Hazelwood

At the centre of the house, in what was the original structure, is a lofty, terracotta dining room. It retains much of the original cooking hearth complete with swinging pot crane and various cooking irons from a long-gone era.

A wonderful communal room for the evenings, with an oak table and seating for eight.

A step down from the dining room is an amply appointed kitchen. Colourful, contemporary, and of eclectic design, it’s also an ideal breakfast room.

The latched doors, liscannor flagstone floor and small square curtained windows, preserve the Irish heritage evident throughout the home. Preparation surfaces are stainless steel, with a tall fridge concealed behind lofty press doors.

In contrast, the sitting room appended to the opposite end of the house, is filled with light from the south facing windows that line one side, all the while framing that striking vista of Culdaff beach and the headland beyond.

There is a door from here directly onto the front driveway – a handy entrance. Mustard in colour, and furnished with deeply comfortable sofas and a woodburning stove, the room also has French doors opening onto a stone flagged patio, for those special barbecue days.

Sleeps up to 7 guests.

The master bedroom is of generous size and bookends the kitchen end of the house. The ensuite features a commodious walk-in wet room shower. At its centre, an archetypal wrought iron and brass knob bedstead overlooked by a brooding of bird pictures.

Directly off the dining room, there is a whimsical box bedroom paneled in a pale watery teal with views to the beach. The snug, cabin bed is as cosy as it is unique.

Off the passageway that threads through the house, a steeply meandering stairway leads to a long loft bedroom, furnished with a pair of traditional iron beds.

Timber sheeted and long, a charming feature is the novel interior window that overlooks the dining room.

There is a delightful bedroom in soft terracotta, with twin wrought iron and brass bedsteads and a duo of windows accessed from the central passageway.

The spacious family bathroom, also off the passageway, has a quirky bath dressed in rusticated stone tiles, a wet-room style walk-in shower and classic vintage sink.

The accomplished stonework of the house extends to the Rapunzel-tower entrance columns. An expansive banked lawn falls away to a heavily shrubbed woodland in the front, where the stunning Culdaff beach view is the hero. Out-buildings at the rear have been re-purposed to serve as a utility room, with an unexpected spacious games room above.

Kitchen Appliances

• 4 Ring gas hob
• Twin electric Oven
• Fridge-freezer
• Dishwasher
• Twin Toaster
• Microwave

Utility Appliances

• Washing machine
• Tumble dryer
• Iron

Bedrooms

• Sizes – One double bed, four single beds
• Cabin bed
• Hairdryer

Tech & Entertainment

• Wi-Fi Internet
• Concealed TV in sitting room
• CD stereo player

Other

• Good selection of books
• Table tennis table
• Foosball table
• Some board games & music cds

• Visit Doagh famine history museum
• Trad music at Lily’s
• Play on Irelands finest Golf links complex
• Go cycling around the peninsula
• Try some rock climbing
• Enjoy fresh Fish and Chips at the Rusty Nail
• Chowder at Nancys Barn
• Get into some Donegal Tweed
• McGrorys backroom bar for the music

• Scuba Dive around wrecks
• A Bistro in the walls of Derry
• Trek a pony along the beach
• Sea Safari nature tours
• Check out all the beaches
• Walk with an Alpaca if you like
• Charter a yacht for the day
• Do some Horse hacking

On the way you will drive through Culdaff, which is the nearest village to the house. It has 3 pubs, a restaurant and a coffee shop. Impossible to ignore is the magnificent Culdaff beach which the cottage looks out onto. Lifeguards are on duty in the summer months making it brilliant for swimmers and surfers. The eastern end has rocky coves and a children’s play area.
Boats may be chartered at Bunagee Pier, just down from the house – very popular with anglers and dolphin watchers alike.

Click here to find out more.

The market town of Cardonagh – 15 minutes by car – is where you will find a more comprehensive selection of shops, pubs and cafes; see also the famous 7^th century St. Patricks Cross.

Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland, and is the starting (or ending) point of the Wild Atlantic Way. Far enough north, and with very little light pollution, you may catch occasional glimpses of the plasma light show that is the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. There are several websites that do forecasts of when views can be expected.

ust a 25-minute drive northwards is Banba’s Crown – the tip of Malin Head and the most northerly point of mainland Ireland. It is statistically the sunniest part of Ireland and also the windiest. Parts of the Star Wars movies were filmed in this other-worldly landscape.
There is said to be the highest concentration of shipwrecks in the world off the headland, which attracts both divers and fishermen alike. The German U-boat fleet was scuttled here at the end of World War II. A short ramble from the car park is a deep and narrow subterranean cavern known as Hells Hole.

More about Malin here

Inishowen has many historical monuments, dating back to early settlements, including the ruins of several castles, and the circular 7^th century dry-stone fort at Grianán Aileach, which is probably the best known. Built some 250m above sea level, it is a windy and exposed place with breathtaking views. The 5m high walls consist of three terraces and accommodation was provided by wooden structures built against them.

Buncrana, half an hour away the second most populous town in County Donegal, after Letterkenny, and the largest in Inishowen. the historic home of the O’Doherty clan, and a major centre for the textile industry in County Donegal. The town is well known for its live music pubs. The renowned Fruit of the Loom clothing plant was a large source of employment in the town before it moved its operations overseas in 2006.

Golf Vacations are extremely popular in Donegal with its many fine courses. The most famous is Ballyliffin Golf Club, home to 2 championship 18-hole courses and just 20 minutes away.

10 minutes west from the house brings you to the inlet that is Trawbreaga Bay.

This is a Wildlife Sanctuary which is an important landfall for migrating geese and other birds.

At the narrow mouth of the bay is the fine sandy beach known as Five Fingers Strand. It is backed by ancient sand dunes which are amongst the highest in Europe – some reaching 30 metres high all held together by tough marram grass that prevents wind erosion.

The wonderful Kinnagoe Beach is a short trip south from the house, and it is here that in 1588 the Spanish Armada ship ‘La Trinidad Valencera’ was wrecked and lay undiscovered until 1971.

The peninsula is renowned for its traditional musicians and singers, so it will be difficult to avoid coming across a session in one of the pubs or hotels of an evening.

Derry City, the second largest in Northern Ireland after Belfast, is under an hour away by car. Built in the early 1600’s, it is the only surviving example of a complete walled city in Ireland, and one of the finest in Europe.It is one of the few cities in Europe that never saw its fortifications breached, withstanding several sieges and has a complex and troubled history.

Visiting The North of Ireland in the summer months you can avoid Derry altogether and save yourself a good half an hour by using the Lough Foyle Car ferry

The Inishowen 100 tourist route is an approximately 100-mile signposted scenic drive around the peninsula. Here is a link  to illustrate what you can expect in more detail.

Cycling is extremely popular in County Donegal, and the annual Inishowen 100 attracts hundreds of entrants every August.