Anyone ever stayed in a charming, secluded quaint cottage?
 

Hey everyone; I'm trying to plan a short fun yet romantic getaway for my husband and I (no kids) and I have this image in my mind of whisking off to Ireland, driving around the countryside, spending our evenings in pubs listening to traditional music, and sleeping/hanging out in a quaint little 1 bedroom thatched roof cottage with flowers on the windowsill and a cute little cottage garden, with a view of the ocean or lake or something.

Hehehe, it's good to dream, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm scouring the net looking for somewhere that fits the bill, but I would love personal recommendations if anyone has had this "dream experience."

Or if anyone has recommendations of specific areas of Ireland (or heck, England or Scotland or even France if it's more likely there!) to focus in on, that'd be great too. I've spent a little time in Western Ireland (Dingle, the Burren, etc) and loved that area, but I'd like to see more of the country as well.

As far as budgets go, we typically spend less than 120 Euros (so about $150) a night in hotels, but the "perfect place" might merit paying quite a bit more....

We are living in Belgium right now

Suggestions welcome!
Carrie

Hi
In my own quest for romance (and no kids with us!)I have booked this cottage for a week in May. No ocean view, and not Ireland but plenty of lovely countryside, and Stonehenge just a short drive away.
www.stable-cottage-potterne.co.uk
My home county of Suffolk is famous for its thatched cottages and is a lovely area, away from the hordes. The coast, with little towns and villages such as
Orford, Aldeburgh and Thorpeness sounds another area you might like to investigate. Lots of great pubs and restaurants and long romantic walks along the beach.
M

I have often used English Country Cottages

If you go to their website at http://www.english-country-cottages.co.uk/
you can do a virtual tour of their cottages.
Lots of their cottages fit your description.
A good bet is to go for a cottage that says no pets and no children.

This wonderful cottage in Spiddal Galway is
just what you wished for!
www.thatchcottage.com/
Spiddal is a charming village on Galway Bay with good pubs and restaurants, close to both GAlway city, rural Connemara
I have stayed here and recommend it.
Jean

LSUvetgirl, I just bumped something up for you. There are a lot of good suggestions under a question I posted about looking for a grandma sitting by a peat fire in a cottage in Ireland telling stories, that was my dream. Since you are looking for a cottage, I think some of the replies would be helpful to you. I just bumped it up for you, look near the top. Good luck.

I did one year in Wales (Snowdonia)

In three weeks I'll be staying at Limepark (www.limepark.com) in Armoy, N. Ireland. It looks perfect! I'll be sure to report back.

An interesting village in southern England, that we stayed in, was Cherwell on the River Test. Most cottages had thatching which almost came down to the ground, well not quite. The clear flowing river test is a trout stream.
I see that another member has recommended english country cottages, its a good website, and I think it would fit the bill.

Try http://www.conorscottage.com
Otherwise, there are lots of self catering modern cottages on Achill Island. But if it were me, I would look along the river Moy in eastern Co. Mayo from Ballina southward.

Anything Ireland can do, we can do better

http://www.uniquescotland.com/applecross/index.html

http://www.uniquescotland.com/dunmorag/index.html

http://www.uniquescotland.com/haven/index.html

http://www.littleholidayhouses.com/cottage/22.asp
http://www.littleholidayhouses.com/cottage/69.asp

http://www.scottish-holiday-cottages...lquhounes.html

http://www.scottish-holiday-cottages...lenturret.html

http://northuist.net/

Ive stayed in the Donegal thatched cottages that were mentioned above and if you want to get away from it all, this is the place. The prices are reasonable although they are made to hold as many as 7 which would be a tight squeeze. There are quite a few with an ocean view and you can request those. There is a beach with virtually no visitors on it (in May anyway) and is beautiful for walks.

Bill

ooh, there are so many that look tempting! The Donegal cottages look nice; is it an at-all-reasonable location to use as a home base for a few days with some scenic day trips, or is it only good as a "secluded getaway" location wise?

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove the look of the cottage at http://www.stable-cottage-potterne.co.uk/index.htm but I don't really know anything about that area. (looks like it's about 45 minutes west of Bath in the UK?)

I loooove the idea of staying in the Connemara area so might look into the Spiddal Galway cottage some more, although it looks a bit big for our needs.....

Thanks everyone for all the leads!

Carrie

www.ireland.ie/getting_around.asp will sort you lot out.
www.irishmusicbars.com for the drink
www.blarney.ie for the shopping
www.irondonkey.com for transport
www.holiday-rentals.com/ireland for that quaint little cottage.
enjoy.

Hi
I'm the person staying at the Potterne cottage you like the look of. To tell you a bit about the area -
It's in SW England, in Wiltshire. It is an area famous for it's crop circles and ancient sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury.
Bath is close by, as you mentioned. Also Salisbury with it's famous Catherdral, Marlborough, Devizes, Glastonbury etc.

Anything you can do we Welsh can do better too..lol


www.celticcottages.co.uk

www.coastalcottages.co.uk

www.qualitycottages.co.uk

www.cottageguide.co.uk/Wales

www.oas.co.uk/ukcottages/wales.htm

www.summercottages.co.uk

www.wales-holidays.co.uk

Muck

Hi!!!
Check out...

Stanton Court Cottages in the quaint medieval village of Stanton in the Cotswolds...it's not thatched roofed, but, the former stables to a Manor house that were converted and one of them is called the Peach with a sunken living room, loft bedroom and attached garden conservatory with 2 peach trees and a grape vine...
http://www.stantoncourt.co.uk/

Also...
Premier Cottages...
http://www.premiercottages.co.uk/

Rural Retreats...
http://www.ruralretreats.co.uk/

I've stayed in a nice cottage near Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales. More slate than thatch, but just lovely area in the summer. (wild and rugged with its own beauty in the winter.

Hi Carrie,
It's been a few days but I'll tackle the Donegal Cottage question you had. We stayed there in May 2004 and loved it. But you'll want to know that it's not a small cottage, it's a 3 bedroom with a large sitting room. And there's no pub nearby. For a place with music it would be a 45 minute + drive. We loved it for a family vacation, but it doesn't strike me as a place that meets your criteria for romance. :)

I found a place that I wanted to stay at last year on the Antrim Coast of N Ireland: http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/harbourcottage/

Of course it's owned by someone named McShane which only adds to the appeal :) but it's in a stunning spot on the Antrim coast with lots to do nearby. Great hikes, near Bushmills and many pubs. You might add it to your list of places to consider.

Best of luck with your getaway!

We've stayed at three different cottages in Dorset -- scenic, a bit off the tourist track (at least most of the year), great walks and lovely beaches. We rented through Dorset Coastal Cottages http://www.dorsetcoastalcottages.com/ -- they have a wide range from thatched restored country cottages to places big enough for family reunions. The folks there are very helpful and will answer any specific questions about a location (they know every cottage), and provide lots of photos of every cottage on the website. Last March, we stayed at with the family at Finch Cottage in Osmington and Fox Cottage in Sutton Poyntz -- loved them both. They also offer "short break" rentals for 2-3 nights, and are willing to work with you to find what you need. I highly recommend them. Well, at least if you decide not to go to Ireland. :-)