Winter above Mulroy Bay.
Steam off the hot tub in cold air, the sauna at 80°C, the wood-burner lit in the cottage — and the weather over the water watched from the warm side of the glass.
Come when it’s quiet. That’s rather the point.
Summer here is lovely and busy. Winter is the same place with the volume turned down: the beaches empty, the roads clear, the stars sharper, and the things this smallholding does best — heat, water, fire — all better for the cold. The hot-stone sauna works hardest when the air outside is at its coldest, every stay’s private hot tub is heated and ready under cover whatever the weather is doing, and the cottage has a wood-burner that throws real heat.
Evenings move to the games room in the old forge — chess, darts and the whiskey-stave bar — or to the cinema with the rain on the roof. Dogs are welcome at all three stays, and a winter beach is the best walk a dog gets all year. Midweek is the quietest of all, and often you’ll have the place close to yourselves.
Lit for the long evenings.
Heat, water, fire — all better for the cold.
The sauna, at its best
Hot-stone, up to 80°C in about twenty minutes, open around the clock and never shared with anyone from outside. The cold end of the cycle takes care of itself in January.
A hot tub at every stay
Private, heated and ready when you arrive, and under cover — the cabins on their covered decks, the cottage in its gazebo — so the rain is part of it, not the end of it.
The wood-burner
The cottage’s cast-iron stove is the same one that warmed the family Christmases. Logs in, kettle on, weather ignored.
Twenty minutes to 80°C, whatever the sky is doing.
If there’s one thing worth knowing about a winter stay here, it’s the hot-stone sauna in the old peat shed. The colder the air, the better the whole thing works: heat until you’ve had enough, the copper shower in the courtyard for the cold end of the cycle, robes and towels waiting, and the walk back to your own hot tub afterwards.
It’s open around the clock, there’s no booking system, and it’s never shared with anyone from outside — just the handful of guests staying on the estate that night.
Common questions
- Are you open through the winter?
- Yes — all three stays, the sauna and the games room run right through the year. Winter is the quiet season here, and midweek is the quietest of all. See winter at the forge.
- Is the hot tub still worth it in winter?
- Especially then. Every tub is heated and ready when you arrive, and each sits under cover — the cabins under their covered decks, the cottage in its gazebo — so the weather is part of it rather than a problem.
- Does the sauna run in winter?
- Yes, any time of day, shared only with the other stays. It goes from cold to 80°C in about twenty minutes, and the cold end of the cycle looks after itself at that time of year.
- What is there to do in winter?
- On site: the sauna, your own hot tub, the wood-burner in the cottage and the games room in the old forge. Out the door: quiet beaches, Fanad Lighthouse and links golf at Rosapenna a short drive away.
The quiet season. Book a winter stay.
Winter dates are the easiest of the year to get, and midweek from €180 a night is the calendar at its gentlest. Book direct: we honour Airbnb and Booking.com rates with no commission.
