LACKAN COTTAGE FARM
Home of Birch Cottage Off Grid Self Catering
Tranquil self catering in the Mournes
You can wake to a view of the beautiful birch woods outside your window, and enjoy the peace and quiet. Â Here you are surrounded by birdsong, clean air, and wonderful views. Walk in the woods, meet the horses and relax. Set beside the Mournes, Birch Cottage offers luxury self catering with wonderful views of the mountains and woodland.
Some of the most stunning countryside in Northern Ireland is on your doorstep, as is the seaside town of Newcastle. The Mourne Mountains, Tollymore and Castlewellan forest parks, Newcastle beach and stunning Silent Valley are just a short drive away.
Come and stay in Northern Ireland’s only off-grid self catering cottage. Visitors can sample life on our pioneering Green Tourism gold rated smallholding.
The good life experience
We are pioneers of the growing ecotourism and green tourism movement here in the Mournes, Northern Ireland. Consequently, sharing our lifestyle, fresh produce, and experiences with visitors is all part of the unique visitor experience.
Birch Cottage is off grid accommodation without compromise – hand crafted, comfortable, and it has wonderful views. It really is the greenest self catering holiday cottage in Northern Ireland, being Tourism NI 4 star rated, Green Tourism Gold rated and the first Green Key accredited accommodation in Northern Ireland or Ireland.
Birch Cottage self catering
Book direct here on the website to get the best rates
Our story
We are fortunate to have this opportunity and as a result be able to live the way we do. It is becoming increasingly apparent that as a society, we can’t go on the way we have been.Consequently something has to give. As we talk to people, their frustration at inequality and instability is obvious. Furthermore, environmental and economic worries serve to highlight the need for alternative solutions.
Lackan Cottage Farm is our response to that. Consequently, as well as upskilling ourselves to be better able to cope, we are empowering others to do the same. Likewise, we provide self catering accommodation so that they can come and experience it for themselves here in the Mournes. Therefore everything we offer here comes from our own experience and is created to be really special. We hope you will love it as much as we do.
Steve & Claire Golemboski-Byrne
Forthcoming events
News and events from Lackan
Rocket Mass Heaters
Rocket Mass Heaters are a really efficient way to heat a space, that you can build yourself for a relatively low cost. They are designed to burn at a high temperature, which results in less smoke and a more efficient fire. Ours is always a source of fascination, and when lit, the big room is warm in no time. Steve is off to Mayo in September to help run a course in building one, and in the meantime, here’s a reminder of how ours was put together.
Barn building on a budget
One of the last existing buildings that we took down here was the old wooden garage outside the cottage, and the time has come to replace it with another useful structure that will be used to store garden produce and tools. We want to build it on a tiny budget using reclaimed or local materials to create a natural looking structure that has minimal visual impact.
Toilet twinning just the job for our compost toilets
Lackan Cottage Farm (and our compost toilets) have teamed up with Toilet Twinning, to help provide clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene education to people in some of the most deprived areas of the world. Nearly one third of the world’s population lacks access to even the most basic sanitation, whilst at the same time, nearly one third of household water use in developed countries ends up being flushed down the toilet.Â