Agri-tourism pioneers at Longueville among Cork short break options

From country escapes to city breaks, Tom Breathnach shares tips from his travels around the country

One in five Irish people have never been on a farm! That’s an unverified but not entirely implausible stat I read on a carton of Avonmore milk this week. 

But while Ireland’s cultural landscape has shape-shifted urbane in recent decades, the Covid crisis has re-sprouted our desire for country escapes and everything from the taste of farm-fresh breakfasts to the nostalgic rumble of a John Deere combine harvester. 

And the getaway options are myriad. This week, I paid a visit to Longueville House in North Cork to check-into one of Ireland’s finest working farm properties and experience an original pioneer of Irish agri-tourism.

Among a range of Blackwater estates, from Ballynatray House in Youghal to Castle Hyde in Fermoy, Longueville House sits upon on a panoramic, river valley eminence, just 5km west of Mallow. 

I meet matriarch of the outfit, Jane O’Callaghan, out on the courtyard, fresh from baking her latest scone batch.

“I’d usually be inside now serving afternoon tea and chatting to the guests,” she told me.

But now with all this Covid business, I better keep my distance!

Jane, along with her late husband Michael, opened Longueville House as a B&B back in 1969 — even pre-dating the guestbook of Ballymaloe House.

“We actually founded the Ireland’s Blue Book collection with Myrtle and Isaac (Allen) just a few years later in 1974,” she informs me. You could say I was talking to the queen of country house hospitality.

Jane O'Callaghan

Jane’s son William and his wife Aisling currently carry Longueville’s mantle, with William also acting as their restaurant’s head chef. He balances that role with brewing Longueville’s signature cider, growing everything from artichokes to fennel in their walled gardens to herding up the farm’s rambunctious free-range pigs.

“I suppose we’ve been doing what’s happening everywhere now for decades,” he reflects.

“The farm to fork ethos here has always just been a tradition over a trend.”

But there’s flux amid those traditions too, as Aisling tells me over a night-cap in Longueville’s living room.

“We’re constantly evolving our model here to adapt to the times,” she surmises.

From functioning as a busy hotel to paring it back it is current country house roots — to even opening up the house for private rentals, we’ve always pivoted to meet changes.

And while sometimes, it’s been a hard row to sew, the future of Irish agri-tourism is all the brighter thanks to properties like Longueville House. Let’s hope autumn brings them another rich harvest.

Longueville House Stay and dine rates for four-star Longueville House start from €335 per couple per night; that includes breakfast, dinner and welcome afternoon tea hosted daily in the drawing room.

I stayed in the luxurious Blackwater suite overlooking the river valley, and while country house décor can sometimes appear a little jaded, Longueville’s rooms feel plush and plumped without losing on period character.

For guests with more lordly ambitions, Longueville and its 12 bedrooms are also available for full private rental for €3,600 per night.

For less buy-in, non-residents can also welcome to book dinner (€65pp). Dining and indeed an overall stay here comes highly recommended.

longuevillehouse.ie

Day in Doneraile

I chased my Longueville stay with a visit to Doneraile Forest Park — a gorgeous public estate which brings gentrified country living to the North Cork masses.

Centred around its 18th century Palladian mansion, the demesne features 500 acres of scenic parkland strolls, highlight being the resident herds of sika, fallow and red deer who graze here. The manor itself is available for guided tours (€8) but there’s no fee to enjoy the actual grounds, parking is free and there’s even a well-kitted children’s playground (which features a mini zip-line!).

doneraileestate.ie

Ballyvolane House

Ballyvolane House.

Ballyvolane means the “townland of the springing heifers” in Irish, so expect some rustic pedigree when checking into Castlelyons’ most iconic period property. Ballyvolane House is also making a name for its penchant for distilling and this autumn, they’re offering a “sloe staycation” package which includes a two-night stay with breakfast, four-course seasonal dinner on one evening as well as a parting bottle of Bertha’s small-batch sloe gin (distilled on-site). Mingling with the resident hens, donkeys and rare-breed pigs also comes as standard. €298pps;

ballyvolanehouse.ie

City Break

For a seasonal break in the city, the Montenotte Hotel has just launched a fresh “Fall in Love with us this Autumn” offer. The deal includes three nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast each morning, a three-course dinner on two evenings and access to the hotel’s Cameo cinema and health club. For autumnal vibes, you’ll also receive a guided tour of the hotel’s panoramic Victorian gardens and woodlands from the hotel’s head gardener, Ann Daly.

€255pps; themontenottehotel.com