Ballinderry Park Country House, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway
Ballinderry Park was the worthy
winner of the Country House Breakfast of the Year 2007 sponsored by
Ballinderry Park is not your typical country house hotel, guest house or Bed and Breakfast but a beautifully restored Georgian private family home in the midst of the peaceful County Galway countryside.
The house
overlooks its own miniature park, with some magnificent specimen trees including a very large London Plane, quite a rare tree in a rural setting, with widespread drooping branches forming a vast green tent in summer. The land is largely rough pasture, while a grass avenue at one side leads to a simple bridge over the Derry Brook, which gives access to a small wood where there are wild flowers, birds and badgers.
Ballinderry Park is a
wonderful, historic private family house, where guests are all made very welcome and no effort is spared to make them feel at home. The surroundings are peaceful, yet easily accessible from Dublin and Shannon, and the sky is dark at night.
The four bedrooms are on two floors and are painted with
strong, restful colours and furnished with pictures, antique furniture, china and books. They have
comfortable beds, antique bedspreads, crisp linen and their own bathrooms en-suite. All have their own external lobbies opening onto the landings, for added peace and privacy.
In the evening guests are invited to help themselves to a drink from a well-stocked cupboard then sit beside the log fire to peruse an interesting wine list that is both short and remarkably good value.
George Gossip is not only a thoughtful host but well known in Ireland as a terrific cook, who seeks out the best ingredients and dreams up meals that are imaginative but don’t strive for effect.
Read more about Ballinderry Park on their website, or read Georgina Campbell's full review here.
Activities that can be enjoyed while staying at Ballinderry Park include:
* Golf – courses at Ballinasloe, Athlone, Glasson, Loughrea etc…
* Game fishing for brown trout – in season and by prior arrangement
* Coarse fishing - for pike and other coarse fish
* Bird watching – particularly in the autumn and winter
* Walking – there are a number of signed walkways in the area
* Cycling – easy, since there are few hills
* Horseracing – at Ballinrobe, Galway, Kilbeggan and Roscommon
* Horse riding
* Irish music
