Our trip to Graigue / Dunquin
on the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
April 11-20, 2008
The spectacular view from our cottage:
This page has details on THE STONE COTTAGE
The original page for this trip was too long (over 200 photos!)
so I have given some parts their own page.
This page focuses on the cottage – it has more pictures than the write-up on the main page.
Press here to return to personal picture menu.
THE STONE COTTAGE
We had no trouble finding the cottage. We had located it on Google Earth before we left and, using Philomena’s directions and the photo on her website of the view from the living room, we triangulated its location almost exactly. We pulled up at around 5:30 p.m. 6.5 hours after leaving Dublin.
Close-up location of the cottage in Graigue (pronounced groig) just north of Dunquin:
This year’s cottage with respect to last year’s:
Stone Cottage in Graigue / Dunquin
Wow! The cottage was Philomenal!
(This is an intentional misspelling because the cottage, and its owner Philomena, were both
PHENOMENAL!.)
The stone cottage we stayed in this year had some big shoes to fill (given how much we loved last year’s cottage) and we all agreed that it EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS! It had all the comfort, conveniences, and charm that we’d had last year, but more of it, and was perfect in every respect. The cottage was one of the BEST parts of this trip!
First of all, it was huge! There are four bedrooms and they ALL HAVE AN ATTACHED (en-suite) BATH with a toilet, sink, shower and a heated towel bar (with two big, soft, thirsty towels)! Any one who knows me knows how crucial a private bath is to me and for that reason alone this cottage was a rare find!
The master bedroom had a queen bed with a VERY comfortable mattress, a spectacular view of the coastline, and a large sitting area. (I mention this first – can you tell what’s important to me?) Two of the other bedrooms have a double bed, and the forth bedroom has two twin beds. In addition to the en-suite bathrooms, there was a powder room on the ground floor. The master bath had a large tub, which we did not use, and a hair dryer which we did.
The kitchen was very big and modern with a full-size refrigerator, stove, microwave and dishwasher and was well stocked with pots, pans, utensils, knives, cutting boards, bowls, dishes, glasses, silverware, and linens. There was a 12-cup electric coffee machine and a toaster.
The living-dining area had TWO HUGE PICTURE WINDOWS LOOKING OUT ON SYBIL HEAD AND THE THREE SISTERS! This I think was the cottage’s most unique and spectacular feature. The furniture was very comfortable – the guys spent many afternoons napping in the living room which is testament to that – and the coffee table was large enough for all the maps and books we were constantly referencing.
Off the living-dining area was a large patio, also with a view of the shoreline, and with a picnic table that will seat 8. The house was surrounded by pastures and there were sheep grazing there almost every day.
In a room under the patio were a full size washer and dryer. Having a washer and dryer meant we could pack light and do laundry half way through the week. The previous occupants had left us some salt and pepper, dish soap, sponges, paper towels, cling wrap, toilet paper and detergent all of which we really appreciated – it’s rough having to buy a whole box of detergent to do two loads.
Although we did not use them, there was a radio/CD player, TV, DVD player, bicycle, and charcoal grill.
The cottage looked EXACTLY like the photos on the website and was immaculate. There were windows everywhere and tons of skylights so it was bright and cheery. The parking area was also huge and would have held 4 cars if we’d had them, a boon when you cannot park on the side of the road. Also, because every bedroom has an attached (en-suite) bathroom, three adult couples can share the cottage!
When we went inside, the sun was streaming in through the large picture windows overlooking Sybil Head and Irish folk music wafted from the CD player in the living room. It couldn’t have been a more inviting welcome. So, I ordered everyone to stand back while I took pictures to record the moment for posterity:
The exterior (taken at 5:00 p.m.) was all stone, a requirement for us:
The first thing we saw – the foyer (with a slate floor!):
On the right was the living room (the furniture was very comfortable):
The SPECTACULAR view from the living dining area:
The dining room with seating for 8:
The fireplace, visible from both the living and dining rooms:
The kitchen was huge:
Another view of the living-dining with view of the fireplace and entry to kitchen:
The powder room, to the left of the front door:
The bedroom on the ground floor, next to the powder room:
The bathroom attached to this bedroom:
The upstairs landing:
The master bedroom, upstairs:
The master bathroom (the shower was wonderful!):
A second bedroom upstairs:
The bathroom attached to this bedroom:
A third bedroom upstairs:
The bathroom attached to this bedroom:
The view from the front door:
The house across the street (as seen from the parking area):
The view of the coastline from the parking area,
the back of the barn is on the right side of the photo:
The barn (?) next to the parking area:
The back yard, and pathway to the utility room:
The laundry (utility) room, below the patio:
There was ANOTHER yard behind the house, and a door to it from the dining room, but I did not get a picture of it. The parking area extended around the side of the house (along the road) all the way to the back.
The official address for this cottage is:
Graigue (name of village)
Ballyferriter or Baile an Fheirteuraigh (name of parish)
Dingle or An Daingean
County Kerry, Ireland
While it may sound like this cottage was much nicer than the one we had last year they were equally nice in different ways:
The smaller cottage was perfect for a cozy romantic getaway and had the character that comes with age; I also liked the fact that there was stone on the inside as well as the outside, and the rugs that gave it a certain warmth on chilly days. The view was great but was not visible when you were sitting -- you had to stand in front of a window.
The larger cottage was much more modern and easier to live in, the view was SPECTACULAR and was visible from every spot in the living area, and it had the comfort that comes with contemporary. It was also a shorter trip into Dingle and Ballyferriter and therefore more conveniently located. And, of course, the bathrooms made it the perfect place for multiple couples.
However, we would definitely stay in the bigger cottage even if we came alone and would not feel like we were “rattling around” in it. If you cannot sleep in a double bed, the bigger cottage is the only one with a queen-size bed, in the master bedroom.
Press here for link to the cottage website (a new window will open).
The rent for the cottage does not include oil and electricity. Those utilities are extra and payable on departure, so we found the meters and tried to figure out how fast they were running. We got them mixed up and thought that the oil meter – billed at 2 Euros per unit -- was running at 4 units per hour so we turned the registers as low as we could and practically froze our butts off! We turned them back up and, the next day, we realized that we’d been looking at the electric meter – billed at 20 CENTS per unit – and that we could afford to keep the cottage at a comfortable temperature, and the water heater and the heated towels bars (both of which have their own switch) on. The utilities for the entire week were under 100 Euros, VERY reasonable.
Saturday, April 19.
Our last day here. We got up around 8:30, had a quick cup of coffee and some toast, and started tidying up the cottage. There is a 50 Euro charge if it’s left in a disorderly state and we didn’t want to pay it so KC did the dishes while the rest of us stripped the beds and emptied the trash.
At 10:00 Rick, Colleen, and I walked down to Philomena’s to meet her pets. Sadie, the dog, is adorable and super friendly, begging for petting every time you stop. She scarfed up Colleen’s leftover sirloin and rolled over for belly rubs from both of us.
We rang Phil’s bell and she came right out and took us to the pasture next to their house to check out the new foal. We kept our distance as the mother was still protective. It’s a beautiful foal and huge – I can’t believe that a week ago it was inside that tiny pony!
Philomena’s house, up the road from the cottage:
Philomena’s dog, Sadie, in heaven:
Philomena’s new foal (6 days old) and her mother, Leah:
It was getting late now and we had a long drive ahead of us so we reluctantly said goodbye and made our way back to the cottage.
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Last Revised: May 1, 2008
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