On our favourite Hook penninsula beach today - we had it all to ourselves on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of May. Magnificent !

Take a Glimpse voucher book

Di and Graham from New Zealand have just left us heading for Killarney next. They recommended the Ireland at a Glimpse booklet which contains money-off vouchers giving you two for the price of one entry into :




- Castles, Museums - Heritage, Visitor Centres - Caves
- Aquariums - Pottery - Distilleries - Gaols - Historic Houses
- Parks & Gardens

They reckon it pays for itself if you only visit two of the attractions listed, and you are bound to want to see more than that in the South East alone!

Ireland at a Glimpse guide 2012
http://www.take-a-glimpse.com/buy-now.html

http://www.cowhousestudios.com/ireland/about.html


Our daughter is just back from a week's portfolio preparation course at the Cow House Studios which is a pretty 40 minute drive from here. What a wonderful place! She got through lots of work and really enjoyed the experience. Highly recommended for art courses.
Also the Norman Gallery, a little bit further on is worth a visit if you are exploring this lovely, hilly part of Wexford. It is very rural and remote and tranquil, but not far off the beaten track really. I enjoyed the drive back and forth.

Plucky

This is one of our latest additions - a Silkie Bantam by the name of Plucky. She is living in the greenhouse until she gets a bit bigger and growns her trouser feathers, but sometimes she comes for a little visit into the kitchen. A real pet.
We also have 6 brown hens and two black ones, but they don't have names. Mocha is frantic with rage and jealousy, so the green house has had to be cat-proofed.

We've had some delightful entries in the photo competition, some of which I have put on the facebook page Fruit-Hill-Irish-Holiday-Cottages. These taken by Howard and David from California arrived in today and were taken last autumn. Winner will be announced around St Patrick's Day next year, so this year's visitors have a chance to win big discounts on their next holiday with us !

Round Ireland with a pair of peacocks

I'm re-blogging a piece about Fruit Hill written by Kerry O'Niell who inspects for Alastair Sawday's Special Places....

Round Ireland with a pair of peacocks

The Coach House, part of the Fruit Hill Cottages spread in Wexford is just fantastic. Peacocks tap at windows to come in, chickens supply irregularly shaped eggs (being a city and supermarket girl I’m not used to quirky, non-GM foods) and a slice of Susan’s delectable home-made chocolate cake appears on arrival. Mmm mmm. The Coach House itself sleeps six with oodles of room to socialise, eat, play and generally make merry in. If this property were in Bristol it would house about ten people and, if in a cramped ski resort (where the cupboard under the stairs is described as a two-person annexe), it would sleep about 18. The bedrooms were spacious, the storage capacious and kids have their own two-person annexe, ie a colourful playroom under the stairs. But the magic happens outside. Susan and Dick’s wild, wonder and wander-inducing grounds are pocked with triangular chicken hutches, the kitchen garden is poised to burst back to life and adventures will soon be happening in the tree house that is under construction. Exhausted after a day of driving, I nuzzled down into in a superb bed in Garden Cottage just next door. The sauna-scented wooden mezzanine was above the largest chimney breast I have ever seen – and around which the entire cottage has been lovingly reconstructed. If arriving on a late ferry, break up your journey to western Ireland with a mini holiday here. Once over the cattle grid – turn your mobile off and just enjoy. 

10th Anniversary

This year marks the tenth anniversary of our holiday cottage venture, and as part of the celebrations we would like to offer all past visitors, and all blog followers a 10% discount for 2012, and the chance to win 50% off a week's holiday in 2013, the year of the Gathering.

To be in with a chance, just email me your Fruit Hill holiday snaps - fruithill@gmail.com - and the photograph we like best wins. Results will be blogged early in 2013. Here are some examples !