by Steve Byrne | Jun 3, 2018 | green tourism
Why not unplug and unwind on a stay in our unique converted horse truck. Refurbished using reclaimed materials, this cosy space enjoys great views of the Mourne Mountains and is tucked away on a corner of our off grid smallholding in the County Down countryside. If you’re looking for a unique place to stay, that is truly off the grid then the horsebox is for you. We are offering you the chance to get an additional 10% off the cost of your stay, by quoting the offer code WEB1 when you book direct. Visit https://lackancottage.co.uk/book-stay-off-grid-horsebox/ to check availability and book now.
by Steve Byrne | Apr 30, 2018 | food, media
It seems like an age since we welcomed Rachel Allen and the crew from Big Mountain here to film for a programme called ‘Rachel Allen – A Cook’s adventure’ celebrating the best of Northern Irish produce, but it was screened on More 4 last night, and we’re really pleased with the results. The premise was that Rachel travelled around the country visiting producers and then cooking up delicious dishes, and Lackan Cottage Farm was one of 7 locations included.
by Steve Byrne | Jul 23, 2016 | volunteering
Blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground lately, mainly because I’ve been running around like a man with his hair on fire. Our little cottage is complete, we’re just gathering up all the things that Tourism NI like you to have, and having friends and...
by Steve Byrne | Dec 2, 2014 | the farm
I answered a forum post the other day that asked about how to get a polytunnel on a budget. I won’t go over how useful polytunnels are here – it’s been covered a million times elsewhere. Needless to say that if you are growing your own veg, they are...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 7, 2014 | the farm
Sometimes I walk outside and am in awe of the sights that greet me. Some of the most beautiful times are first thing in the morning as the sun is coming up and the mist is clearing. I honestly couldn’t live anywhere else. Even without their...
by Steve Byrne | Apr 19, 2013 | buildings, permaculture, polytunnel, smallholding, the farm
Rather surprisingly the sun came out today so we dashed out and got to work. Claire and Lyra were on weeding duty in the small polytunnel, and I managed to put up the frame of the new big polytunnel, although some interesting acrobatics were needed as I was on...
by Steve Byrne | Apr 9, 2013 | off grid, smallholding, the farm
It isn’t a huge amount of solar, but it’s enough to allow us to manage almost entirely without the mains grid. (The washing machine is too much for this system). We have, in theory, enough power to keep us going for 5 days in the event of it being...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 24, 2013 | animals, smallholding, the farm
At last the rain and snow have stopped, and there is a hint of blue sky above us now. The wind is still bitterly cold though, and the snow shows no sign of leaving us any time soon. This winter has been an especially difficult one for anyone with livestock, and we...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 22, 2013 | climate, smallholding, the farm
This is our pond. Rather unexpectedly as it happens – we didn’t line it or fill it, the volume of rain and snow over the past 24 hours has simply been so huge that it has filled itself. Quite handy really as we can see how the levels will work out,...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 16, 2013 | smallholding
Well, Lyra is six months old today, and here she is with her first wooden spoon, which she seems to think is extremely tasty. She’s thriving in our ‘new’ home, which is of course six months old too – nothing like a deadline to get the work...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 11, 2013 | woodlands
March feels like a sprint to the finish in our woodland, which despite this latest brief cold snap is starting to come to life. Everywhere you look, green shoots are appearing, and some of the trees have tiny buds coming out. The challenge for us is to finish...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 9, 2013 | smallholding, woodlands
Well, for a while there we thought that spring had sprung, and so it would seem did the snowdrops. After what seemed like a long winter, suddenly there is a dash to get all the jobs done before spring arrives properly (whatever happened to hibernation?). For...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 8, 2013 | self sufficiency
Well folks, after much late night toiling, here it is – our new website and blog. We’ve been with blogger for years now, but the time has come when we need more than it can offer, especially now that we’re a business and have volunteers and...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 3, 2013 | woodlands
27th April 2013 One Million Trees in One Day is a charity, not-for-profit, cross border, community and environmental initiative which will plant a million young native trees at many different sites across both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in twenty...
by Steve Byrne | Feb 17, 2013 | smallholding, the farm, volunteering
Two thirds of the way through Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Josephine’s visit, and we’ve made amazing progress. Paths laid, 450 trees planted, new water pipes installed to the stables and outhouse, all the old rubble from the house levelled, tonnes of firewood...
by Steve Byrne | Feb 14, 2013 | woodlands
Well at last the rain has stopped, we collected our tiny trees, from Tony at NI Farm Forestry, a mountain of cardboard from Toals furniture in Rathfriland, and after a couple of hours of fencing, set to planting the first block of trees. 0.2 hectare doesn’t...
by Steve Byrne | Feb 12, 2013 | woodlands
Part of our commitment to increasing biodiversity here on the farm involves introducing new woodland habitat, and so we’re planting over 800 new trees this year which extends the existing woodland significantly. We’re also planting additional hedgerows and...
by Steve Byrne | Feb 6, 2013 | the farm, volunteering
Something I have a particular aversion to is wells. There’s just something about looking down a narrow shaft into dark water, not knowing where the bottom might be. Hence I didn’t particularly relish the task of climbing down a ladder into the depths, to...
by Steve Byrne | Feb 4, 2013 | smallholding, the farm, volunteering
Our intrepid winter (technically spring but you wouldn’t know it) Wwoofers (worldwide worksers on organic farms) are here: Marie-Josephine and Jean-Baptiste, who have performed amazing path building feats on their first proper day here at Lackan Cottage Farm....
by Steve Byrne | Jan 29, 2013 | climate, environment, opinion, smallholding
The weather (and it seems, the world) has gone mad. Why the world? Well on the radio this morning I listened to a government minister saying that the only way for households to maintain ‘an acceptable standard of living’ was for two adults to be in full...
