Grange Lodge Country House

Set on 20 acres outside Dungannon, Grange Lodge dates to 1698 and keeps 3 acres of tended garden around the house itself. The land carries the quiet of a working country holding rather than a manicured estate, though the beds and lawns are kept with evident care. Ralph and Norah Brown have run the house as a guest house for over 35 years, and Norah's cooking, built on local ingredients and traditional recipes, has drawn its own following. Rick Stein's crew once stayed the night before filming her breakfast, and left taken with her lamb stew, wheaten bread and apple tart. Norah, an MBE and one of Stein's named Food Heroes, still teaches her own cookery classes on-site, with particular attention to wheaten and soda bread. It is a discipline she has carried since winning a bread competition at a local horticultural show decades ago. Bedrooms are en suite and individually decorated, each fitted with small extra touches rather than a fixed formula. Public rooms have been refurbished and extended over the years but keep their original scale and comfort. The grounds and the house's private character suit a weekend stay, a small wedding, a private dinner or a corporate gathering equally well. Breakfast, unsurprisingly, is the meal to plan around.