Garden of earthly delights

Peter Dowdall visits the 97-acre estate at Inish Beg Estate near Baltimore, Co Cork, and meets the owners whose organic approach has reaped resplendent rewards.

Inish Beg has it all — apart from over 90 acres of lush West Cork gardens, this destination locations, which is also part of the West Cork Garden trail, is also on the Wild Atlantic Way and has just received a plaque assuring visitors that they provide excellent service and standards.

The couple who run the grand old house and a cluster of five-star lodges and guest houses on an island on the Ilen River, is Paul and Georgie Keane. They, along with a team of gardeners, including the designers, Verney Naylor and Anthony Cohu, have achieved great things here in Inish Beg and over a large area too.