Port is an exceptional place - it must be one of the most unspoilt, beautiful and fascinating places in Ireland, not to mention Western Europe. I’ve been coming to this part of Donegal since 1976 and have eyed the cottage enviously on many occasions - so it was a delight to find that it can now be rented.
The walks from the cottage have got to be the best we’ve ever done - especially along the cliff tops of Port Hill. And the view from the cottage itself is one of ever-changing beauty; there can’t be many places in the world where you can watch Choughs, Ravens and Gannets from your front door.
As the listing implies, the cottage is quite unusual and with this in mind, you may find the following suggestions and observations useful:
Although hot water is supplied by the woodburner in the main room, you will need to buy the fuel yourself. You can buy bales of peat briquettes and logs (the owner Roland suggests a mixture is best), together with kindling, firelighters and matches from the Spar in Ardara before driving to the cottage. I think Roland suggests this in his emailed check-in file (which unfortunately our macs couldn’t open), but it’s not currently mentioned in the Airbnb listing or itinerary.
We stayed in August and got through about a bale and a half of peat/logs an evening, which was enough to keep the chill and damp at bay and heat enough water for a bath the next morning. You should budget about €10 pd for this (despite its "eco” label, the cottage does not have much insulation and is very draughty, especially when it’s blowing a gale - which it did quite a lot! So we are not sure how much fuel the two wood burners - both of which might benefit from servicing - would get through in other seasons).
The solar power wasn’t working when we arrived and we didn’t get instructions on how to switch it (and thus the lighting), on until the following day. You might want to get these instructions from Roland prior to arrival. Although we used candles (also available from the Spar!), in the evenings and only used the electric lighting briefly when cooking/going to bed etc., the solar power gave up on the last evening - maybe not enough sunshine!
Cleaning. Clearly all the guest have done their best to clean the surfaces and objects that are in daily use, but it would be a major task to give the cottage the thorough clean it really needs. Consequently, although we spent many hours cleaning, we were unable to achieve the owner’s injunction (in the house notes), that we leave it "as we would like to find it”.
Hope that’s helpful. It really is the most fantastic place.