Belleek Castle

After visiting so many castles, we were quite keen to finally spend the night in one.


Belleek Castle is the real deal - suits of armour and secret passages and all.

Initially a bona fide stately home, the building did service for a while as a lunatic asylum and was eventually converted to a hotel.

The public rooms are fitted out in period pieces, including the rather bewildering item below. Is it a weapon or a giant gramophone needle?

William Hearst would have loved this ceiling, constructed out of the wreckage of a Spanish war vessel.

Belleek Castle is also memorable for being the place where I ran out of clean socks and undies. Here is a radical laundry solution for producing clean and dry underwear overnight in a castle. First, wash socks and undies in tiny sink in tiny bathroom. Second, prop open the bedroom window with a menu because the sash is broken. Third, construct clothesline out of hairdryer cable and coathangers. Finally, blow hairdryer over wet underwear until wearable.