Castle of Dreams

Monday morning I packed up Cu Chulainn and off we went on a road trip. We picked up G.I.T. on route. Bar a quick pit stop, we reached our destination 3 hours later.

Where are we???

Where were we? We were in Glaslough, Co. Monaghan at Castle Leslie. Myself and G.I.T. split when we got there, he was getting the humans checked in while I got the animal checked in :) 

It didn't take long for Cu Chulainn to get settled in. He had a roll in the shavings! He's a divil for that. I had a cross country hack booked in for 1.45, so I had plenty of time to get myself settled in (and more importantly have a power nap!!).

Settling in to his new digs

We were staying in the lodge which is perfect if you are bringing a horse as it backs on to the stables and there's a back door into the equestrian area. I caught up with G.I.T. and we went to have food while we waited for our room. Believe me when I say there is more than enough in the main courses!! I huffed and puffed and got in as much as I could!

Our surroundings for dinner

We got the call soon after the food that our room was ready. The rooms in the lodge are named after horses apparently, ours was Fintra.

Oh. My. God..............the room!! It was fab-u-lous!! I could have lived there. The bed was about 8 foot wide..........absolute heaven!! I did the whole leap on the bed thing, sure what else would ya be doing?! The tv was hidden behind a fake book shelf. There was double doors into the bathroom...........there was a standalone roll top bath which I'm sorry to say I didn't actually get to use, and a huge shower. They had the most gorgeous teapot and tea cups which of course we got a lot of use out of. 

Mid jump

Herein lies the telly......

The Teapot

So I had a quick nap. I still had a stupid cold which was wiping me out and the 3 hour drive didn't help. So all refreshed I headed down to go for our hack. It was only me and the instructor on it, so that was great. I did bring my head cam to wear, but I had a massive headache so I didn't put it on. We headed out around the estate. It was lovely and a great way to see the place. They have these electric gates that they have special clicker remotes for to open them. TNow if I was doing it again, I think I'd do a trek only as the cross country is really nothing to write home about. He jumped everything that I asked and we had a potter in the lake. The jumps were ranging from 65cm to about 80cm. A lot of natural logs and some drops and steps around the lake. They had jumps in sections which was nice, so you took breaks between them, kind of like the Munny Trail.  We finished off with a nice gallop on a sand track and a walk through a river, so his legs were lovely and clean! I love being able to walk through water after any exercise. When I had Fred in Donabate I'd always walk him through the estuary after a hard session or when we got back from hunter trials. It wasn't too taxing a day for him which was good. I think the XC is perfect for primary/advanced primary riders or nervous riders. It's a nice course, not very demanding with plenty of breaks and beautiful scenery. 

There are fab rooms everywhere

The Lodge

Checking in on CC

Lord Of The Manor

Lovely lit up tree

Gallery wall

On Tuesday we took a walk around the grounds and had a look around the Castle. All the staff here are incredibly nice, so friendly and genuine, not the we're-here-to-look-after-you-because-that's-what-we're-paid-to-do kinda friendly. We had a good gawk around the castle.......the rooms were so nice. I could easily sit there all day reading and drinking copious amounts of tea. It may have to be done in the future!!

Front door of the castle

The details

What a dining table!!

The bar in the castle

They have their own beer

The library

The boathouse

The gardens

Through the keyhole

Me gaf

Strolls

Some fabulous wallpaper

There was a billiard room

 I rode Cu Chulainn in the afternoon in their indoor arena. They have mirrors on the wall. It was my first time in years to ride with mirrors and the last time I didn't really know what I was at, so this time it was fantastic. I could see what way I was sitting and when we did our lateral work it was really beneficial. I mostly practiced my show piece for the working hunter competition coming up at Greenogue.

Hi there

La Toilette

Toilet for two?!

Mirror mirror on the wall

We didn't have to check out too early on Wednesday, so I rode CC after breakfast. We worked on our flatwork again. He was lovely and chill. I really love rocking down to the stable, tacking up, riding and then leaving him back to the stable. Someone else mucks him out and feeds him......oh the luxury. I had forgotten what livery was like.......just rock up and ride and go. The absolute joys. 

Lols with Bae

After I rode I had to go and pack up all my crap. As you can imagine, it was everywhere. I would have loved to have stayed longer.

We went during the week in March, before the start of their busy season and it was just after they had a BHS adult camp. Perfect timing in my eyes. It wasn't busy and crowded. We got to really relax and enjoy our surroundings, bar both of us being extremely tired from being sick. I would 100% go back again. I'd like to go for longer, bring a million books and just soak it all in. If I was to go for longer I think I'd opt for the self catering as there are no other places to eat around, not that the restaurants in Castle Leslie aren't nice, but the food is sooo filling. I'm also hoping that the G.I.T. will read this and take a hint, bhahahahah. But he did love it too so it wouldn't be just for me! 😁😁It'll also test whether or not he actually reads this.

We can sit here with a bottle of wine