Mourne international walking festival June 2018
This internationally recognised walking festival offers walkers, of all levels of fitness, stunning routes in the Mourne Mountains and surrounding countryside. These routes vary between 10k and 40k at both high and low level. The next annual Mourne International Walking Festival will take place from Friday 22 – Sunday 24 June 2018 in Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Spoon Carving workshop – 10 March 2018
Stephen Ryan from Green Woodwork Ireland, will teach you the skills needed to become a traditional spooncarver. Using locally sourced green wood, each participant will learn axe and knife carving skills to produce their own spoon. All tools and materials are supplied. No experience necessary, although it is advised participants should feel confident using sharp tools.
Birch Cottage at the heart of green tourism in County Down
One of the things that makes Birch Eco Cottage a unique Green Tourism business is that it is powered entirely by renewable energy made here on the farm. We are totally off-grid as part of our commitment to reducing our environmental impact. We use a combination of solar panels and wind to charge batteries that ensure that there is always power when we need it.
Weathering the storm off grid
We’ve been weathering the ‘beast from the east’, and so far everyone is bearing up well. The horses have been tucked up in their stables with hay most of the time, only venturing out to have a roll in the snow before retreating again. Our hens are similarly unimpressed, although they have decided to keep on laying eggs despite the conditions. We were warned about this weather for a good week before it happened, so there was plenty of time to prepare, and on the whole we got everything ready in time. Here are our top off grid bad weather preparation tips:
Exploring Newcastle Co Down
A lovely programme from RTE about Newcastle Co Down, and the surrounding area, highlighting just how beautiful our area is. Walking on Newcastle beach, walking in the Mournes, or sampling some of the great range of restaurants, pubs and cafes, Newcastle has become a...
Our favourite places to find local craft in the Mournes
The best of craft in the Mournes We are fortunate to have incredibly talented and creative craftspeople living and working in County Down, and in particular around here in the Mournes. Combine craft with some great food, and you have some of our favourite places to...
Escape to the Country
Way back in April 2017 we were approached by a TV production company – Boundless – who make the BBC programme ‘Escape to the Country’. The premise of the programme being that people who want to well, escape to the country, are shown several...
Off grid Horse truck eco accommodation in the Mournes co Down
Last year we discovered that our truck is as much loved by visitors as it was by us when we lived in it. A stay in the off grid horse truck is an opportunity to escape from connectivity completely. The truck has been fitted out with recycled materials, an is truly unique. No wifi, no mains power, the truck is run entirely from solar and batteries, and has a cosy box bed, living room with a woodburning stove, as well as a shower room, and a galley kitchen with a dining area.
First year willow harvest – lessons learned
This winter can best be described as incredibly wet. Our land is saturated, and other than a bit of sacrificial field for the horses, we’re keeping off it as much as possible and concentrating on jobs such as harvesting our willow crop for the first time....
Hedgerow winemaking with Leo – 14th April 2018
A day of winemaking with Leo Cullen, who can conjure wine from just about anything. We’ll be walking and picking some ingredients in the morning, talking about what we can use to make wine, and how to go about preparing our ingredients and equipment, and then sampling some of Leo’s brews over a lunch of home made soup.
A strawbale barn
One of the hardest things about producing your own food isn’t growing it, it is storing it afterwards. It really wants to break down as fast as possible, and all manner of creatures want to eat it first. Until now we’ve stored food all over the place – hanging up in the living room; in cupboards. In short, not ideal. Another issue that we had was that our 4000 litre rainwater tanks and pump were not terribly pretty and very exposed to cold temperatures. The pump especially has been badly damaged by freezing twice now. The problem, as they say in permaculture, is the solution, and in this case takes the form of a strawbale barn, which incorporates the water tanks as its back wall.