower beds to be cared of. They have bees aswell! Even in winter, the garden looks beautiful.… read more

(Very good )

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Help with DIY and gardening near Dublin, Ireland

Profile information

Host rating

Last replied

Reply rate

Feedback

Email verified

Badges (1)

Find your perfect host

Availability

Details

Description

Types of help and learning opportunities

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Projects involving children

Help

Languages spoken

Accommodation

What else ...

A little more information

How many Workawayers can stay?

Hours expected

Feedback (6)

Photos

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