Tuesday, April 14, 2015

What We Do

After reading back over the past couple of blog posts we realised that we spend a lot of time telling you about whats on offer in our local area but not so much time telling you about what we offer here at Nell's Farmhouse so here goes:

Nell's Farmhouse is a heritage farm with self catering accommodation.  The house itself is over 200 years old.  In 2008 we took on the task of renovating part of the house to provide self catering accommodation.  We had our first visitors in 2009.  So now we are six years in and are still learning as we go.  The accommodation can sleep up to six people.  There is a double room, a twin room which is en-suite with a walk in shower and a comfy pull out double bed in the large sitting room. The sitting room has big comfy sofas that you can sink into to watch Sky TV or a DVD.  There is also a very inviting open fire.  Sticks and coal are provided for guests.  The kitchen has all the modern conveniences you would expect including an oven, hob, fridge freezer and dishwasher.
There is a fully enclosed patio area with seating, a BBQ and a hot tub.  For people on longer stays there is a washing machine and drying facilities.  We also provide safe storage for bicycles and WiFi.  When you book Nell's you get exclusive use of the facilities.

The other side of the house has been left in its original traditional state.  The kitchen was the heart of the house in times gone by.  There is an open fire with a crane to hang the kettle on to boil and a fire wheel to stoke up the fire.  Mary is an expert at making traditional pot oven bread and cooking it over the open fire.  Butter making is also one of Mary's specialties with the traditional butter churn.  The combination of the freshly baked bread and real butter has been enjoyed by many groups that have visited over the years.

Nell's Farmhouse is situated on a working dairy farm.  Many visitors have enjoyed the opportunity to get a hands on experience of the workings of our modern dairy farm with visits to the milking parlour, feeding the calves and collecting eggs from the hens.  This is a big hit especially with the younger visitors.

We are keen to preserve our heritage traditions and pass on our traditional knowledge to others.  For the past number of years we have taken part in Ireland's Heritage week which is held each August.  In 2013 we were a runner up/finalist in the most innovative event category for our traditional wake.  In 2014 we won the award for the most interactive event for the re-enactment of our traditional Irish wake and the reading of the will.  On that night we also had a visit from Irish TV who recorded the event which was later televised (You can watch the episode here http://bit.ly/1CL1MVo).  We enjoy hosting school groups and are happy to tailor the programme provided to teachers requirements.  Active retirement groups have visited in the past.  They have sat around the fire and reminisced about times gone by, told tales of yore and sang songs.  Mary's butter churn is well traveled as she goes to many local shows and festivals to give demonstrations.  She was most recently at the West Waterford Festival of Food and her next engagement is for the Dungarvan 800 festival on the 3-4th July this year.





The announcement of "Ireland's Ancient East" today is very exciting and we are currently working on a package to offer visitors as part of our involvement with Irish heritage so there are lots of exciting opportunities ahead.

To book a stay at Nell's Farmhouse contact Mary on 086-2206007 or visit us on line at www.nellsfarmhouse.ie  Our new favourite social media is twitter check us out @nellsfarmhouse