Newforge House

Set on the edge of a small village, in mature gardens and pastureland, this creeper-clad Georgian mansion offers a taste of country house living only 40 minutes from Belfast. John and Louise Mathers are sixth-generation owners, and the house is filled with antiques and family possessions. Readers praise the ‘very good’ hospitality at this ‘lovely place’; John was awarded a British Empire Medal for hospitality in 2018. Bedrooms are furnished in period style, with fresh flowers, a cafetière and china teapot. Hanna has a four-poster, floor-to-ceiling windows; a bathroom with a fireplace, bath and walk-in shower. Small but pretty Waddell has a canopy bed draped with toile de Jouy fabric. At 8 pm, after maybe a Newforge plum fizz or an Armagh Appletini by the drawing-room fire, guests sit down to a three-course dinner with either/or choices – perhaps roast cod loin with lemon dulse butter or dry-aged lamb with rosemary and garlic pan juices. Breakfast is just as tasty, with an Ulster fry and eggs from hens in the orchard. ‘One of our main holiday requirements is good food, and we certainly were not disappointed.’ (PH, SM)