This is the first room you see when you enter the lodge. It's pretty impressive.
The Lodge
It's been nine years since London-based chef Richard Corrigan first picked up the keys to Virginia Park Lodge. The 18th-century estate is a 30-minute drive north of Dublin and was in a pretty sorry state when Corrigan took it over. But, over the following years, it became a labour of love/money pit for the chef who has worked like a Trojan to make both the house, kitchen garden and grounds as self-sufficient as possible. Now it's a combination of private hire space (with 21 bedrooms in the main house) and self-catering accommodation courtesy of a scattering of shepherd's huts in the grounds.
Options to stay here could be either for a landmark birthday, anniversary, wedding - it's also proving popular for corporate events. If you're taking over the house you get to enjoy the full hospitality from the kitchen team.
If you're staying in the huts you'll get a welcome hamper with local cheeses and homemade granola. Self-catering guests can also order BBQ boxes for use in The Piggery - the estate's covered outdoor barbeque area which is set up for you by the kitchen team who will also run a bar for you.
The shepherd's huts are kitted out with 400 thread count linen, wood-burning stoves and bathrooms.
Look and feel
Virginia Park Lodge is an absolute dream to anyone who gets off on country house interiors. On a late winter's visit, the first assault on the senses is the scent of woodsmoke from the real fires in every room. You enter via the Taylour Room - a Jacobean-style dining room with a huge seven-foot-high fireplace. Other highlights include the Marquis Drawing Room which is a riot of colour and vintage toys and the Marchioness Room with its rococo plasterwork.
The general effect is properly, breathtakingly beautiful - a team with a real eye for visual style has been at work here and the results are great. A special mention should go to the estate's floristry team whose work on show in the various rooms is fabulous.
The Marchioness room, laid out for dinner.
Rooms
There are 23 rooms in the main house, a mixture of suites, some with lake views and lodge rooms (which we stayed in) all of which were very cosy with modern bathrooms.
Our room couldn't have been cosier.
Food and drink
Over a two-night stay at The Lodge, we were treated to a variety of meals. Breakfasts were sumptuous affairs served in the Taylour Room where you could opt for everything from avocado on sourdough to the full - and we mean full - Irish.
Lunches and dinners both saw the kitchen team using the best of what the extensive kitchen gardens and smallholding can supply - from fresher than fresh salads to the best pork courtesy of the Sandy and Oxford pigs that roam freely through the gardens. There's a commitment to sustainability here that goes way beyond the usual lip service and everything used in the house or gardens is recycled on-site.
The Full Irish in the morning with both black and white puddings.
Vietnamese-style oysters (you'll find these on the menu at the Park Cafe in Dublin and at Bentley's in London).
Some of the best crackling we've ever had (just try not to think of the pigs wandering around the estate when you dive in).
The grounds
Since taking over, Corrigan and his gardening team have worked extensively on the 100 acres that surround the lodge so you should definitely make time for a walk around, if only to work off some of the calories you've ingested. There's a lough nearby for wild swimming, if you're brave enough, and the estate also provides the opportunity to do country pursuits like clay pigeon shooting and falconry.
The man himself next to the piggery.
The pub
Richard Corrigan has recently further increased his ties with Cavan, as he's taken over a pub in the town, The Deerpark Inn. So even if you're not staying at the Lodge, there will be a Corrigan place in town that anyone can go to. That's promising a new menu by the chef, using produce from the estate. Not only that, but they'll have six rooms above the pub so if you're after a taste of what Virginia Park Lodge has to offer, keep an eye out for the opening (it's due by Summer 2023).
Corrigan's Dublin restaurant
While we were in Ireland it seemed only right to take the opportunity to check out Corrigan's brand-new Dublin restaurant, The Park Café. The restaurant opened its doors just before Christmas 2022 in the leafy (and posh) suburb of Ballsbridge, within sight of both the Aviva stadium and the RDS making it handy for both rugby matches and concerts and only a short distance from central Dublin.
The seafood counter at The Park Cafe
It's a close tie-in with Virginia Park Lodge too with the menu and dishes taking the produce from the estate as their inspiration, whether that's Savoy cabbages from the kitchen garden, polytunnel salad or porchetta made with the estate's amazing free range pork.
The restaurant is a bit of a warren with a seafood counter, a separate cocktail lounge and an all-weather terrace. Upstairs from the restaurant is The Park Bar which serves up a separate menu of small plates and interesting wines. Here's some of what we tried:
Poached Ballysadare hen's egg and caviar with brioche (€21)
Peter’s Omelette, Inis Escargot Bordelaise, Smoked Pancetta, Parmesan, Chives (€16)
Places to visit
As you're so close to Dublin at Virginia Park Lodge you'll probably be wanting some tips on where to go there.
One way to get the measure of the city would be on a Dublin Tasting Trail. We enjoyed a two-hour roam around central Dublin with Fab Food Trails who gave us a really good grounding on the city's history and current food scene. There was cheese tasting at Sheridan's cheesemongers, whiskey at historic pub The Swan Bar and (our favourite) freshly shucked oysters at The Seafood Cafe.
Enjoying a range of Irish goat, cow and sheep milk cheeses at Sheridan's.
For non-food related fun we can also highly recommend a trip to nearby Malahide Castle. Not only was the guided tour of this 12th-century strongholding an absolute blast, complete with ghost stories, but there's also a very nice Avoca shop and cafe in the grounds that's worth checking out.
The very atmospheric Malahide Castle is located between the lodge and the airport.
Why you should go to Virginia Park Lodge
We can't think of a better place to celebrate a special occasion, or to take a quick break from London life, than at Virginia Park Lodge.
It's clear from everything you experience here that Corrigan has poured his passion into this project, from the interiors (the art collection is amazing) to the planting of the park itself. If you're looking for a country retreat where the food and drink is top tier then you've come to the right place. It's a high recommendation from us.
The lodge with gardens that run down to the lake.
How to get there
Dublin Airport is about a 30-minute drive from the estate with multiple flights landing throughout the day from UK airports. You could also take the catamaran or ferry across from Liverpool or Holyhead if you're looking for a more eco-friendly mode of transport.
More about Virginia Park Lodge
Where is it? Deerpark, Virginia, Co. Cavan, A82 T2N6, Ireland
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @virginia_park_lodge
Hot Dinners stayed as guests of Virginia Park Lodge
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