Ballyvolane House

A house-party atmosphere prevails at Jenny and Justin Green’s Italianate mansion set amid romantic gardens and parkland. Built in 1728 and remodelled in the 1870s, this is, say the hosts, not quite hotel, guest house or B&B, but a lived-in home, filled with an accretion of possessions – antiques, portraits, saggy sofas, hunting trophies and snoozing dogs in front of blazing fires. Each bedroom has its own character, perhaps a Victorian bath encased in mahogany, with an enamel jug for a makeshift shower. Views through tall sash windows are of terraced gardens, ancient woodlands, trout lakes and the far Galtee mountains. A coffee machine and Bluetooth speaker nod to modernity, but there is no TV, just a transistor radio, home-made elderflower cordial, Ribena, and chocolate. New chef Olive Brennan cooks a communal dinner of home-reared or locally farmed, fished and foraged produce, fruit and vegetables from the walled garden, wild salmon from their beats on the River Blackwater, and rare breed pork. Children have a ball, with tractor trailer rides, trampolines, a tree house, high tea, animals to feed and eggs to collect.