A few months ago, Jayne and Myles Lamberth, (owners of Shells Cafe in Strandhill) sent me an email to see if I would like a copy of their new cookbook, ‘Good Vibes Cookbook“. I fell in love with it instantly! The food, the photography, the whole concept of the book was fantastic and it spoke to my soul!! (And taste buds). I wrote a post on my IG about how much I loved it. Then the PR powers on the West coast of Ireland asked if I would be interested in coming over to Strandhill to experience the place in the flesh. Made perfect sense! We started planning the trip and I knew it was going to be incredible.
I had never spent time in the North West before, so I was seeing Ireland with “a beginners mind” as they would say.
The deal was that we would collaborate as part of their fantastic @GoStrandhill #STRANDHILLmoments campaign and showcase to my followers what a beautiful place Strandhill is. Myself, Daniel and our clan would be given a discount on flights and to be gifted accommodation, transport and activities, in exchange for a number of posts on my IG, IG stories and a blog post. So yes it was a fantastic holiday, but it was still regular content creation and work on my part. (Yes- work. I know most of you know this, but I definitely need to reiterate this to people who think what I do is “easy” and look confused when I say this is my business).
We flew from Gatwick to Ireland West Airport and were greeted with Ray, one of the owners of Porter Ford Sligo with a massive 7 seater! We are usually squished into our 5 seater, so this was the BIGGEST treat. Off we went to check into the beautiful Cois Farraige apartments, right on the seafront. No really. There’s the balcony…and the sea.
Each morning we would walk into the kitchen, open the sliding doors and look out at the Wild Atlantic Ocean. Deep breaths of fresh air and the sound of the sea at night. Heaven.
On the other side of the apartment was the epic Knocknarea…. I mean, look at this.
Shells Cafe was two doors down from where the apartment was so we mainly ate there. The food is insane! It has the best reputation and for a reason. They’re all about good, easy living. Every morning they would burst out of the kitchen with baskets of freshly baked desserts too. I tried as much as I could on the menu!
The shop next door has all sorts of gorgeous products from some really cool small businesses around the world. It really is such a special place there.
We spent loads of time on the beach and it was the best to see the girls so free and happy. I’ll definitely be bringing them back home to Ireland every Summer. They LOVED Mammy Johnston’s Ice Cream Parlour & Cafe right on the shore. It’s literally a massive ice cream restaurant right on the shore. (pic of ice cream place here) with all sorts of flavours. We went there every evening after dinner!
Speaking of dinner, we had our evening meals at The Draft House up the street from the beach. It’s one of those places where you just know it’s going to be good every time. Really family friendly and spacious, big tables, great food (I got the salad in the pic here) welcoming staff and great craic! (That’s great atmosphere for anyone who doesn’t know what the hell I’m on about there!!)
The Draft House also had a whole toy and book section under the stairs which was extremely helpful as the girls were kept occupied with those. (Massive challenge now to keep them still at this point in their lives haha!)
The rest of my family came up to meet us, so Daniel and I were actually able to go kayaking together. We kayaked through fog around Lough Gill in the rain. It was like a dream! I would highly recommend it if you go to Strandhill. It is run by the nicest people and Aemonn who took us around was so knowledgeable about the area. I’m literally obsessed with kyaking now. Seriously, it was such a special morning. So good for the soul.
We went to Strandhill Peoples Market on the Sunday morning. It was brilliant! Full of local produce and we bought gorgeous ceramics (seen in my kitchen in the pic below!) from @iron_mountain_ceramics.
The other thing we were able to do together was head into Voya for a couples massage! We were pretty stressed the hour before we went in, to be honest. Trying to get the three fed, get their stuff together for my family etc. Not gonna lie, it’s mad sometimes. And everything happens at one/ everybody needs you at once. But we ran down to Voya and had such a calm, relaxing time there. When I mentioned I was going to Strandhill on my IG, everyone was like “You need to go for a seaweed bath at Voya!!”. My Mum and my sister did the next day and yes, it looked amazing but I needed a massage so bad. My back was in bits that weekend. And Daniel…well…he has a building company, so you can imagine what his back is like! We just wanted to fall into bed afterwards. But we had to pop back to life and tend to our babies!!
So how I know about Voya is my sister had this StrethMark Minimizing Body Cream after she had her baby and gave me a present of this one when i was pregnant. It’s made from Hand Harvested Seaweed and has the Soil Association Organic Stamp. You can check out more of their beautiful natural products here.
We went to the Neolithic Site Carrowmore tombs with my Dad while we were there too. I find this time in Irish history so interesting. My Dad taught Art History for 31 years, so he was in his element when we stumbled across it. The girls were on the lookout for fairies- obviously!
We flew back late on the Tuesday so just sat outside Shells in the sun, making the most of our last few hours in Strandhill. It was an amazing few days and I can’t wait to go back. I know I say that about everywhere I go on here, but it really is the best weekend away not just for families but for couples (Ireland is SO romantic) young groups of people, whoever!
This trip was also supported by the Wild Atlantic Way
If you would like to visit Strandhill, the best website for all info is gostrandhill.com