Kilcatten Lodge

Set two kilometres from Timoleague, on the stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way between Kinsale and Clonakilty, Kilcatten Lodge works as a garden-set base for touring West Cork rather than a destination in itself. Cork city and its airport are about forty-five minutes away. The house holds five ensuite rooms, each named for a local reference point: the Fuschia Suite, the Mologa Suite, the Ummera Suite, the Henry Ford Suite and the Michael Collins Suite. Rooms come with flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi, and the house is non-smoking throughout. A separate guest lounge gives space to sit apart from the breakfast room, with a kitchen available on request. Breakfast runs to a full Irish or continental spread, with eggs from the owners' own hens and other ingredients sourced locally. Outside, landscaped gardens surround the building; guests can use them for a fire pit or simply to sit before heading out. Timoleague itself has two restaurants and a bird sanctuary on the bay at Courtmacsherry, and the coast nearby draws whale and dolphin watchers through summer. Host Noreen Sweetnam runs the place with her husband Joe, and two labradors are usually somewhere underfoot. It suits a one- or two-night stop on a longer West Cork route.