Castle Leslie – Monaghan

The Castle Leslie Estate,
Glaslough,
Monaghan,
County Monaghan
Castle Leslie enquiries
Visit the Castle Leslie Monaghan website for details of the Hotel, Restaurant and Equestrian centre

• Historic Castle, Contemporary Hunting Lodge and new Equestrian Centre.
• 1,000 acre estate and unique cookery school.
• Long and fascinating family history and Victorian Spa!

There is just so much on offer at Castle Leslie Estate! We loved the cookery school which is located in the original Victorian kitchens of the Castle. But we also loved the Spa, located in the newly refurbished Hunting Lodge where we stayed this time. There are so many options in what to do, where to stay, where to eat for both family friendly breaks, get-away-from-it-all retreats, activity breaks and adults only accommodation and that’s not even starting on the fascinating history and tales of things that go bump in the night!

But it is the family who make this place so very, very special, their linage goes back to Attila the Hun. In 1600 Bishop Leslie, fighting Cromwell, fell in love with a magical Irish lake and retired there. Charles Powell Leslie became Uncle to Wellington and old Sir John married New Yorker Leonie Jerome, Churchill’s Aunt.

ACCOMMODATION AT CASTLE LESLIE

On our most recent visit we stayed in the 30-roomed Hunting Lodge in a stylish contemporary room with a terrace overlooking the new equestrian centre. This tastefully restored building is at the entrance to the estate, just inside the gates and is home to the Victorian Spa, Connor’s Bar and Snaffles Brasserie. Interestingly enough we discovered there were other accommodation choices also, including the Village Cottages, Old Stable Mews and of course the Castle itself, where we had stayed a couple of years ago. In a charming reverse of circumstances, the family now lives in the servants’ wing, so guests can enjoy the magnificence of the castle to the full. When I visited previously, my sister and I stayed in the nursery and nanny’s quarters, which were two wonderful bedrooms with unique bathrooms (all the original furniture and family portraits are present). There are twenty bedrooms in all, and each is totally different to the other. We loved that each room had such character, no television and no children – a real escape!

DINING AT CASTLE LESLIE

If you are lucky enough to have dinner with (young) Sir John, as I did last visit, you know that you are in wonderful company. We had a wonderful meal in the dining room at the Castle. On this visit however, we had dinner at SNAFFLES BRASSERIE at the Hunting Lodge. The menu here is very much to our taste, lots of fresh seafood cooked with a unique twist by Chef Matthew King who hails from the States. He cooks a lot of his food in a wood stone oven, and the resulting smoky flavour is delicious! We started with Char Grilled Scallops and Thai styled Prawns respectively. This was followed by more delights from the sea with my Grilled Halibut cooked over wood chips on their wood-fired grill served with crisp Iberico Ham was fabulous. Staying resolutely with fish, our other main course was Monkfish medallions with a fire-roasted tomato coulis. Other tempting sounding dishes on the menu included locally sourced Fermanagh Chicken, Miso Glazed Salmon and Dry aged Fermanagh Sirloin. We finished up by sharing a mouth-watering slice of Death by Chocolate!

RESTORATION PROJECT

Unique to the Castle Leslie experience is the Restoration Project which began in 1991 and is due to be completed in 2016 This takes in walks and trails throughout the estate including such historic sites as The Model Farmyard, the Famine Wall, Victorian Laundry, Gamekeepers Lodge, Garden and Gate Lodge, Gothic Lodge, Dawson’s Lodge and Dinkin’s Lodge. The integrated wetlands is a very interesting project, more on www.castleleslierealestate.com Information on exploring the estate can be had from the staff at either the Castle or the Hunting Lodge.
Sammy Leslie, who had dedicated herself to this huge restoration project describes her Castle as ‘Utterly Charming – Wonderfully Different’ and you really have to pay Castle Leslie Estate a visit to discover how apt that description is!


For the best hotel rates check out Castle Leslie Estate, Co. Monaghan