I have visited Castle Leslie many times over the past thirty years. My mother is from Monaghan and so, as a child, we would often walk around the grounds of the Castle followed by a sneaky pint in Wrights Pub in the village of Glaslough. I have fond memories of the place.

I suppose when you are younger you take everything for granted and you don’t truly appreciate the great beauty of a place until you grow older, go away, come back and see everything with new eyes. In the words of Patrick Kavanagh “On the stem of memory imaginations blossom”! Anywhere abroad I have lived, I have always thought of Castle Leslie and it’s hauntingly beautiful 1,000 acre grounds. It was lovely to bring Simon and our little Henry Bear for a visit last week.

The Leslie family has lived on the Estate since 1665. The land was purchased with a £2000-reward given to John Leslie, the fighting bishop, by King Charles II. The castle itself is fashioned in the Scottish Baronial style and was designed by the firm of Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon in 1870 for Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet, MP. He was a fine painter of the Pre Raphelite school. It was he who built the Castle at the insistence of his pretty young wife Constance. Constance was the daughter of Minnie Seymour who was allegedly George IV’s daughter by Mrs. Fitzherbert.

The estate is made up of park lands, streams, forest and three beautiful lakes- one of which has a crannóg. It has hosted many famous visitors over the years including the likes of WB Yeats, Michael Collins, Mick Jagger and Paul Mc Cartney of the Beatles who got married in the Castle in 2002.

Much like Glin Castle, Castle Leslie is amazingly still in the hands of its founding family, The Leslie’s. The Leslie Family can trace its ancestry back to Atilla the Hun. The first Leslie came from Scotland and was a Hungarian nobleman called Bartholomew Leslie. Sir Jack Leslie, who sadly passed away last year, was by all accounts an incredible character who during World War II served as an officer in the Irish Guards during the Battle of France before being captured at Boulogne-sur-Mer. He then spent five years in POW camps. He was a first cousin once removed of former British PM Sir Winston Churchill and his mother, Marjorie Ide, was the daughter of Henry Clay Ide, a former Governor-General of the Philippines who lived in the Malacanan Palace and was a good friend of Robert Louis Stevenson. During Sir Jack’s captivity, he risked his life to spirit out a postcard to his cousin Mr Churchill pleading for a POW exchange to allow some of his comrades in the camp who had taken ill to be freed.

Hilariously, Dean Johnathan Swift once said of the Leslie’s “Here I am in Castle Leslie, With rows and rows of books upon the shelves, Written by The Leslies, All about themselves.”

The history of the Leslie family can be felt throughout the castle and only adds to its authentic and unique feel.

The Lodge which comprises of 29 guest rooms is the hub of the estate. The Old Stable Mews and Village Cottages are perfect for families and we have stayed there in the past and had a really amazing experience. Castle Leslie is the idyllic setting for outdoor living and adventure.

You can go fishing on one of Ireland’s best preserved lakes, sign up for a class in the cookery school, indulge in a spa day at the Victorian Treatment Rooms (my aunt Jeanne had a facial the day we were there and said it was lovely) or enjoy the many equestrian activities as it is a horse lovers dream!

Castle Leslie is the perfect Irish retreat. There is something mystical and serene about the place and I always feel so relaxed as soon as I’m there. I can’t wait to go back at Christmas -only 100 days to go! :)