I was privileged to be the first guest staying in Mary’s wonderful cottage in Townawully overlooking Lough Eske. The property is situated at the end of the road outside the small community of Townawully and is been completely renovated, self-contained cottage with a modern block built onto the old stone farmhouse. Architecturally it is unique and feels more like the sort of place you would expect to find in the Austrian mountains of Vorarlberg than in Donegal but is all the more special for it. I was looking for a retreat to do some writing, walking and sleeping away from the madding crowd and Mary’s lovely cottage allowed me to do all of those things in peace and with all the comfort I could wish for.
Mary’s background in the hospitality business shows in the high quality of all the equipment as well as the design of the kitchen. The range and ovens are of the highest quality and it was a joy to have two oversized sinks to work with. The whole building is designed to maximise the exposure to the sun and “follows” the trajectory of the light from East to West throughout the day in the spacious living room facing out towards Lough Eske and the Bluestack Mountains. I spend most of my time working, reading and eating in that room and grew to love it in the time I spent there. The weather was as you would expect it in mid-March: storms and rain interspersed with hours of relief and glorious sunshine - at no time did the cottage feel anything other than a refuge and safehaven from which to wonder at the natural spectacle of light and weather playing outside.
The cottage is set in 12 acres of its own moorland with a waterfall not 50m from the front door. There is easy access to the lake-studded countryside beyond and I spent hours exploring the mountains and moors on foot during my stay, walking from the cottage up the valley onto the endless expanse of country that stretches behind it and into the Bluestacks. At the same time it is a 7 minute drive to Lidl on the edge of Donegal Town and 10 minutes into the town centre and five minutes to Harvey’s Point Restaurant so for all its splendid isolation the cottage is well connected to civilisation and all the amenities you could wish for.
I LOVED my stay and will definitely be returning. Thank you to Mary for making my stay there memorable and personal. I could not have been made to feel more welcome.