Insider tips for an Irish family holiday

Lucy and Paul are the owners of Bonane House, Sheepskin's luxurious family home in County Kerry, Ireland. Located in Bonane, the house is a hidden gem nestled in the Sheen Valley between the Caha Mountains and the Macgillycuddy Reeks Mountains. With so much to see and do in the local area, we asked them a few questions about their Irish family escape to give potential guests an insight into the property and the area...

What first attracted you to purchasing Bonane House?

We sold our property in Hackney, London and were living in Galicia, Spain when we decided to purchase a house in or close to Kenmare. It's a town Paul has been visiting all his life as he has family there. When we found the property online we were instantly struck by its uniqueness. A large Victorian house of grand proportions built from locally quarried stone is rare to find in this part of Ireland. We organised a trip to Kerry and when we saw the house we completely fell in love with it. It had such a great feeling. Even though we knew it would be a big project we also knew we were going to buy it. We didn’t actually view any other properties!

What was your vision for the house when you initially decided to turn it into a holiday let?

Our vision was to create a welcoming holiday home for family and friends to share. The tranquil location, large garden, woodlands, views of the valley and the scale of the house makes it a perfect place for people to come together and relax. The house was originally the Presbytery for the adjacent church. It has a colourful history as a youth hostel, guest house and tea room. This was wonderful to discover because our vision for the future of the house sat so perfectly with its past.

Where did you get your inspiration for the interior of the house?

Mostly, we wanted the interior of the house to work as a coherent, harmonious space. Due to the thickness of the old stone walls we made the decision very early on in the renovation process that we were not going to make any major structural changes to the house. That being said, we also didn’t want a series of small rooms, so we knocked down a few internal walls to open spaces up. In order to make the house successful and without the option to make the property open plan, we needed to make each room work as a functioning space and for the spaces to flow into one another.

We set ourselves a brief to create a modern family home that remained sympathetic to the age and history of the house; defining spaces that bring people together and offer areas where people could be alone, and of course take in the views of the mountains, which are truly awe-inspiring.

Keeping our brief in mind, we set out to source products from local suppliers and marry this with bespoke design elements that would elevate the interior of the house. Taking some inspiration from the age and style of the house, these dictated some of our design decisions. We also wanted to mix in contemporary styling and urban art, elements which reflect our life in and love of London.

The solid fixtures of the house, the windows and reveals, the woodwork, doors, floors and the colour palette all remain true to the house and the landscape in which it sits. But the objects that decorate it reflect a more modern metropolitan style.

What do you think makes a stay at Bonane House so special?

It’s in a fantastic location, within the peace and tranquility of the valley, but just a few miles outside Kenmare and very close to the border with West Cork. It means guests can get away from busy lives but have a wealth of activities and amenities very close by. It’s a very peaceful place - the bird song in the garden is incredible, the wildlife, the open space and colours around you. The darkness of the night and the number of the stars make it an amazing place to unwind and switch off.

What pubs, restaurants and cafes do you enjoy using when you are staying at Bonane House?

If we eat out we generally head to Kenmare because it’s so convenient. Our top three restaurants would be Mulcahy's, The Mews and Packies. For more casual dining and great pub food, we like The Horseshoe or The Sailors Bar. Enjoy lunch at either The Purple Heather or Poffs. For a pint, head to Crowley’s or Florry Batt’s, or a cocktail at The Park Hotel. We love the coffee and great books at Puccini’s, bread, pastries and cakes at Maison Gourmet and of course, Lorge Chocolatier for chocolate. As well as great places to eat out, Wednesday is market day. The market is small but offers great local produce, meat, cheese, fish, cakes and breads.

Bonane House is perfect for a family holiday, what are your favourite things to do as a family in the local area?

We love exploring as a family. Previously we lived in Galicia in North West Spain, a place of immense natural beauty and somewhere very close to our hearts. We spent a year exploring the coastline. Now we have moved to Ireland we are doing the same here! We love to pack up the car with a picnic and a day’s supplies, head to a cove or a beach and spend the day beach combing or climbing rocks. We like to take the camping stove and cook bacon or sausage sandwiches and make cups of hot steamy tea on the beach. Our favourite spots at the moment are Derrynane Beach and Barleycove.

Derrynane forms part of the Derrynane National Historic Park. This is a great place for guests to come as the park includes 1.5km of rocky and sandy shoreline. Derrynane House is the ancestral home of Daniel O’Connell, one of the great figures of modern Irish history and is the centerpiece of the park. There are also gardens, woodlands and wildflower meadows. Visitors can follow the seashore nature trail, explore Abbey Island, which can be reached on foot, or the sand dunes.

Barleycove is arguably the best beach in West Cork, a flat open beach with sand dunes. It sits on a peninsula that forms one of the most extreme points of Ireland. It’s worth driving round the coast for the dramatic cliff scenery. The nearby Crookhaven offers a lovely little harbour, where it’s good to end the day in the local pub. This summer we want to spend more time around the beaches of Dingle Bay.

The local landscape is breathtaking and a photographer's paradise, are there any walks you particularly recommend?

The photo opportunities in both Kerry and West Cork are almost endless. Point and shoot with your mobile and get great results as the scenery does a lot of the work for you! You can amble out of the door and follow walking routes of the Sheen Valley and take great pictures. We think the photography is at its best where mountain meets the sea.

There is no better place than the Ring of Beara. It’s not a walking but a driving route. Head towards Kenmare taking the turn before the town to Lauragh then Adgroom, Eyeries, Allihies, Garnish and Dursey Island at the tip of the peninsula. Explore the coastline with its stunning scenery - there are perfect photo opportunities all along the coast. Return back round the south side of the ring to Catletownbere and Adrigole. Once you reach Adrigole take the Healey Pass, which crosses the Caha Mountains from Cork to Lauragh in Kerry. The pass rises to an altitude of 300m and reveals spectacular views.