Mark and Emma Hewlett’s peaceful and relaxing late Georgian country house is set in Heritage Gardens, including formal walled gardens - and, having completed an impressive programme of improvements to the property, the range of amenities offered overall is unusual for a country house.
Kilmokea offers accommodation in three beautiful holiday homes nestled around the gardens, The Garden House, The Coach House & The Garden Suite, together with Bed & Breakfast rooms in the courtyard, and they operate a café during garden opening hours. A peaceful stay for guests, with exceptional facilities including an indoor heated pool, sauna and jacuzzi together with the opportunity to reserve vital energy treatments, QiGong and meditation sessions.
The seven acres of heritage gardens have also been fully restored with the addition of wooden sculptures, a Viking settlement and Norman Motte to depict the history of Kilmokea. An organic 'potager design' vegetable garden supplies the kitchens and Mark and Emma have invested in beautiful outdoor furniture, so guests can eat al fresco in style. The gardens are fascinating, with much to interest everyone, whether you are on a tour, a serious horticulturist, a keen historian or just having a family day out (the Fairy Village will delight little people). A thoughtful recent addition is a peaceful Memory Garden, designed as a place of solace and reflection, Shinrin-yoku Forest Bathing offering is offered too. A place to relax and to reconnect with nature.
Mark and Emma offer either self-guided visits to the gardens with a complimentary introductory informative short talk, or fully guided tours of the gardens and their history. (Groups are welcome and the drive entrance to the gardens was recently widened to accommodate buses.)
A detailed history of Kilmokea is available to visitors and it is a perfect example of the kind of place that inspired Failte Ireland to develop the concept of ‘Ireland's Ancient East’. The house was built as a rectory in 1794, but the history of the property is far older - it is located within the ancient ramparts of a most historically important earthwork from ancient times, and Kilmokea is the first place that is mentioned in Irish history.
