County Wicklow holiday cottage: Coolkenno

Very peaceful location, lovely setting at the foot of a field & with a private garden. It is part of a farmyard complex which makes it more interesting as there is the 'big house' & a stables attached. The cottage surpassed our expectations from the website & in our view is bigger & lovelier than the photos demonstrate. The Mews is the perfect cosy cottage that you'd hope for; it has been modernised whilst retaining character features. The living room is v. comfortable & I imagine very warm & cosy on chilly evenings with the wood stove lit & the curtains drawn. The additional summer room (breakfast/dining room) is a lovely light spot to sit looking out & makes the cottage much more spacious than it might otherwise feel. The bathroom is a modern wet room with fab shower. The bedroom is comfy & cosy & traditional. The owner was very welcoming, friendly and helpful. Although the cottage backs onto a yard with stables & visitors coming & going, it caused no disturbance for us at all. The owner has a dog who often keeps guard of The Mews but is impeccably behaved. It isn't a good location if you're looking for nightlife as it's a few miles to the nearest town but then there's no need to go out when staying in such a lovely place. Although the cottage is passed by The Wicklow Way, the local walks often involve conifer forests forestry commission style; the local scenery is pleasant but not dramatic. However, it's about an hour's drive to The Wicklow Mountains which are fantastic & well worth a visit expecially Glendalough where there are different waymarked walks. English walkers note that there is not the proliferation of footpaths in Ireland that we are used to in England. Kilkenny made a good day trip for sightseeing & culture. It took us (driving on the slower side) approx. 1.5 hours from Dublin airport to get to The Mews. Highly recommended for the cottage itself especially.