Lawns run down to a sandy beach on the shores of Lough Swilly from this engaging country house, built for a bishop in 1760 and enlarged by serial extensions. It has been in the Wheeler family since 1962, and Mark and Mary are the second generation to run it. In lounges and library there are deep armchairs, paintings, antiques, ticking clocks, blazing turf fires. The Raja Room recalls colonial India. The older bedrooms are large, even huge, lovingly put together, idiosyncratic. Some have lough views; some interconnect. Those in the Regency wing, added in 2004, are more contemporary, with balcony or patio. In the Cook & Gardener restaurant, fruit and vegetables from the kitchen garden, and locally landed fish, feature in such dishes as seafood chowder; hand-picked Burtonport crab linguine; roast breast of free-range Glin Valley chicken, champ, garden leaves and shallot purée. Guide readers love the ‘totally relaxed feeling’, the ‘charming staff’, the ‘incredible walled garden’, and the ‘delectable wood-fired pizzas’ and Italian ice cream in the subterranean Tap Room. A breakfast buffet of ‘delightful surprises’ is also appreciated. Golf courses abound. (L and PS)