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Castletownbere, Co.
Cork
Description
Ellen Gowan's country house is nestled on a slope of
subtropical gardens, overlooking Bantry Bay.
She fills the house with fresh flowers cut from her garden. My travel companion plays the piano by the
fireplace in the sitting room. The
sounds reverberate through rooms, decorated with ceramic sculptures and her
daughter Dervilla's paintings. Inside
and out, the environment is a true synthesis of Ellen's two passions: art and
the natural world. These elements make
it an inviting place to relax and to let go of modern worries.
We sit with Ellen, underneath a wall of wild roses, at a
table made of ancient stone with fossilized worms. We sip ginger tea. Ellen tells us about her life. She is a storytelling with a vicious sense of
humor; she has a true zest for life.
Ellen left an impression on us from the first moment we
first met. It was the West Cork Chamber
Music Festival in Bantry. The concert
was in the library. My travel companion
and I'd secured last minute tickets - two seats, opposite sides of the room,
both behind huge pillars. He was seated
next to Ellen, and they soon hit it off.
At intermission, he and I switched seats, and I got to know Ellen. During a hush in the performance, she
whispered to me to switch seats with her, giving me a better view. For the rest of the show, I couldn't take my
eyes off the performers, while she sat behind the pillar, eyes closed,
enraptured in the music. She is a truly
generous woman.
Later, we came to visit her in Castletownbere at Rodeen, her
B&B.
Ellen tells us how much she loves music. Five years ago, she decided to learn how to
play the clarinet. Her goal is to become
good enough to get a spot on a TV program, then to throw the clarinet away and
never touch it again. When guests find
out about Ellen's clarinet playing, they get into the musical spirit too. "The music played in the house, because they
know I play music, is just fantastic," she says.
She has a great time with her guests, too. "You never know who is in the house," Ellen
says. "It could be a movie director, an
author, a poet, or an ambassador." She's
hosted many famous and not-so-famous guests over the years. No matter what the sort, she has a good time
with her guests. Showing us photographs
of a recent garden BBQ with some of the guests -- they are laughing, drinking,
dressing up in costume, and having all kinds of fun.
Driven by her love of nature, Ellen's first business was a
backyard nursery. Eventually, she closed
the nursery, and her yard grew into a full garden. It was on the Irish Garden Tour. She instilled her appreciation for nature in
her children. The garden has been
evolving since Dervilla was a little girl, and it has grown from being her
playground to becoming her palette.
Dervilla is responsible now for its landscape design, and she gives me a
tour, pointing out a mind-boggling variety of plants and flowers from
Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Tibet, and China.
The guest book inside is filled with sketches, notes, and
photographs, documenting the visitors over the ages. Ellen has become good friends with many of
the people who have stayed with her.
She has plans for the future, dreams of transforming the
country house into an artists' commune or a summer music school. "It's a great achievement when you start over
in life," Ellen says. "And it's
beautiful to live here, a great place to bring up children." Always in tune with the cycles in life, she
is looking forward to the next one and how to evolve her love of the arts in a
new way. Until then, enjoy this country
house's tranquil setting to get your creative juices flowing and to get in tune
with nature.
Breakfast
Ellen's breakfast menu includes
- Fresh
fruit crepe, served with honey from our own bees and natural yoghurt
- Fresh
herb omelet
- Brown
bread, fruit scones, and jams, all handmade by Ellen
How to get there
By car:
Located 2 km east of Castletownbere, off the main
Castletownbere-Glengarriff Road.
By bus:
See www.buseireann.ie
website for all current travel details and restrictions.
Address
Rodeen Country House
c/o Ellen Gowan
Castletownbere, Co. Cork
Tel: (0)27 70158
Email:
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Web: www.rodeencountryhouse.com
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