Local Area Information

Swiss Cottage is situated mid way between Sligo and Manorhamilton in the scenic 'glen' sometimes referred to as 'the Swiss Valley', due to the unusual and interesting 'alpine' flora found there.  Sligo is a good sized town with a wide range of facilities, including supermarkets (Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl), many restaurants and pubs, a multiscreen cinema and various theatres/venues.  There are many  festivals that take place in the town including the annual Yeats International Festival.

Manorhamilton is a small town with a modern supermarket (Supervalu), bars, cafés, a bank, library and a range of smaller shops, including pharmacies, butchers, also tennis courts, etc.  The new Osta restaurant and cafe is open 7 days a week (www.w8centre.ie), serving lunches and dinner (Wednesday to Sunday)

Local features include:

  • Glencar Waterfall - beside which is the Tea Shed serving hot meals, snacks and teas
  • Glencar Lake - for fishing and kayaking
  • Lissadell House - a beautifully situated house with a great deal of history, including an association with Countess Constance Markievitz (nee Gore-Booth) and the Irish poet WB Yeats
  • Parkes Castle; a fine historical building on the shores of Lough Gill with guided tours, an interpretative film and regular trips on the lake on board the 'Isle of Inisfree' 
  • Beaches - Strandhill with restaurants and well-known 'Shells' Café, Rosses Point, and Lissadell Beach - a beautiful unspoilt sandy beach is about 6 miles from the house
  • 18 hole championship golf course at Rosses Point (9 miles away) also at Strandhill and numerous others within a 25 mile radius
  • Excellent surfing at Strand Hill (close to Sligo City) and equally good at Rossnowlagh (further north nr Donegal town)
  • Rockclimbing at Eagle's Rock; one of the most challenging climbs in Ireland
  • W.B Yeats grave in Drumcliffe Church graveyard (with an excellent tea room and gift shop adjacent)
  • Many excellent walks; Lough Gill at Hazelwood and Slish Wood, Union Wood, the tidal causeway across to Coney Island, the new 'loop' walk at Strandhill, Knocknarea and also a new walk in Glencar below Ireland's tallest waterfall (which blows backwards when the wind comes from the south!). Wonderful beach walks all along the coast and too many others to mention!