The owner of one of the oldest estates in Ireland talks to Joanna Moorhead about his pioneering rewilding project, and how nature has the ability to recalibrate if left to itself

The sun arrives at Dunsany Castle, between Trim and Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath – an hour by bus from Dublin – at the same moment as me; and before my eyes the swirl of grey fog and the stone of white turrets are transformed into a fairytale setting.

In front of the castle the long grass on the unkempt meadow sways in an almost non-existent breeze; it feels abandoned, save for the incongruous baby buggy sitting outside the door. This is the carriage of the infant daughter of Randal Plunkett, the 21st Lord Dunsany; one day she will inherit the land as far as the eye can see; and, if her father has his way, it will by that stage be the longest-lasting rewilded corner of Ireland.