A houseboat with a difference adds to a growing number of quirky holiday options in Ireland.
‘Nesbit’ is a former naval tender that’s been transplanted to the farm Dawna Connolly shares with her husband and their two young children near Ballinspittle.
Formerly a lab technician, Dawna decided she was working just to pay for childcare, and wanted a change of pace for her family.
She found just the ticket in an old cottage on their farm, which was spruced up as an AirBnB rental for visitors attracted to the many charms of West Cork.
The cottage quickly proved a hit, and got Dawna thinking about how to stand out from the crowd in a growing marketplace for ‘glamping’ experiences like the notorious ‘Big Yoke’, a converted Boeing 767 fuselage in Enniscrone.
Dawna considered various options from a boutique bell tent to a shepherd’s hut, till she hit upon the notion of a houseboat for landlubbers. That’s where Nesbit comes in.
The 37ft motorboat has been lovingly and painstakingly refreshed by Dawna and her father over the last 18 months from a heap fit for the scrapyard into a delightfully cozy abode.
Despite its compact size, Nesbit comes complete with her own kitchen unit and bathroom — and is accessible via a repurposed door from a Scottish ice ship, a nod to the homeland of Dawna’s spouse.
Suitable for a couple or a small family, Nesbit has pride of place at the heart of the Connollys’ farm, home to a number of donkeys, the odd cow and even an alpaca.
But if the sea is calling, it’s only 10 minutes by car to Kinsale.
