Five Star Farm Cottage

The last time I stayed in an Irish self-catering cottage in winter, the only way to keep warm was to wear two dressing gowns and huddle in front of a smoky turf fire. It was different story, however, at Plum-Tree Cottage on Lurganconary Organic Farm, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, Co.Down.
Under-floor heating and wood burning stove mean the five-star cottage is a cosy haven after a bracing walk over the fields.

Plum-Tree Cottage and the nearby Sand Cottage are tastefully decked out with elegant lamps, rugs and moody canvases. The overall effect, however, is resful rather than pretentious. The beds are laden with so many coordinated cushions and throws that they even provide you with a bin to store them in overnight. Both cottages have been equipped with the luxury market in mind: flat-screen TVs in the bedrooms, power showers and an indecently deep bath that will keep you feeling thoroughly pampered.
Fancy retreats are not often keen on your bringing along your messy, possibly ornament-breaking children, but Lurganconary proved an exception. Both my children discovered a colouring book with their names on it when we arrived (much to the bemusement of my 12-year-old son).

There are swings and climbing frames in the garden, and bikes and helmets in the shed. The Mournes are within easy distance, as is the blue-flag beach at Cranfield, but we spent most of our time pottering around the nature trails on the farm itself.
Luxury never came so cheap: prices start at £245 (368) for two nights’ midweek self-catering, but there is 15 per cent discount until the end of March.

Irish Times article, 17th February 2007