The Long Barn is a converted barn nestled in wild gardens on an organic headland surrounded by the sea. It is a quirky, characterful space, with thumb-latch doors, wooden floors, exposed beams and a wood-burning stove in the corner of the sitting room. It is very different from a lot of the properties on this site, which are more hotel and professional holiday apartment units. Materials are organic and natural - wooden floors and countertops, a Belfast sink, up-cycled furniture. Bedding is the finest Belgian linen or cotton, with solid, good quality wooden bed frames and fluffy towels. The emphasis is on comfort, rather than modernity, but the Barn is well-equipped, with most modern conveniences. It has excellent gigabyte fibre-optic Wi-Fi Because the Barn is a converted farm building, there are some compromises. It can be cool off-season - thick stone walls take a few months to heat up in the summer - so we recommend putting the heating on for half an hour when you first arrive, to drive out any damp or chill. If you let me know exactly when you will be arriving, I can do this ahead of your arrival. The central heating is very efficient, with radiators down both sides of the building, and the whole barn heats up in twenty minutes. In the evenings a wood-burning stove keeps the living room/kitchen lovely and warm - your first basket of firewood and kindling is on the house. There may be the odd cobweb up in the rafters. We do our best to clean the Barn thoroughly before every guest arrival, but the headland is organic, so insect life is abundant (which is a good thing!). The hot water cylinder is not a full-size domestic water tank, but the hot water is good for a couple of long showers or a bath before it needs to heat up again (which takes about an hour). Just be mindful of hot water usage, and don't leave the hot tap running in the kitchen if someone wants to have a bath!

We love to share the tranquility and peace of our little corner of the world. Get back to nature and unwind, leaving the stresses of modern life behind you. Our lovable Labradors, two cats, and lots of hens, share our space. We are on-site most of the time. Any problems, let us know so that we can fix them! There is absolutely no point in having an issue with something and not giving us the opportunity to fix it. Two guests in the last year left us reviews saying the Wi-fi didn't work. This is really unfair. All that needed to be done was to reboot the router, a ten-second job, as can happen in any domestic wi-fi installation. They never said, so we didn't know there was a problem. They suffered in silence, needlessly, and then gave us a poor review ... crazy! Recently we've just been upgraded to Ireland's fibre-optic gigabyte broadband network. You still won't see gigabyte speeds in the Barn, but it's pretty good for out in the country!

West Cork is a naturally beautiful part of Ireland, gentle rolling hills and woods with many inlets and tiny harbours all along the coast. The Long Barn is remote and secluded, down a long country lane and just two minutes walk from a "private" gently shelving beach. West Cork is a foodie destination, with everything from divine fish and chips to Michelin-starred dining. A top very local spot is Glandore, the next village round the harbour, with Hayes' Bar and the Glandore Inn serving great food in the summer months on the west-facing Terrace overlooking the sunset-lit harbour. You'll need to book well in advance at the height of the season! When you're in Glandore, you might like to pop your head in the shop, Wilds, that sits between the two pubs, and say hello. Joan runs an organic perfumery called Waters and Wild, and also stocks a wide variety of luxury knitwear, homeware and, of course, perfumes and skincare items.