A Georgian house in extensive grounds by the Lagan river, John and Louise Mathers’s ‘first-rate’ guest house is an ‘outstanding’ place to stay. There’s an orchard, a vegetable garden and wild flower meadow, but it’s the hosts’ ‘considerable people skills’ that really impress: ‘All guests are greeted unflinchingly by their first name – quite a feat.’ The property displays antique furnishings collected by the six generations of Matherses who have called it home – their names adorn the ‘tasteful’, individually decorated bedrooms. Beaumont has tweed, suede and floor-to-ceiling windows; Spence a roll-top bath and relaxing shades of green; Hanna has a four-poster, and the original fireplace in the bathroom. All overlook the courtyard or grounds. In the dining room with white linen and sprays of flowers, John’s seasonal, locally sourced menu might include roast pale-smoked hake, mustard and parsley cream; dry-aged County Down lamb rump, rosemary and garlic pan juices. Breakfast, again cooked by John, who ‘seeks to do simple things well – there is no doubting his success’, includes fresh orange juice and ‘wonderfully yellow’ scrambled eggs from Newforge’s chickens. (RG)