Temple & Tide: A stunning Castlerock holiday retreat

Temple & Tide, situated right in the heart of the Causeway Coast, provides the perfect base for those wishing to explore this world-famous part of Northern Ireland. Here’s what Hannah had to say about it:

So Hannah, what is Temple & Tide and where is it based?

Temple & Tide is a newly-renovated holiday rental situated in the beautiful seaside village of Castlerock, Northern Ireland. It’s a short walk from both the iconic Mussenden Temple and Castlerock beach (hence, “Temple & Tide”!), one of Northern Ireland’s eight Blue Flag beaches in 2021.

And what’s the story behind it? How did it come about?

In July 2020 my parents rented a caravan for a week’s holiday in Castlerock. My husband, Phil, our daughter, Sophia, and I came to visit during their break. Phil grew up in Limavady, not far from Castlerock and his family typically took beach trips there in the summer, but my family tended to go for Portrush or Portstewart, so Castlerock was a new experience. It only took a couple of days for me to fall in love with the area: the beach, the walks, the scenery and how peaceful and tranquil it is.

My parents were also smitten! They encouraged us to think about purchasing a property, with Airbnb in mind, which had been an aspiration of mine. Things moved pretty quickly: later that summer we made an offer for the house and by the autumn we had the keys! The property had been the holiday home of an elderly couple, who felt that the time was right to pass it on, and had been hoping that a young family might purchase it and freshen it up. My dad – “handy Andy”! – was thankfully up for the challenge.

After a lot of demolishing, dust, skip-runs, wallpaper scraping and painting, T&T was ready for guests in April 2021.

How many people can stay there at once?

The house sleeps 7 guests; there’s a king bed, double bed and a triple bunk bed.

And what amenities do you provide?

We have a fully fitted kitchen including fridge, freezer, microwave, dishwasher, hob, oven, kettle, toaster and coffee machine. We provide our guests with fresh bed linens and towels and there’s an iron, washing machine and tumble dryer in the garage for guests to use. The house has Wifi, a smart TV, electric fire and central heating. The bathroom includes a shower and bath.

For parents with young children, we provide a travel cot with mattress, buggy, high-chair, children’s tableware and a box filled with board games and puzzles. Outside there’s a picnic table, BBQ and children’s toys including slide and seesaw.

Are you pet-friendly?

Fully house-trained and well-behaved pets are allowed on request.

Can you recommend any nearby attractions?

Too many to choose from! In terms of outdoor natural scenery/beauty spots, Castlerock is just one of several beautiful beaches, all within driving distance of T&T, including Benone, Downhill, Portstewart and Portrush East and West Strands. Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne, as I mentioned, are a short walk from our house.

For the more adventurous, Long Line Surf School in Benone provide surfing lessons as well as surf boards and wetsuits. Limitless NI (formerly FoyleHov Activity Centre) offer hovercrafts, archery and football-golf among other outdoor pursuits. For some good food and drink, we’re really excited by the growing number of cafes and restaurants coming to the area, including The Village Kitchen, Coffee Hut, Crusoes and The Surf Shack. Many, many more can be found all around the North Coast!

Do you have any big plans for the future?

 Yes! Right now, I’m in the planning process for landscaping the front lawn and back yard of T&T. I’m excited to transform the outdoor space into somewhere beautiful for guests to enjoy and relax. I also hope to build on a great first year of guests enjoying the house, and would love to see visitors from all over the world find their way to T&T and enjoy the beautiful North Coast.

Finally, what do you love most about Temple & Tide?

I’ve taken a lot of satisfaction from knowing that we’ve provided a really relaxing place for our guests. We’ve had some lovely feedback during our first summer season, with several guests commenting on how the house helped them to feel calm and well rested during a much-needed holiday. Having taken a couple of weeks in the house ourselves as a family, we certainly felt the same way! Seeing my vision for the house become a reality, and being enjoyed by so many people, is really satisfying.

Find out more about Temple & Tide here.

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