Holiday Home Guest Book

Thank you to our guests for such lovely comments and recommendations of places to visit.

"Have had a lovely holiday here at the Croft. Weather's been great and we have had eleven days of sunshine and long walks. This part of Ireland is so beautiful, we will be back! Big thank you to Joan and David for their hospitality. Thanks for the restaurant tips and walk ideas and of course the much appreciated welcome pack and soda-bread, we love it!"

New Year 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden

(Holiday home - The Croft)

"A very warm welcome after a long drive from Dublin started a very nice week. We loved staying here. It's a magical place and we enjoyed every minute of it.

There's alot more to discover so we will be back!

Thank you very much for everything!

P.S. We loved the animals too!"

Oct 09 - Borkel en Schaft, The Netherlands

(Holiday home - The Croft)

"Had a wonderful few days, very relaxing - amazing views over Loch Hyne, definitely worth the hill walk!

Lovely well equipped cottage, really enjoyed the homemade bread & scones - will definitely be back again!

Many thanks for making our holiday special."

Sep 09 - UK

(holiday home - The Gallery)

"What a glorious 10 days we had. The sky only 'cried' when we left. Lots of walking and exploring all the beautiful coast surrounding here. Whale watching, seals and gannets. Wonderful food and fresh air. Thank you for our very warm welcome and all the extras, that made the cottage homely and comfortable. Enjoyed the scones, soda bread, fresh veg and log fires. Very special. Thank you."

Sep 09 - Gloucester, UK

(holiday home - The Croft)

"This is the perfect base to explore West Cork - the cottage and the welcome exceeded our expectations (as nearly everyone here has said before us). Things we would endorse are the trip to Union Hall for wonderful fish; the trip to Cape Clear - amazing on a sunny day; the tin pub in Ahakista (only open in the summer) which has one of the most beautiful settings for a pint of Guinness out the back; watching the world go by from outside Bushes Bar in Baltimore and an outdoor musical gig at Glebe Gardens (Andy Irvine no less!). This is the perfect spot to recharge your batteries. And take a walk to Spain - really extraordinary on a sunny day when the light hits those walls and houses. Thanks for making this such a great stay Joan, David and the menagerie."

Aug 09 - Somerset, UK

(holiday home - The Croft)

"We had a wonderful holiday here in the Gallery, we were exactly where we wanted to be. We visited four islands during our fortnight - Cape Clear, Sherkin, Heir (for the restaurant) and the beautiful Ringarogy. It was lovely to come back every evening to Ballymacrown and to wake up each day to beautiful weather and scenery. Thanks so much for your hospitality and for making this place available to us city dwellers!"

Sept 09 - Dublin, Ireland

(holiday home - The Gallery)

"A lovely memorable holiday exploring coastal West Cork. Thank you Joan and David for creating this place and being such delightful hosts".

Aug 09 - Dublin, Ireland

(holiday home - The Croft)

"Thank you David & Joan for a wonderful week in a very comfortable and homely setting. The detail just made Ballymacrown stand out - the welcome goodies, scones, very thoughtful box of toys for our 4 year old and even some sunshine. Nice to meet you all and thank you for your hospitality. We are very fond of West Cork and hope to be back - Highly recommend island trips as well as local - went to Cape Clear and Heir Island on this trip. Both great!

Aug 09 - Co. Wicklow, Ireland

(holiday home - The Gallery)

"Thank you for your hospitality. Perfect base for exploring Baltimore or just chilling out."

Aug 09 - Dublin, Ireland

(holiday home - The Gallery)

"Had a lovely weekend the cottage was so much more than we expected. Thanks so much for everything, including the welcome pack. Expect to see us again in the future. Would recommend Casey's for food, Lough Hyne and Spain for nice walks. Had a lovely stay."

Jun 09 - Co. Cork, Ireland

(holiday home - The Croft)

"Bhi tam go h-iontach againn - we had a wonderful time - beautiful place, fantastic hosts (including ducks!!) we'll be back, Sherkin was amazing..., Skull or Schull? absolutely lovely - Thanks so much."

Jun 09 - Birr, Ireland

(holiday home - The Croft)

"As I sit here to write this, the sun is shining - for the 7th day in a row! - displaying this fantastic scenery at its best. I can just about see Mizen peninsula. We've had an amazing week. This has been the ideal spot to start out honeymoon - cosy and in a great spot. We've been very impressed with the welcome as well as the attention to detail. We've always loved West Cork - hence deciding to get married here - but this week its been more beautiful than I've ever seen it before. The walk to Spain one evening was lovely - hedgerows amazing this time of year. We ate loads in La Jolie Brise and (of course) Glebe Gardens. We highly recommend the latter for lunch or dinner. We're very sad to be leaving - but we'll be back. Thanks so much."

Jun 09 - Bristol, UK

(holiday home - The Gallery)

"Thank you Joan and David for a comfortable stay in the lovely Croft and for your kind hospitality. We have had a wonderful relaxing holiday in this special place and will definitely be back!"

May 09 - Leicestershire, UK

(holiday home - The Croft)

"Thank you for a lovely week in your beautiful cottage. The welcome pack and scones were much enjoyed. We have managed to explore the local coastline in generally sunny conditions and certainly partaken of a lot of very good Irish cooking. We will certainly be recommending Ireland and your cottage to friends as a welcome retreat from the hassle of life at work."

Apr 09 - Notts, UK

(holiday home - The Croft)

"Thankyou for a wonderful relaxing holiday. A few years ago I worked on the new editions of the charts of Roaring Water Bay and promised I'd come to see it for myself sometime. The weather has been perfect, warm days, sunshine and blue skies. We explored this part of the world and can't wait to come back in the summer to make better use of the beaches. The Croft has been a wonderful place to stay, with everything we needed - thanks for the home baking - a real treat. We will be recommending you to family and friends"

Feb 09 - Devon, UK

(holiday home - The Croft)

"This has been an excellent stay made more memorable for the generous hospitality from Joan & Dave. The views and scenery around here are stunning, with lots to see and do. We had a day out to Killarney and the views of the snow capped mountains is breathtaking, and the drive through the village of Kenmare is great. The food at Casey's and Sibin is great and the folk music and dancing at Sibin Bar is great fun on a saturday night."

Mar 09 - London, UK

(holiday home - The Gallery)

"Thank you for the warm welcome! We've had a great stay here, the best holiday in ages!!! Thank you for the welcome pack and the lovely scones. We've had some lovely hikes and as photographers we've been able to find some great motives to shoot. Especially up at the Beacon where we had the ocean roaring, that was really amazing. We will definitely be back to explore more of this area."

Dec 08 - Youghal & Denmark

Thank you David & Joan for the wonderful Irish hospitality! ... Our stay at the cottage exceeded our expectations and we would definitely recommend this part of Ireland & the Croft to our friends. We enjoyed our hikes at Priest's Leap outside Bantry & Lough Hyne the most & found the selection of restaurants in Kinsale splendid.

Nov 08 - Toronto, Canada

"..ein herzliches Daukescron fur Eure Gastfreundscraft!!!.. we thought we would drop some German in as well!

Well, what can we say. We have thoroughly enjoyed every day  here in this wonderful part of the world. We have always had the wish to come and visit this lovely country and indeed did not get disappointed. As we told you on our first day of arrival, it felt like we knew this place already. Driving down here from Dublin was like going home. And you all made us feel being at home. Thank you so much for your hospitality! We did enjoy our welcome pack. Our fry ups in the morning were a real treat. David thanks for recommending all those lovely places to us ... Please keep a good eye on our four friends (the ducks) since we will be back for sure. This won't be our last visit to Ballymacrown Homestead."

Sep 08 - Cologne, Germany

"We have had a fantastic week! We wanted a nice, quiet & relaxing honeymoon & thats exactly what we got. The cottage was just perfect, Joan & Dave are so welcoming - lovely! We can totally recommend a ferry ride to Cape Clear, a walk around the Beacon in Baltimore & Mizen Head signal station - oh & a cream tea at Glebe Gardens - yum! Thank you Baltimore & Joan & David for the perfect honeymoon!  

Sep 08 - Newmarket, UK

This is a delightful cottage in a wonderful place. The views are spectacular, and your generous hospitality has made us feel very welcome. The islands are great for walking - we got out to Sherkin, Clear and Heir: all have fabulous views and interesting wildlife. Baltimore is lovely. We can recommend Chez Youen for their excellent fish, and the pizzas down the road at La Jolie Brise are good too. Oh, and your home grown garlic is so good, we're taking what's let home with us!!

Aug 08 - Den Hag, The Netherlands

"A lucky find! We have had an excellent week in a beautiful part of the country. We have had a very warm welcome from David & Joan. As other visitors have said the welcome pack, soda bread and scones were a generous and welcome touch. We will certainly be back."

Aug 08 - Abu Dhabi, UAE

"Lovely cosy cottage, very warm welcome from Joan & David. Thank you for the lovely scones and soda bread. This is such a beautiful area of Ireland, Mizen Head & Sheeps Head well worth the trek. Thank you once again for a great holiday, shame we have to return to UK."

July 08 - Southampton, UK

"We have had a wonderful time at Ballymacrown, enjoyed the week thoroughly. The area is so beautiful with loads to see and do. We will definitely be back. Thanks so much to Joan and David for being great hosts - the bread, jam and scones were delicious!

We hope the ducks continue to thrive and we look forward to seeing the sheep next time."

Aug 08 - Dublin, Ireland

"We have had a lovely time here in the cottage and fortunate to have some great weather. Thank you for the welcome pack and the scones - they were lovely! We managed to pack in lots over the past five days and would recommend the dolphin and whale watching with Colin Barnes. It was a little too early to see whales but a few porpoises, seals and bright sunny day made it worth while. We really hope to come back again at a different time of year and go and see some other sites."

Apr 08 - Sevenoaks, UK

What a great 2 weeks. The cottage is beautiful with everything you would ever need whilst on holiday. Thank you so much Joan and David for making us so welcome and introducing us to this lovely corner of Ireland. There is so much more we would like to see we will have to come back! and I want to finish 'Mc Carthy's Bar'.

Jun 08 - Lanc, UK

"Thank you for letting us stay in your delightful little cottage. We absolutely love it and it has been the perfect place for our honeymoon and we have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here...

The Croft will always hold a special place in our hearts."

Feb 08 - Wales, UK

"A real home from home! Wonderful cottage, fantastic setting, brilliant welcome pack and fabulous hosts - what more could anyone ask for?! (We also had lovely weather too!) We will definitely visit again."

Feb 08 - Cambridge, UK

"What can we say it feels like coming home, such a warm welcome after such a long drive. The information book was priceless, we had so many days out from this & the additional information provided by our hosts, especially Gougane Barra. We've never eaten so well or so healthily (prawns galore!!!) & feel great & very relaxed & are very sad to be leaving. You can keep Spain & all the other "hot spots" give us this house & Ireland anyday. Love to you all & again "thank you" so much for a wonderful time."  

Jun 07 - Warwickshire, UK

"After inviting my boyfriend over from Greece to meet my family and friends I decided what better way to introduce him to Ireland, than West Cork! And what can I say - its as romantic as any of the Greek islands we've been to!!! The house was beautiful & the wind howling around at night just added to the charm! Thanks a million to Joan & David for all the help & the welcoming attitudes. We had a ball & we will be back. Fantastic holiday!" 

Dec 06 - Cork, Ireland