Premium
#9054
Peaceful Irish retreat in central location close to Belfast and Dublin
House • Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Northern Ireland United Kingdom
12 Guests
5 Bedrooms
7 Beds
2.5 Bathrooms
Wheelchair accessible
Pets welcome
5 Car spaces
1 Car available
Exchange types accepted
Statistics
Listed April 2021
Views 4820
General overview
Although we live in a rural location, we are truly spoiled with the local facilities and amenities, particularly in relation to outdoor activities. Being on the banks of Lough Neagh, we have easy access to the Oxford Island Nature Reserve where we can partake in open water swimming (ice swimming in the winter!), paddle boarding or visit the Marina for bushcraft activities and other watersports. We have a paddleboard, as well as wetsuits, which guests are welcome to use.
We have access (5 minutes drive) to the Craigavon Lakes, where a brand new Olympic Swimming Pool has just been completed, again with access to watersports. The Lakes are also the site of our local 5km Park Run. There is also a small rare breed animal farm (free entry!) and excellent new playground in the same vicinity.
We have good mountain biking trails close by and have three adult size hybrid/mountain bikes and one road bike which guests are welcome to use.
We tend to make the short trip into Belfast for a night out or for access to the best bars/restaurants, but we do have some local gems close by.
While we have numerous, safe, walking and biking trails very close by, we tend to make the 40 minute drive to the Mourne Mountains on a regular basis for 'proper' hillwalking - the scenery is stunning and there are many different levels of walking in the area.
The space
We live in a large modern house in the County Armagh countryside, near a small village with a shop. The property benefits from underfloor heating and has a large games room above the garage with table tennis, sauna and mini football. We have a large enclosed garden with football nets, trampoline, basketball hoop and patio area with both charcoal and gas BBQs and wood fired hot tub and we grow most of our own vegetables in open raised beds and in our polytunnel - guests are invited to pick and eat all they can! We also keep chickens so eggs are always on the menu. We also have a pizza oven that sits on top of the BBQ and a PerfectDraft beer tap.
We built our house eight years ago and have five large double bedrooms which can accommodate upwards of ten people, as well as open plan living/dining/kitchen area and another family room. All five bedrooms have a double/king bed and two of the rooms also have double futons for extending the sleeping arrangements to a maximum of 14 guests. With two teenagers in the house, we have plenty of large flat screen TVs in both the living areas and the bedrooms and access to various streaming services for movies/gaming etc. The Master bedroom has an ensuite wetroom and we also have a family bathroom upstairs.
Guest access
Our home is over two floors and the ground floor is wheelchair accessible through the back patio area.
Notes
We keep chickens and would be grateful if guests could check for eggs each day.
We also have a very friendly cat called Lexi, so our home would not be suitable for those with cat allergies. Our dog, Jet is a young, bouncy German Shepherd but we will kennel him during your stay.
Features
Washer
Dishwasher
Clothes dryer
Oven
Microwave
Coffee machine
Fridge
Iron
Hair dryer
Heating
TV
WiFi
High Speed Internet
Bathtub
Wheelchair accessible
Smoke alarms
Bed sheets
Towels
Workspace
Fireplace
Toys
BBQ
Hot tub
Garden / yard
Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace
Travel Styles
Family
Sport and leisure
Relaxing
Mountains
Water
Hiking
Golf
Accessibility
House rules
Suitable for infants under 2
Suitable for children ages 2-12
Pets welcome
No smoking
Allergens
Smoke free
Dates of Availability
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Neighbourhood
While being in a rural location, we are well situated close to local towns and villages and a 25 minute drive/train journey will have you in Belfast City Centre in no time. We are also only about 45 minutes from the beautiful Mourne Mountains (https://walkni.com/mourne-mountains-destination/), an hour and a half to Dublin (https://www.visitdublin.com/) and about the same distance to the North Coast - handy for visiting the Giant's Causeway.
Northern Ireland is sure to appeal to those interested in food, music, culture and the great outdoors, with Belfast recently being voted UK's Best City (Guardian and Observer Travel Awards).
We are about 40 minutes drive to the nearest sandy beaches, in Newcastle, and Murlough Beach and Nature Reserve is a great place to go for a walk (https://www.countryfile.com/go-outdoors/walks/murlough-national-nature-reserve-county-down-northern-ireland/) to view the basking seals and other wildlife.
St George's Market (https://visitbelfast.com/partners/st-georges-market/) is a traditional Victorian market and was recently voted Britain's best market and is one of Belfast's top attractions. It's especially great at Christmas time, where they have additional opening hours - great for crafts, food and music.
We have a wealth of 'foodie' tours, showing off the best of local produce - you can even catch and cook your own fish if you can get up for the early start on the Catch and Sea tour. (https://discovernorthernireland.com/food-and-drink/tours-trails-and-experiences).
Northern Ireland also hosts many fabulous golf courses, all of which are within easy reach. For links golfers, we have the two 'Royals' - Royal Portrush (home of the 2019 British Open) and Royal County Down but we also have numerous parkland courses within the vicinity. I am a member at Lurgan Golf Club (https://www.lurgangolfclub.com/) - a challenging yet rewarding course 5 minutes drive from our home and can arrange playing partners if you wish.
We have two exceptional living history museums in the vicinity, which are well worth a visit. The Ulster American Folk Park and the Folk and Transport museums (https://www.nmni.com/our-museums/Our-Museums.aspx) are a great way to spend a day.
Belfast is great for indoor fun - with the Ice Bowl (Dundonald) for ice skating and Indianaland and We are Vertigo for the World's largest indoor inflatable park and Ninja Warrior Course. You can also do indoor skydiving lessons.
Another lovely trip for those of you who are fans of the series, The Game of Thrones, is to do a tour of the film locations (https://visitbelfast.com/article/game-of-thrones-filming-locations-belfast-northern-ireland/).
In Armagh City, which is just about 20 minutes drive away, the Navan Centre and Fort is great to visit – for a bit of ancient Celtic history. There is also the Armagh Cathedral, which is pretty impressive to visit if you are in the area. Also our kids enjoy the shows on at the Armagh Plantetarium.
We have Let’s Go Hydro, which is about a half hour drive from our home, which is great fun – they have Ireland’s largest aquapark, cable wakeboarding, a drive in cinema and open water swimming, as well as other activities.
A lovely day trip would be to drive up to the Causeway Coastal Route on the North Coast to visit the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, the Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills Whiskey Distillery (it’s the oldest licenced whiskey distillery in the world), Dunluce Castle and Mussenden Temple.
Getting to my home
If you are travelling by car, we are only a couple of miles from the main Lurgan junction (Junction 10) on the M1 Motorway.
We are linked by rail to both Dublin (Portadown station) and Belfast (Lurgan station).
Nearest airport
Both Belfast airports are around 25 miles away (half hour drive/taxi). However, we often find that Dublin airport flights can be MUCH cheaper and as a family we usually fly into Dublin. It's a bit trickier getting from Dublin to our house (it's an hour and 15 minutes drive) as taxis can be expensive but there is a bus (every hour) and then short taxi from a nearby town which is usually a good option.
Getting around
A car is necessary as we are in a rural location, although we do have four adult bikes which you are welcome to use.
Map of Approximate Location
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Feedback
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Desired Destinations
Open to any destination
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