Restaurant review: Orchid Restaurant, Hayfield Manor Hotel, Cork

THROUGH the dimming twilight, it is Dearly Beloved (DB) who first spots the serried ranks of vintage Rolls Royces lined up at Hayfield Manor. 

Even I — no petrolhead — admit it is charming, very ‘Downton’, most appropriate for this bucolic ‘Country Home’ oasis in the middle of town.

It turns out these stately chariots belong to a touring group from abroad, mostly Americans, spending a few weeks spinning around autumnal Ireland, swaddled in blankets from the damp and draughts. Many have even shipped their precious vehicles across the Atlantic.