I recently visited the beautiful Curraghmore House and Gardens and was not disappointed. From the moment we entered the gate into the demesne, the wonderful place came alive. The architecture of the house and stable yard is extraordinary. The rear of the house, as we discovered, houses a 12th-century tower house. The remainder of the house is mostly eighteenth-century.

We arrived just before a scheduled tour and as we had just ordered coffee and dessert in the tearooms, we asked a lovely member of staff to hold our cakes until after the tour. She politely obliged. We joined the tour, led by the articulate and well-informed Evelyn who pitched the tour at the perfect level of information. Sometimes, tours of historic houses can leave one weary after ten minutes. The house is magnificent and full of the family's possessions, collected over many generations. The art collection is extraordinary. As the family continues to live in the house, it does not feel like a museum, which is a lovely touch, and recent famly photographs adorn the tables.

Following the tour of the house, we were shown to the incredible Shell House which dates to the early years of the eighteenth century and is lined entirely in shells. It is a must-see.

The gardens are wonderful and in perfect condition. Look out for the sculpture of a stag's head - inspired by the family's motto and emblem.

We enjoyed our trip to Curraghmore and will return. It was very good value, and the cake was worth the wait - the best carrot cake in Ireland! An altogether welcoming Big House experience.

Nice Place but very impolite and grumpy resident old man, will never go back again and wouldnt Recomend to anyone to visit this Place. There are many nice Places like this in Ireland where you will be respected and treated politely.

The opportunity to be able to tour a lived in castle was something we could not resist. First we showed up not knowing there were only 2 tours a day, we were greeted in the parking lot by a nice young lady asking if we planned to tour the castle and the tour had just started so she got us in quickly and to Evelyn our tour guide. Little did we know the nice young lady was actually the Lady if the castle, how cool is that. The castle is all original from the 17th century, a rare find and amazing to see. Evelyn was an awesome tour guide and made the tour very memorable.