Temple House

A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country. Home to Roderick and Helena Perceval and rich in history, it is an endearing mix of the palatial and personal, from its soaring double-height vestibule to snug sitting rooms with log fires. Every surface is crowded with heirloom antiques, ancestral portraits and mementos. The aptly named Half Acre has a separate room for a child or two. We hear no complaints about storage space in Porch, with a half-tester bed and 14-foot wardrobe. The former master bedroom has a lake view, a bath and shower, a Victorian lavatory with delayed flush to spare a lady’s blushes. Guests gather for aperitifs before a dinner cooked by the in-house chef with produce from the walled garden. Expect dishes such as baked salmon fillet hollandaise, couscous, honey-glazed heritage carrots; confit duck leg with kumquat jus. The meal is served communally at a long mahogany table, or separately if you wish, but, as Yeats wrote, 
‘There are no strangers here. Only friends you haven’t yet met.’