We are paddling along the Blackwater, playing an informal game of “spot the big house”. Silken water slides by the kayak oars, as along the banks we see Curraghmore, Dromana and then Strancally Castle. Further towards the coast there is Ballynatray, while upstream is Tourin and, a little later, Lismore Castle. It manages to simultaneously feel historic, timeless and somehow mythological too. Sealing the deal, three swans take off, channelling the Children of Lir. Watching their feet race the water, they put a mighty effort into looking so graceful and effortless.
Once upon a time, the Blackwater was highly strategic, and the surrounding lands highly fertile, so it is perhaps no wonder that so many stately piles are perched along its banks. Perhaps this is also the reason why the area is something of a secret spot. The owners of said stately piles tended to retain their lands, and had plenty of room for their guests. Hotels and resorts round here are less prevalent than you might have imagined.
A handful of those dreamy buildings are available for sleepovers, however, and many of those that aren’t open their delicious gardens to the public. See the Waterford Garden Trail on visitwaterford.com for locations, times and garden visit dates. On the overnight front, Richmond House, just outside Cappoquin, has rooms from €140 (richmondcountryhouse.ie), and you can rent the whole of Lismore Castle from €16,000 a night – although in fairness, it does sleep nearly 30 (thehallandlismorecastle.com).
Across the Dromana Gate Bridge, a must-see hidden Hindu Gothic gem, and over the Waterford border into Co Cork, Ballyvolane gives you the full country house experience, including shared suppers, delicious cocktails made with their own renowned Bertha’s Revenge gin, and the most blissful, peaceful sleep imaginable. You’re not right on the Blackwater, but a small lake makes up for it.
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You can have Ballyvolane all to yourself for two nights for €5,000 (sleeping 12 in six bedrooms including breakfast), or book individual rooms from €280 per night. Dogs are welcome. Glamping options are available from €300 for two nights. Add dinner at €70 for a four-course seasonal set menu. During the upcoming Feast Cork food and drink festival, the house will host a Meet the Makers Bertha’s Revenge distillery tour and lunch, on September 7th.
Justin and Jenny Green took over the running of the place 20 years ago this year, during which time they have overseen a continuing preservation of the place, and one or two rather brilliant innovations.
They began to host weddings during the recession, converting a farm shed into a beautiful venue, and another into a funky shebeen-style bar. They also reinstated the drawingroom, where we sip pre-dinner Bertha’s Revenge cocktails and post-dinner crab apple gin (delicious). The room had, over the years, become a kitchen/family room, which must have been lovely, but as a drawingroom it is gorgeous.
[ Ballyvolane House finds a use for its crab apples – ginOpens in new window ]
Original floorboards were revealed, previously covered over with hardboard and lino. “There were oil stains too,” says Jenny. “Because a boat had been stored in here.” They rediscovered original plasterwork, and added Asian-inspired Cole & Son wallpaper, “because I grew up in Asia,” and put together it all just works. Jenny is also glad to call on close friend, interior designer Mary Jane Russell, for advice.
The diningroom is darker, the wallpaper a rich red, commissioned from Irish wallpaper maker and conservator David Skinner. “You find darker fireplaces in the diningrooms, because they were evening and night-time rooms,” says Jenny, pointing out a mahogany cabinet, which was the only thing Justin’s grandparents had managed to bring back home with them when they left Malaysia. It’s a fascinating walk-through, as every element tells part of the story.
Ballyvolane itself was built in 1728 by Sir Richard Pyne, a retired lord chief justice, as one of those classic square Georgian country houses. It has been remodelled since, enlarged, and then re-done again in 1872, when George Pyne took the top storey off, added a wing to make up for the loss of space, and gave it an Italianate makeover. It is a history that reminds us these houses were always living buildings, changing with the generations, and with prevailing fashions.
Today, the calls of heritage insist on preservation, which is obviously a good thing, but can make some spaces feel, for want of a better word, museum-y. Not so at Ballyvolane. Justin and Jenny are hoteliers by training, having met working at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. Justin has also been general manager of Babington House, part of Soho House in Somerset, and the pair travel when they can, to keep on top of what others are up to in terms of making guests feel welcome, pampered and relaxed.
“You have to like people,” notes Justin, remembering how growing up he mightn’t see anyone new for weeks. Perhaps that’s where the passion for hospitality came from. Still, not every hotel or guest house has such an abundance of good raw material as Ballyvolane. When I stay, one of the guests has caught a salmon (fishing on the Blackwater can be arranged, as can hiking, kayaking, clay pigeon shooting and guided foraging). We eat it for dinner, accompanied by herbs and vegetables from the walled garden and farm. They had nailed the whole foodie vibe of fresh and foraged at Ballyvolane long before it became a trend.
There is a gentle atmosphere of shabby chic, in that you feel as if you’re part of a large extended family, but one that is decidedly classy. The furniture is a mixture of inherited pieces, things found at auction, and newer purchases, such as a coffee table from when the Greens were living in Indonesia. “I’m a magpie,” confirms Justin. Look closer, and see gorgeous, delicate paintings on the curtain holdbacks in the bedrooms. They were done by Justin’s grandmother. The painted inserts on the doors were commissioned by Justin’s mother. “She just thought they were otherwise so big, and so wide. It took months. It’s a layering,” Jenny says. And it works. It is also a gently endless process of upkeep.
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When Charles, then prince of Wales, came to Ireland with Camilla in 2018, they chose to stay at Ballyvolane. “The British embassy contacted me,” recalls Jenny. It had come out of the blue. “Initially,” says Justin, “we thought it was a high-level Brexit meeting.” “I’m not a royalist,” adds Jenny, “but it was pretty great.” Camilla clearly thought so. An email from her office arrived soon afterwards to find out what mattress the couple had slept on, as she wanted one at home. “King Koil,” Jenny answers promptly, proud that beds fit for kings, and queens are not only aptly named, but are Irish-made, in Co Kildare.
Having just six bedrooms has the advantage of intimacy in that you can hire the whole house and make like you own it for your stay, whether for a group of friends, a multigenerational family gathering or even something corporate. “It’s all about experiences now,” says Justin. “You want to feel totally immersed. It’s not just the food, it’s not just the building…” He goes on to talk about sustainability and biodiversity, and with that we leave our coffee to look at the gardens, explore the woodlands and the lake, and meet chickens and donkeys en route.
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Justin says the gardens are now cared for by his father, Jeremy, who is keeping a garden diary, carefully noting the seasonal plantings and changes, which sounds like a marvellous book in the making. Over time, houses such as Ballyvolane have been Big Houses, farm houses, country houses, and sometimes slowly crumbling white elephants. Maintaining them takes time, commitment, passion and energy, and in the case of Ballyvolane, a certain delicious gin. The wonderful thing about opening them up to guests is that it keeps all their stories alive for generations to come. It was Jeremy and Merrie Greene who initially opened Ballyvolane for country house accommodation, and who were one of the founders of Hidden Ireland, the go-to collection for getting to stay in this house and similarly beautiful spots.
