Courtyard Cottage

Tiny Askeaton is one of the oldest villages in Ireland, tucked between the ruins of Desmond Castle and the Franciscan Friary: the area buzzes with medieval history. Slip through simple iron gates and up a long track to Inchirourke (still a working organic farm) and your converted cow shed. Yasmin and Donagh, whose family have lived here for 400 years, will be there to greet you with an assortment of friendly dogs. Step inside and rusticity is forgotten! Here you find something more akin to a smart Chelsea apartment: white ceramic floors heated underfoot, a high loft ceiling with exposed beams, an open fireplace at one end, and light streaming in through a wall of windows – just lovely. The kitchen is a good and bright place to cook, but you can have breakfast and dinner brought to you if you prefer – choose B&B or just do-it-yourself. Bedrooms are at either end of the living room, one with a bath, the other with a tiled wet room; both have antique furniture, great beds and softly patterned Roman blinds at small windows with deep sills. There are 500 acres to wander, woodland for scampering and the river Deel for fishing.