Thirty seconds. We have twelve acres of walled gardens and horse fields, and just outside the wall is the Thosel — the medieval gate into Carlingford, dating from 1450. The shops, boutiques, cafés, restaurants and pubs are all an easy two-minute walk.

Slieve Foy is the mountain behind us — about two hours from a paddle in the lough to the 589-metre summit, on marked trails, with views across the Mournes and Slieve Gullion. Past the harbour is the Carlingford Greenway — 6 km to Omeath, then onward to Newry. Borrow a pair of our wellies and walk out on the seashore at low tide from the Sailing Club. Or take a guided tour of Medieval Carlingford with Clodagh at Anam Tours (+353 86 387 3964) or the Heritage Centre (042 937 3888).

More good news than bad. One ground-floor garden bedroom has a wet-room shower with support rail. Main House and garden wing are linked by a 10-metre concrete path — no steps, no slopes. Lounge, bar and an extra-wide accessible loo are all on the ground floor (Georgian doors are wide by default). Breakfast and dinner can be served on the ground floor with notice. Medieval Carlingford itself is mostly level; the Greenway is a gentle gravel path. We have a wheelchair you can borrow — just pop a donation in the charity box. Full accessibility factsheet here.

Built in 1727 by William Stannus — a fine early Georgian house with a corbelled rococo ceiling in the Drawing Room, decorated by two Italian plasterers travelling Ireland at the time. About four families across 250+ years; John and Joyce Carroll bought it in 1991 and have spent the decades since restoring it. Louth County Council recently listed it for its original Georgian fabric. More on the History page.

We’ve been told that Gahann is an old Irish word for ‘little or poor piece of land by the sea’, and that the spelling drifted to Ghan over the years. If anyone knows different — please let us know.

Plenty, all within two minutes’ walk: King John’s Castle (built 1192, visited by King John in 1210), the Dominican Priory (1305), Taaffe’s Castle (1500), The Mint (1450), the Thosel (the medieval town gate, 1450), remnants of the town wall — and Ghan House itself from 1727. Add 45 minutes by car and you can see the best Celtic high crosses in Ireland at Monasterboice.

Two of Ireland’s UNESCO World Heritage sites: Newgrange and Knowth (5,000-year-old burial sites) — book before you go, 45 minutes from Ghan House. The Giant’s Causeway in Antrim is about 2¼ hours; the scenic route via the Antrim coast is worth the extra time. Trim Castle and the Hill of Tara are 65 minutes. The Healing Stones at Faughart are 20 minutes. Slieve Gullion (20 minutes) has a forest drive, a fairy walk and two ancient burial sites at the summit.

Several bedrooms have a single bed as well as the Queen or King. One bedroom has a Queen plus a 6-foot bunk. The Family Deluxe has a King and a Queen in the same room. Carrycots available on request — we have a few.

Our King Superior+ rooms have a half-tester bed with a mattress 5’6″ (1.7m) wide and 7′ (2.15m) long — and 12-foot ceilings. For anyone a little shorter, every other room has a Queen Size (5′ wide, 6’6″ long) or larger.

Yes — two providers in Carlingford, both with regular, electric, kids’ and mountain bikes plus baby trailers. Carlingford Greenway Bike Hire — David, +353 87 173 0653, carlingfordgreenwaybikehire.ie. On Yer Bike — Joie or Richard, +353 87 992 1559, onyerbike.ie. Book direct with us and you’ll get a 10% discount code for both.

The Carlingford Lough Greenway is the obvious one — a dedicated path along the lough, suitable for bikes, prams and wheelchairs. Across the lough is Kilbroney Park with miles of off-road tracks. Both bike-hire providers above have suggested routes on their sites.

Take all eight garden bedrooms (just ten metres from the Main House) — you’ll have your own building, four-star throughout, all with roll-top baths and separate power showers (one ground-floor wet-room). Pair it with the Drawing Room as a private dining space — up to 20 on one long table, music streamable from your phone, €150 to use. For larger groups we have three more bedrooms in the Main House plus the Ballroom.

Three things, all book-ahead: a 3-hour hands-on cookery lesson in the afternoon followed by a private dinner of your own food; an afternoon wine tasting (a sparkling, three whites, three reds — old world vs new, or your choice); or afternoon tea in the walled gardens or by the log fire.

On the water: Louth Adventures (Dutch tug boat, 8 people, louthadventures.com); Discovery (wheelchair-accessible catamaran, 10 people, from the Marina); Infinity Boat Tours (two ribs, 6 each, infinityboattours.com). On land: Escape Rooms in central Carlingford (David, +353 87 173 0653, escapehq.ie). Adventure: Skypark just outside town (skypark.ie) — high ropes, low ropes, footgolf, archery, electric cars; Carlingford Adventure Centre for zipline and canoe hire (carlingfordadventure.com).

All our bedrooms, beds and bathrooms are different. Best to ring us on +353 (0)42 937 3682 and we’ll help match a room to what you need — the King Deluxe rooms have the most space across the bed and bathroom.